Work With Rachael

Your home is a health variable.
Treat it like one.

Most people approach the biggest housing decision of their later life with no framework, no data, and no one in their corner who isn’t trying to sell them something.

I’m a healthspan scientist, not a salesperson. I have no commission incentive, no inventory to move, and no interest in rushing you toward a transaction. What I bring is 25 years of successful aging research, a structured process for evaluating whether your home fits the life you’re heading into, and the direct honesty to tell you what the evidence actually says even when it’s uncomfortable.

Whether you need a focused plan or sustained guidance through a full transition, everything starts the same way: a conversation about where you are and what’s at stake.

Book a Rightsize Home & Health Review →

A complimentary 30-minute call. No pitch. No pressure. Just clarity on your situation and the right next step.

Dr. Rachael Van Pelt

Option 1: A Focused Plan

Rightsizing Action Plan

A finite advisory project for the decision that’s been living rent-free in your head.

You know something needs to change. You’re not sure whether that means moving, modifying, or staying put with a better strategy. You’ve been circling this for months (maybe years) and the cost of not deciding is already adding up.

The Rightsizing Action Plan is 2–3 strategy sessions over 30–45 days. No ongoing commitment. No analysis paralysis. We work through your housing decision the way a scientist would: with your actual numbers, your real health picture, and a clear-eyed look at the trade-offs across every scenario.

What we assess: Body · Brain · Bank · Base

Body

Movement patterns, fall risk, physical capability, daily activity load and whether your home supports or degrades these over time.

Brain

Cognitive engagement, chronic stress load, emotional safety, and the psychological weight your current environment places on you.

Bank

Carrying costs, equity position, monthly cash flow, and the full financial picture across each scenario — stay, modify, or move.

Base

Your home and where it sits — community density, proximity to healthcare and social connection, access to the people and places that matter to you.

What we do together

In your Discovery Session (60–75 minutes), we map your current situation across Body, Brain, Bank, and Base — along with what you actually want the next 10–20 years to look like.

In 1–2 Scenario Sessions (45–60 minutes each), we walk through your realistic options side by side. Stay and optimize. Rightsize locally. Relocate. For each one, we look at the financial picture, the healthspan implications, and the “future you” factors that no spreadsheet captures: walkability, fall risk, social connection, proximity to care.

What you walk away with

A written Rightsizing Blueprint: a clear comparison of your scenarios with ballpark numbers, a recommended direction and timing, and concrete next steps you can share with your financial planner, your family, or your attorney. Not a feelings exercise. A decision-support document built on evidence.

Who this is for:

You’re 55+ and own a home that holds a significant chunk of your net worth. You’re weighing whether to age in place or make a move. You want data and logic — but you also care about independence, connection, and quality of life. You’d value a perspective that isn’t trying to push you into a quick sale.

Book a Rightsize Home & Health Review →

Option 2: Guided Support Through the Full Transition

Rightsize Transition Coaching

Protect your healthspan while you rightsize your life.

Most people treat a major housing transition as a logistics problem: find an agent, list the house, pack the boxes. For adults in their Go-Strong decade (roughly 55–67), it’s actually a healthspan decision. You’re changing your daily movement patterns, your routines, your sleep, your social connections, and your financial stress load — all at once.

Done haphazardly, that transition quietly erodes the very strength, mobility, and independence you’re trying to preserve. Done strategically, it can add good years to your life.

Rightsize Transition Coaching is month-to-month, high-touch support through the entire process — from the initial decision through selling, relocating, and getting established in your new environment.

The four-phase roadmap

  • Phase 1 — Strategic Audit (1–2 months)

    We assess your Body, Brain, Bank, and Base (your home and where it sits). We build a realistic timeline for everything that needs to happen, and in what order.

  • Phase 2 — Transition Planning (1–2 months)

    We strengthen your physical readiness for the work ahead. We tackle simplifying and decluttering — without the decision fatigue that buries most people. We build detailed checklists and timelines for selling, buying, packing, and moving.

  • Phase 3 — Transition Coordination (2–6 months)

    This is where most people burn out. We protect your sleep, mobility, and routines while you coordinate all the moving pieces (agents, lenders, title companies, movers, family dynamics) and the emotional weight that shows up uninvited at every stage.

  • Phase 4 — Post-Transition Integration (1–2 months)

    Once you’re in the new place, we establish the habits, healthcare routines, and environmental design that support long-term independence. The goal is not just to survive the move. It’s to come out of it stronger.

What your membership includes

  • Two 45- to 60-minute 1:1 calls each month, focused on your most urgent decisions — health, home prep, finances, timing, and mindset.
  • A personalized action plan after every call, so you always know what to focus on next.
  • A clear, phase-based structure — you always know where you are in the process and what needs to happen before the next step.
  • Month-to-month flexibility. No long-term contract. Most members stay 6–12 months, depending on timeline and complexity.
Why this approach is different:

The move itself is the biggest health risk. Decision fatigue, disrupted sleep, heavy lifting, and chronic stress are exactly what accelerate loss of muscle, mobility, and independence — if they aren’t actively managed. This program integrates your health into every phase of the transition, not as an afterthought, but as the organizing principle.

Book a Rightsize Home & Health Review →

When You’re Ready to Act

Colorado Real Estate & National Referrals

When the plan points to a move, I can help you execute it.

As a licensed Colorado Realtor (eXp Realty), I work directly with clients in Jefferson County and the greater Denver metro on rightsizing transactions — selling, buying, or both. My flat-fee structure means I’m not paid more if you spend more. The incentives are aligned.

For clients outside Colorado, I provide fully vetted, healthspan-savvy agent referrals anywhere in the country and internationally through the eXp network. I don’t hand you a name from a database. I match you with someone who understands what you’re actually trying to accomplish.

Your Action Plan fee is credited toward the real estate transaction if you work directly with me or with one of my referral partners. The advisory work isn’t a sunk cost; it’s the first investment in getting this right.

Book a Rightsize Home & Health Review →

Every Path Starts Here

Book a Rightsize Home & Health Review

A complimentary 30-minute call where we look at your situation, clarify what’s at stake, and determine which path (the Action Plan, Transition Coaching, or something else entirely) fits where you are right now.

No pitch. No obligation. Just a scientist who has spent 25 years studying this exact inflection point, asking you the questions that matter most.

Schedule Your Review →

Not ready for a call? Take the Rightsizing Decision Coach — a free, 5-minute assessment that shows you where your home is working and where it isn’t.
Take the Decision Coach →

If you’re a financial planner, estate attorney, or healthcare professional looking to co-host a workshop or refer clients, visit the Speaker & Partners page.

Speaker & Partners →