• West Virginia Finds a Buyer for Four SNFs

    Skilled nursing deals in West Virginia seem to attract a lot of attention, since it is a highly desirable state to operate SNFs and the small pool of facilities in the state simply means that they rarely come up for sale. But the governor, Patrick Morrisey, just announced that West Virginia has agreed to sell four state-owned skilled nursing... Read More »
  • AlerisLife Is Shutting Down

    AlerisLife is in the process of winding down its business. The company had struggled for years as a publicly traded company (previously known as Five Star Senior Living) with chronic operational and governance issues, posting repeated net losses, negative EBITDA, low operating margins, and underperforming owned communities. Despite some gains and... Read More »
  • SLIB Scores SNF Sale to Strawberry Fields REIT

    Ryan Saul, Jeff Binder and Lucas Doll of Senior Living Investment Brokerage arranged the sale of a 124-bed senior care campus in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, to Strawberry Fields REIT. The SLIB team represented a regional owner/operator that was exiting the state of Missouri to focus on communities closer to its corporate headquarters.  Cedargate... Read More »
  • SLIB Closes Two Other Midwest Transactions

    No rest for Senior Living Investment Brokerage on Labor Day, apparently, as the firm closed a couple of Midwest closings on the heels of its Missouri sale to Strawberry Fields REIT. Nick Cacciabando and Jeff Binder first returned to a familiar place, in Junction City, Kansas, to sell a senior care community. This property was Cacciabando’s first... Read More »
  • DMK Development Group Divests to Town Lane

    DMK Development Group has had a busy summer with two divestments and several developments. After divesting a four-asset seniors housing portfolio in Kentucky to American Healthcare REIT for $65.3 million, or $206,600 per unit, in July, DMK sold a 167-unit seniors housing community in Venice, Florida. The buyer was New York-based real estate... Read More »
Brookdale and the Golden Age

Brookdale and the Golden Age

A lot has been made recently of the looming Golden Age of seniors housing. An analyst at Jefferies & Co. came out with a strong recommendation of Brookdale Senior Living and its potential to take advantage of the upcoming age wave. They referred to Brookdale as the leading senior living provider well positioned for this. A more accurate description would be the largest senior living provider. It did not matter, as the share price jumped by 12% during the day on very heavy volume. But we have seen this movie before. To take advantage of the Golden Age a few things have to happen, and one is to negotiate a new lease for its 121 properties with Ventas that will provide more cash flow to... Read More »
Do Elections Matter?

Do Elections Matter?

In less than three weeks we will be having an election that could set the stage for what happens in the country for many years to come. Or not. There is always a lot of fearmongering over what one candidate will do compared with the other. Usually, change comes slowly, or not at all. As is usually the case in presidential elections, there is little talk about senior care, other than the growing costs of entitlements, with no reasonable solutions coming from either side. It is a topic that is easily avoided, and we are tired of the lip service. But in Washington State, there are several initiatives on the ballot, one of which involves taxes and LTC insurance. You will remember that... Read More »
The People’s Republic of New York At It Again

The People’s Republic of New York At It Again

The saga of The Harborside on New York’s Long Island has been more than a decade in the making. Opened in 2010 and originally known as Amsterdam of Harborside, a not-for-profit entity, it has now filed for bankruptcy protection three times (2014, 2021 and 2023). Nothing like a little financial uncertainty to drive census, which is at about 50%. There are about 330 IL and AL units. Nearly 10 months ago, the bankruptcy court approved the sale to Iowa-based Life Care Services (LCS), partly because they agreed to keep it open, pay down the entrance fees to people who had moved or to their estates, and invest some capital. From media reports, it appears the residents wanted LCS to buy it, as... Read More »
Brookdale’s Still Lagging

Brookdale’s Still Lagging

After Brookdale Senior Living finally topped 80% in month-end occupancy in August, reaching 80.4%, the company reported 80.5% in month-end occupancy for September, indicating weaker momentum going into Q4 compared to prior years. We said improvements would need to be maintained through Q4 to head into the winter/flu season in a strong position. So far, the company is, unfortunately, only maintaining, with just a 10 basis point increase from August to September.  Brookdale also reported a Q3 average occupancy of 78.9%. Yes, this is an 80-basis point increase quarter over quarter and a 130-basis point increase year over year, but it is typical to see senior living occupancy grow the... Read More »
Brookdale and the Golden Age

Update on Retirement Unlimited Inc.

Many of you read in our online posts that the President of Retirement Unlimited Inc. (RUI), Doris-Ellie Sullivan, is out and that a lot of other changes have transpired there. But perhaps the biggest story is how Welltower and its RUI relationship went off course. Brandywine Living and Welltower sold the Brandywine management business to RUI in a transaction that closed late in 2023. Welltower owned the assets so was in the driver’s seat on what would happen in the future. Welltower had a previous relationship with the owner of RUI, Bill Fralen, who had owned a lot of SNFs but was growing his seniors housing business through RUI. It seemed like a good financial fit. But something went... Read More »
Skyline Healthcare Back In The News

Skyline Healthcare Back In The News

All we can say is, it is about time. The former owner of Skyline Healthcare (or Skyline Management), Joseph Schwartz, is finally going to trial on his “alleged” fraud scheme, although he did plead guilty.  He and his “team” walked away from leases on more than 100 nursing homes across the country with no food in the fridge and empty med carts. They basically handed the keys over to the states. It was not only shameful, but it was also criminal. Each state had to scramble, and the nursing home industry suffered its biggest black eye. Actually, two black eyes.  Skyline basically sucked as much cash out of the leased facilities as they could until it all collapsed. Not even a... Read More »