Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
If you want to invest big in the real estate future, you need to think assisted living facilities. Especially in under served smaller communities. Today, many rural seniors have to move into the nearest city when they need assisted living. That means leaving behind long time doctors, neighbors, and living in a community they are familiar with right when their capabilities are becoming diminished.
With a senior population that will rapidly grow for the next two decades, assisted living facilities in smaller communities will be possible and profitable. Those already making this move report new buildings are filling fast.
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As a community of 80,000, research showed Plainfield Township had a high need for an assisted living facility. Omega Construction broke ground on a new facility last August and expects to soon open with almost every apartment rented from the first day. The company uses a phased approach to add additional buildings and is expected to begin additional construction shortly after opening and generating cash flow.
Phase one consists of 44 units at a cost of $3.3 million. Phase one of this project is larger than what the company has previously started with (26 units) because of increasing demand for new units. Generally, assisted living facilities locate close to existing medical facilities. In the case of Omega Construction, they have partner with a medical provider group to build a new 40,000 square foot facility on property close by.
This assisted living home is expected to open in June or July of this year, bring an estimated 50 new jobs to this small community. Phase one takes up three acres with an additional eight acres available for expansion.
A relatively new concept 25 years ago, assisted living has become viewed as a reliable and preferable alternative for many aging baby boomers who are still active but require some assistance. This is the point in life that historically parents have moved in with children for assistance. With more than a million seniors already living in assisted living facilities, today it is the fastest growing long-term care option for seniors.
Most assisted living residents are over the age of 85 and an overwhelming majority are female. According to the Assisted Living Federation of America 40% of residents require assistance with three or more activities each day. The general philosophy of almost all assisted living providers is to treat residents with dignity, provide privacy, and encourage independence and freedom of choice.
Typical services offered by assisted living include all meals, transportation, laundry services, social and exercise programs. Personal services often include having staff available for planned and unplanned needs, assistance dressing and bathing, access to health care, and medication management. The cost of assisted living varies considerably based on location, amenities, apartment sizes, and special needs. However, on average assisted living costs are typically less than either in home care or nursing homes. The assisted living market is certain to grow at a rapid rate for years to come. Although the rate of new construction is increasing, it's not keeping up with demand. Investors that can't independently afford to get into this market should consider looking to develop a syndicate of partners.
Author bio: Brian Kline has been investing in real estate for more than 30 years and writing about real estate investing for seven years. He also draws upon 25 plus years of business experience including 12 years as a manager at Boeing Aircraft Company. Brian currently lives at Lake Cushman, Washington. A vacation destination, a few short miles from a national forest in the Olympic Mountains with the Pacific Ocean a couple of miles in the opposite direction.
