matt pe ⋅ Chicago, IL ⋅ 20 years experience

Hello. Developing and running a property business takes time and experience, so I recommend going slowly and carefully. Ideally, partnering with or working for a real estate company might help you gain experience. There are national senior housing companies and they are specialists in selecting locations and building out properties.

If you want to go it alone, here are the steps:

1) A detailed business plan, that shows all acquisition and building costs, management costs, and occupancy projections. This plan needs to take into account as many details as possible on costs and projected income.
2) The last page of the plan should be the return projections for investors. How much will be debt, how much equity and what are the returns to each. Debt investors will likely be a bank who can secure their loan via the property and structure, equity investors will want to see a 15%+ return (IRR)
3) Shop your business plan to banks and investors.... it will take many many meetings
4) There are new websites such as Fundrise who will post your plan to their network to help you raise funds. You can review their current projects to get an idea of what your proposal needs to look like.

I know several people who run their own real estate businesses. It has taken the 10+ years to really get their business running to the point where they really have built a lasting business. So, keep in mind this is a long term career which will take a lot of time, and where finding a way to learn about the business of debt, equity, IRR, cap rates, bridge financing, etc will take time and hopefully a mentor

I hope that helps. Repost if you need more info

Phillip Nelson ⋅ Tyrone, GA Global Franchise Consultants ⋅ 2 years experience

There are several franchise opportunities that specialize in senior living and also property management. Some have very specific target markets and others will allow you to customize the solution you want to offer. Investing in a franchise is a way to buy a turn key business model that allows you to be in business for yourself, but not by yourself. This is one way to eliminate and reduce the time and effort required to develop a business plan, obtain training, gain experience, etc. You may want to consider exploring these options to get a better understanding of the total investment required, how the head office can assist you with training and marketing support. If interested, let me know and I would be happy to provide more details.

Cari Uland ⋅ Royse City, TX Brookdale Senior Living ⋅ 28 years experience

Brenton,
Thanks for you service! It sounds like you have an amazing passion for people that you bring to the table!

While the above answers answer part of the equation , some of the other things you need to consider are the vast number of regulations regarding senior living. There are also alot of other parts to consider - marketing, dining, housekeeping, nurrsing, etc. While it is true that a Nursing Home administrator does require a license in most states, Administrators in Assisted Living communities generally do not. Because of the large number of regulations, the best place to start might be working for one of the "big box" companies where you can learn the business before heading out on your own.

Brookdale Senior Living is always on the look out for people who can combine their business skills with good old fashioned people skills as an Executive Director at their Assisted Living communities. We offer a 12 week Orientation program and have communities all over the US. Check out careers at Brookdale.com.

Good luck!

Jared Frost ⋅ Denver, CO Oakvine Partners / Keller Williams ⋅ 9 years experience

Brenton,

First of all, thank you for your service to our country. I think the previous responses are very accurate but both are still putting the cart before the horse.

Property management and development are two very different beasts in the real estate industry. Developing an "integrated" real estate company that does land acquisition, development, construction management, brokerage/sales, and property operations is a very, very big project to tackle.

If you are looking at focusing on property management alone, I'm not sure why you would need to buy land and manage the development of the property. There are likely senior housing communities that are hiring property managers or property owners who might be willing to take a shot on you to manage their property if you can put together a compelling sale.

If there are not these communities in existence and the problem would be solved by BUILDING (rather than managing) the properties, then, in my humble opinion, you definitely need to find a partner with RE development experience if you don't already have that skill set. In today's environment, land prices are extremely high and there is not a lot of margin for error if you don't know what you're doing in development, specifically with senior housing.

I'd be happy to discuss any of your questions further. Feel free to reach out via ACP or email me at jfrost@kw.com if you would like to follow up.

Best,
Jared

Jared Frost ⋅ Denver, CO Oakvine Partners / Keller Williams ⋅ 9 years experience

Brenton,

First of all, thank you for your service to our country. I think the previous responses are very accurate but both are still putting the cart before the horse.

Property management and development are two very different beasts in the real estate industry. Developing an "integrated" real estate company that does land acquisition, development, construction management, brokerage/sales, and property operations is a very, very big project to tackle.

If you are looking at focusing on property management alone, I'm not sure why you would need to buy land and manage the development of the property. There are likely senior housing communities that are hiring property managers or property owners who might be willing to take a shot on you to manage their property if you can put together a compelling sale.

If there are not these communities in existence and the problem would be solved by BUILDING (rather than managing) the properties, then, in my humble opinion, you definitely need to find a partner with RE development experience if you don't already have that skill set. In today's environment, land prices are extremely high and there is not a lot of margin for error if you don't know what you're doing in development, specifically with senior housing.

I'd be happy to discuss any of your questions further. Feel free to reach out via ACP or email me at jfrost@kw.com if you would like to follow up.

Best,
Jared

Jerry Welsh ⋅ Middleville, MI Master Military Transition Advisor/HPS GPO ⋅ 30 years experience

Having spent 30+ years watching the senior living market morph into what it is today, all i can say is that over 70% of your assisted living facilities are "chain" owned. The main reason is the that it is very difficult to operate one facility at a profit. You could reach out to the owner of this one facility and do some informational interviewing-not asking for a job-seek information on how they made it work. The facility is Carveth Village, Middleville, MI.
You may wish to work in the field for a while to get an understanding of the behind the scenes. I am not sure, but skilled nursing facilities require a license to be an administrator. I had three senior living execs on my Board and they were great leaders and very dedicated to making a difference in their respective homes. Good luck hope this helps.