410: What’s All the Fuss About Senior Living?

SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 410: WHAT’S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT SENIOR LIVING?

When we think about recession-proof investments, it usually means niches that will always have a strong demand, regardless of the economy.  In today’s podcast, Bill zeros in on a niche that he has a personal connection with that he feels will not just survive a tough economy but will continue to grow despite the economy.

Tip of the Week

• Pros & Cons of Working With Family Members (courtesy of Ken McElroy from The ABCs of Real Estate Investing)
  • Pros
    • It’s easy.  This is definitely the easy way.  If my brother-in-law is an accountant, I have the chore done.  Don’t have to hunt around for someone I casn trust.  N need to spend time shopping around.
    • Keeps the peace.  In some families, hostilities may occur if you don’t use the in-house pro.
    • Low cost or no cost.  Often family members will give away their services to relatives for nothing.
  • Cons
    • Loss of objectivity.  It’s hard to have the tough conversations you need in business with a family member and still “pass the turkey” the next day.
    • Loss of bargaining power.  I evaluate rates and fees annually with all my suppliers; this is tough to do with family members.
    • Loss of relationships.  Families have been destroyed over bad business dealings.

What’s All the Fuss About Senior Living?

• I’m sure you’ve been seeing a fair number of emails, newsletter notices, etc. about Senior Living facilities
• You’re probably thinking, what is Bill up to now?
• If you are a listener to this podcast, I’m sure you probably are wondering
• That’s probably because I am really excited about this and I want everyone to know about Senior Living
• But let me try to explain…

Personal Experience With Senior Living

• Some Background
  • As most of you know, we were in the mission field for 12 years caring for orphaned, abandoned and at-risk children on the streets of Port-au-Prince, Haiti
  • When you go into the mission field, one part of that service that can be very hard is that you don’t see family and the people you love back home for years at a time – we knew that going into it – but it still was a tough aspect of what we did
  • While I was in Haiti, both of my parents passed away.
  • Both were in assisted living, both were well cared for up until their passing
  • I did visit them near the end of their lives but it, unfortunately was brief
  • But it hurt not being able to spend that final season with them
  • And to add insult to injury, when my father passed away, Haiti was in the midst (as it often was) of major manifestations or riots in the streets and the airport was closed – I could even fly home to attend my father’s funeral – that hurt a lot!
  • When we returned to the states for a sabbatical to decide if we were going to stay, my wife’s parents became very ill and they required 24-hour care. We hadn’t found a place to live yet, so decided to stay with them to help out.
  • We ended up living there with and caring for them for the next 3 to 4 years
  • We saw them go from fairly healthy and able to walk around and even go out to convalesce, confined to bed and then to hospice care within that period of time
  • Last year, Susette’s mother passed away and her father, at 93, is still alive but bedridden – and still in hospice care
  • We have since moved out while a full-time care giver lives there and hospice workers come in and out
  • In Haiti I never saw special places where the old are cared for. Mostly, the elderly were either taken care of by family or sadly, die alone
  • Coming back to America, I saw how blessed we were and how the old can have a very smooth and comfortable transition
  • Caring for Susette’s parents left an indelible impression in all our lives
    • For me, I sort of lived vicariously through the experience, almost as if I was caring for my own parents. To serve them was a true honor
    • My wife thrived – she has always loved to serve others but to see her “glow” as she poured into her parents, whom she hadn’t really spent much time with in the 12 years we were in Haiti, was beautiful
    • Our children were also moved. Our two adopted Haitian kids whom had never met their grandparets before, grew to love them tremendously – as their grandparents also grew to love them
    • Our other children also barely knew their grandparents as well and loved the time they spent
    • The whole experience, although very difficult at times, was something we grew to cherish and will always remember
    • Even though we moved out, my wife continued to serve her father who just turned 93, that is until the virus hit
    • My wife Susette has since, however, become a full-time care giver, and now is caring for other elderly persons. My 25 year old daughter Ariana, who often subbed for my wife, got her CNA license and is doing the same thing.  And now, her older brother whose banquet business job stopped with virus was trained and has also become a caregiver.

Senior Living and the Coronavirus

• When the Virus epidemic hit the U.S. – It started in a senior care facility
• Other senior care centers were also centers for high virus incidents and death
• It brought a lot of attention on our senior care centers around the country
• In this whole process, we have seen good care and some not so good care. Different organizations  handled their clients differently
• It made us think a lot about our own future. What will happen as we reach that age?  What kind of care will we have?  We don’t want to be a burden to our kids but we also don’t want to live in a place that is not managed well.
• With the coronavirus, we saw how the virus seemed to thrive in certain senior homes, while others were unaffected
• Was it a result of management or something else – it’s hard to say
• As you know, I have been trying to find apartment communities that meet my criteria and can give good return for my investors and it is often difficult
• When a friend and frequent guest on the podcast (Vinney Chopra) shared with me what he was doing in senior living, it sparked my interest
• It wasn’t just another deal.  It was a way to invest not just for the great return but to help people in a big way – to meet a need across the country and the world
• He and his partner are on a mission to provide quality care for seniors at affordable rates – that got my attention
• But as I dug deeper, saw the numbers, the economics and growing demand, I was hooked.

We All Have to Deal With Senior Care

• Whether it’s for a grandparent, parent or for ourselves, we are all going to have to personally deal with decisions pertinent to senior and elderly care
• It is a real need that impacts everyone
• Yes, there will be many different ways people will deal with it and through many different stages of care
  • You may become the caregiver, like we did
  • A sibling or other family member may take on that role
  • You may chose a smaller SFR-home based assisted living
  • Or a full-service care center with many amenities and services
  • You may chose convalescent care
  • Or the situation may require hospitalization or hospice care
  • Or it may be a “country club” type facility
  • Whatever the case, you and everyone else will have to deal with senior care from one standpoint to another
• But the reality is everyone will have to deal with it and the need will grow significantly over the next 5, 10, 20. 30 years

The Need is Growing

This is Not a Solicitation to Sell Anything

• • I’m not here to sell you on anything
    • Yes, I am investing in this area but I’m not here to sell
    • Just explaining why you’re seeing so much from me about senior living
    • Sure, I belive it’s s good investment but I understand it’s not for everyone.
    • You know me, I not about the pitch
    • So, when you see a notice about a webinar, please don’t get annoyed
    • I’m just a little bit excited and I do want to share what I think is one of the best current investment areas in real estate investing. That’s it!

That’s it for today!

DISCLAIMER:  Many of the above strategies take knowledge and have a higher degree of risk.  You need to do your research and/or work with someone who is experienced to reduce your risk.

IF YOU LIKED THIS PODCAST, we would love if you would go to iTunes, Stitcher, GooglePlay, iHeartRADIO and Spotify and Subscribe, Rate & Review our podcast.  This will greatly help in sharing this podcast with others seeking to learn real estate investing as aCBRE means to achieve a successful retirement.

Check out our other podcasts at olddawgsreinetwork.com.

Get a FREE copy of our 3-Minute Rental Property Analyzer at olddawgsreinetwork.com.

Additional Episode Sponsor: Meno Studio – menostudio777@gmail.com