• Grace Management Adds Five Ventas Communities

    Grace Management expanded its relationship with Ventas, adding five seniors housing communities owned by the REIT to its operating portfolio. The communities were previously managed under a triple-net lease structure. They include Brookdale Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, Brookdale Northbrook in Northbrook, Illinois, Brookdale Springs Mesa... Read More »
  • Seller Boosts Census Ahead of Sale to JV

    Senwell Senior Investment Advisors sold Rose Hill Retirement Community, a 66-unit, 87-bed assisted living community in Marion, North Carolina. Originally built as a hospital, Rose Hill has been transformed by the seller over the past two decades into a senior care community. After a previous attempt to sell the community was unsuccessful,... Read More »
  • Joint Venture Buys Orange County Community

    A high-end seniors housing community in Orange County sold with the help of CBRE National Senior Housing. Aron Will and John Sweeny represented the joint venture seller in the deal, while Will and Matthew Kuronen arranged acquisition financing from a national bank. The loan came with a four-year term, a full term of interest only and a floating... Read More »
  • Developer Secures Construction Financing

    JLL Capital Markets arranged a $47 million construction financing for The Arbella at Blue Hills, a 164-unit, active adult community to be developed in Bloomfield, Connecticut. JLL worked on behalf of the developer, The United Group of Companies, Inc. (United Group) to secure the construction loan through Liberty Bank of Middletown, Connecticut.... Read More »
  • Midwest-Based Operator Refinances AL/MC Communities

    MONTICELLOAM, LLC, along with firm affiliates, provided a $28.5 million senior bridge financing for two Midwest seniors housing communities. The financing was originated by Karina Davydov, Senior Managing Director, Originations. The sponsor, a Midwest-based operator with a portfolio of over 40 seniors housing and healthcare properties and a... Read More »
The Pennant Group Swinging For The Pennant

The Pennant Group Swinging For The Pennant

We don’t know what is in the water out west (well, yes, we do) that makes The Pennant Group and its former parent, The Ensign Group, so successful. As readers know, Ensign returned the federal CARES Act funds they had received and posted another good quarter. Taking in COVID patients at its nursing facilities, and the higher rates that come with that, certainly helped.   But the spin-off Pennant Group also had a solid quarter, when its seniors housing friends did not fare as well. But Pennant’s home health and hospice business performed quite well, as did most of that sector, benefitting from the desire to be treated at home when institutional care seemed a... Read More »
Valuing SNFs During The Pandemic

Valuing SNFs During The Pandemic

With occupancy at historic lows, and expenses in flux, it has been difficult to value nursing homes in today’s market. But it is happening every day despite the uncertainty. With occupancy still in turmoil and many nursing homes reliant on federal aid to pay the bills, it must be quite difficult to underwrite and value individual nursing facilities, let alone a portfolio of them. But it is happening every day.  What assumptions do you make for occupancy, and census mix? What is a normalized level of PPE expenses, and will this be indefinite? And then you have labor costs and supply. With a Biden/Harris administration, is a $15 national minimum wage around the corner, and will... Read More »
Senior Care Soars

Senior Care Soars

What happened on November 9 was a bit of a shock, but in a good way. Senior care and REIT stocks soared after a year of forgettable foibles. The reason? Pfizer’s announcement that its COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective, and that it could be available very soon, combined with the apparent end of the presidential election with Joe Biden the victor. We believe it was the end of the uncertainty on both accounts that pushed the market up.  For those not paying attention, the Dow Jones Industrial Average at one point during the day hit a record high of 29,933, up 5.68% from the previous close. It ended the day up 2.95%. But it was the senior care market and its related REITs... Read More »
Capital Senior Living Continues to Shrink

Capital Senior Living Continues to Shrink

As many of you know, for several years we have been pressing Brookdale Senior Living to reduce its size further than what it has already accomplished. In the meantime, Capital Senior Living is getting smaller by the day, and while we understand why, we certainly hope Brookdale does not go down this somewhat extreme path in size (very doubtful). Cap Senior is now forecasting to be one-half the size it was two years ago, with 60 owned communities and eight managed. The leases will be gone.  During the course of the third quarter, like other operators, Capital Senior Living has been improving its capital structure, shedding unprofitable leases, handing properties over... Read More »
Brookdale Senior Living Reports

Brookdale Senior Living Reports

Even in the depths of a pandemic and a disrupted economy, there is always the bright side of things, right? Brookdale Senior Living, the largest seniors housing provider in the country, reported its third quarter earnings results and certainly had some positive things to say about where the company is today and how it will improve in the future. Always lead with your best. Unfortunately, shareholders focused on the problems and sent the share price down by 15% right off the bat.  The good news for the future is that they completed a major lease restructuring with Ventas, reducing future cash rent by about $500 million over the remaining lease term ending in December 2025.... Read More »
Valuing SNFs During The Pandemic

Is The Election Over Yet?

No matter who wins, there will be violence and we still have not dealt with Social Security and Medicare. Pathetic. Unfortunately, I am writing this just after I voted today, but before we will know the outcome for the White House and the Senate. I think it is a safe bet that the House will remain where it is, more or less. It was the first time I have ever had to wait in line, 30 minutes. I have now voted in 12 presidential elections, and I am sad to say that I voted for the winner in just four of them, with one still unknown. Not a good track record, or am I out of step with the rest of the country? Perhaps, but I don’t like to think so. But in those 12 elections, this is the first time... Read More »