Real Estate Niche Marketing - Starting an Assisted Living Home

You can try to be an expert in many phases of real estate, or you can specialize in a niche markets and become the authority in that markets.

There are a number of very successful real estate agents and brokers that have narrowed their real estate marketing niche focus to a specific geographical area, a type of property or a category of consumer. Recognizing the opportunities that are out there and selecting a niche that appeals to you can be a lucrative strategy.

Consider the niche market of opening Assisted Living Homes. It is a common assumption that it take millions of dollars to successfully open and operate an Assisted Living Facility, and while this may be true for a large facility, there is a huge niche market being ignored. Tens of millions of baby boomers are approaching retirement age. Many of them will need medical or personal care. A growing majority of these seniors do not want to spend the rest of their lives in a nursing home. They want to be in an environment that seems like home, with caregivers who seem like family. So where do they turn to?

These homes are often called Board and Care homes or Assisted Living Homes. They generally have no more than twenty residents and in most cases less than ten residents at any given time. The big difference between an Assisted Living Home and an Assisted Living Facility is level of care. Typically the business model of an Assisted Living Facility does not allow a significant amount of one on one time with each resident. What this means is that when a resident needs more than minimal assistance with daily needs or if they need two people to assist in providing those daily needs, the resident will generally be moved to either a different unit in that facility or the family will need to move their loved one to a different setting.

An Assisted Living Home (or a Board & Care Home) has the ability to be very flexible with the residents they choose to do business with. More often than not, once residents move into an Assisted Living Home they will be allowed to live out the rest of their lives in these familiar surroundings.

How can you get involved in this niche? To start with you are going to have to view yourself as a problem solver. You will need to:

• Educate yourself on the rules as they pertain to your City, County and State. Be aware that just like with building or zoning codes each city may be a little different than the other.


• Have a general knowledge of the typical rates residents pay.


• Have a general idea of the typical expenses associated with operating an Assisted Living home


• Establish a network with those who provide services in this industry.

Many smaller homes operate very successfully in both the private pay and Medicare arenas.

Think of the home in your current inventory, do you have any four or five bedroom homes? Do you have Seller's who can be creative? Do you have several homes close to each other? All of these could be great candidates for starting an Assisted Living Home.

Who are you Buyers? Your Buyer could be the Caregiver who wants to rent a few rooms and be able to work from home. Your Buyer could be the Doctor or Investor that wants several homes that they manage but may or may not work directly in the home.

Do you have buyers that are facing foreclosure or even bankruptcy because of their mortgages? Would they be willing to do a lease purchase? By leasing to someone who is starting an Assisted Living Home, you can feel much more confident that they will fulfill their obligations and not leave you or your Client in a bad situation.

I urge you to take the time to study this niche. Find the information you need to be the problem solver for your Clients, who knows you may even wind up owning a few yourselves!