Krista Wolter and Her Family

The Wolter’s have been a part of North Oaks since 1970 when Tim’s parents, Lou & Maureen, Wolter built their dream home on the 6th hole of the golf course. They raised their 3 sons there and enjoyed that home into their retirement years. In 1999, Tim & Krista moved their young family just 3 blocks away from Lou & Maureen so that they could be close to one another and so that the grandkids could enjoy their grandparents as often as possible. “I loved being able to bike to my grandma’s house in the summertime and hang out with her after school,” commented Laney, the youngest grandchild. Tim helped his parents out around their home and they in turn helped Tim & Krista with the kids—carpooling and attending school activities.

Why North Oaks? The Wolters say it is because North Oaks affords them privacy, yet is a community that provides friends and neighbors that are like family right outside their front door. They say that there is no place they would rather live. Even their 2 dogs think that having 2 acres to roam with invisible fencing is a real treat! Taking walks at the end of the day through the neighborhoods and the trails is a favorite pastime for Tim and Krista. “Many of our best friendships have come from North Oaks—a real blessing for our family,” comments Krista.

A few years after Tim’s dad died in the fall of 2007, Maureen, Tim, and Krista started having conversations about the idea of purchasing a different home in North Oaks and living together with the different generations. “We all thought it would work best if we found a home that was large enough to accommodate the different ages and that had enough spaces to allow for time together and apart,” said Tim. In 2013, the Wolters moved into their present home that is just 3 blocks from both of their former homes and in an area close to the North Oaks golf course. “We were all used to living in this central location and found that it made the adjustment to a new home fairly easy,” said Maureen.

In order to make the transition to generational living as smooth as possible, Tim and Krista took special care to keep things as much the same as they were used to. Maureen kept her home telephone number and has it ring in her suite. She also has the same alarm codes and emergency pendant that she wears so that she can always be assured of getting immediate help if needed. “Knowing my mother is taken care of brings joy to me,” says Tim.

“We love the open spaces and amenities that our current home has for our family, especially since becoming grandparents in 2020,” notes Krista. The outdoor swimming pool and backyard is a great place for the family to gather. “It is really nice to be able to walk outside and get in the pool for a swim, and even more fun to watch my great grandkids enjoying themselves while we are all together,” commented Maureen, now 88 years old. She goes on to say “It is a joy to be living together. There is always something fun going on. I’m blessed to be so well taken care of.” 

The Wolters have 2 dogs which keep Maureen company as family members come and go. Maureen can usually be found on the family room couch watching TV, reading her nook or visiting with whoever is home. “In remodeling the home, we tried to keep everything somewhat casual and have finishes that can take a fair amount of wear and tear so that we can enjoy each other instead of worrying about wrecking something. Life is much too short to be concerned about things that don’t really matter. Life should be about enjoying the people around us and giving back to those in need,” Krista commented.

Tim owns Preferred Legal Services and is thankful to have a flexible schedule for the family. Krista is in her 16th year as a full-time agent with Coldwell Banker Realty. Their oldest daughter Alex is now married to their son-in-law Mike, and they have 2 young children. T.J. is their middle child and lives in NE Mpls and loves to golf with his dad at North Oaks whenever he has the chance. Their youngest child, Laney, graduated this year from Wheaton College and is back at home working on a future career in medicine. 

North Oaks Real Estate:

Maureen, Krista’s mother-in-law, was one of the greatest supporters and encouragers to Krista in entering the real estate market. She knew that she would be good at it. Maureen was in real estate with Dan Dolan back in the 80s and clients of Krista still hand her yard sticks that were used by Maureen for advertising that say: Maureen Wolter—We’ll go to Greater Lengths! When asked, Krista is completely passionate about real estate—working 7 days a week for her current clients. “I couldn’t have the success I have had if I wasn’t focused and passionate about helping others with their real estate needs.”

Krista’s real estate business continues to flourish. In 2021 she, along with only one other buyers’ agent on her team sold over $93 million dollars of real estate for her 15th year in real estate. Yet she remains ‘in touch’ and ‘in-the-know’ as she helps real estate clients both young and old. Krista explains it best: “I love the day-to-day variety. At any given time, you will find me working with a wide range of price points. It makes me a better agent and keeps me real. I love helping my clients reach their real estate goals and it is a joy to work with those that appreciate my expertise and understand my level of commitment to them. It is not about how many houses I sell, but how well I sell them. My clients love having me set records with their homes.”

Krista was also recently named 2021 Female Realtor of the Year by Real Producer’s Realtor Choice Awards, and is included in the Twin Cities Business 2022 Notable Women Entrepreneurs. She is ‘top 5’ at Coldwell Banker Realty and was their top female lead team for 2021. 

“As an agent, I get asked a lot about the North Oaks market and why there is such a variety of homes, prices and market time. Typical neighborhoods will be built over a period of 1-2 years. Then, about 20-25 years later, they will all start to turn over and you will see some decline in price for a time until the new buyers come in and remodel and re-vamp the neighborhood. North Oaks is completely different from any typical neighborhood as it has been built over the last 70+ years and continues to see new homes being built. It is the existing home market where my focus continues to be—helping those sellers achieve great success when they decide to sell,” says Krista.

“With over 70% of buyers moving to North Oaks from outside of the community, being connected as a real estate agent throughout the twin cities is a big part of my success. We live in a global society where buyers come to North Oaks from other parts of the city, other parts of our country and from around the globe. It is interesting how the last 2 years of the pandemic gave North Oaks a jumpstart as buyers moved here to find larger lots with more privacy and increased safety,” comments Krista.

It only makes sense that with Krista being a top real estate agent, that she fully understands multi-generational living. While generational living has been around for decades, buyers are circling back to it not only for economic reasons, but for the convenience of being together and being able to easily help one another on a daily basis. Krista says that generational living is a great way to help lower the stress for young families that are having to do it all and give support to the older family members that don’t want to live alone. “I love helping people find just the right home and so often having extra hands in the home can make life a bit easier and simpler. It seems to be a great way to take some of the stress out of this hectic world. Especially for those parents of young children that seem to be spread so thin,” says Krista. This seems like a great way to enjoy life and the people that you love the most.