• 60 Seconds with Swett: Senior Care’s PR Problem

    Recently, we have seen stories circulating about the connection between REIT ownership and the way skilled nursing facilities provide care, stemming from a study written by the nonprofit journalism outlet KFF Health News. We’ve seen this before, headlines like “real estate investors profit while patients suffer,” usually with graphic cases of... Read More »
  • Blueprint Sets Pricing Record in New York State

    Blueprint advised a repeat private equity client in a record-setting sale of two standalone memory care communities in high barrier-to-entry submarkets in New York State. Combining for 104 units, these assets were purpose-built in the late 1990s and were stabilized at the time of the deal. Not only that, they were generating cash flow in excess... Read More »
  • CareTrust Keeps Its Foot on the Gas

    CareTrust REIT has deployed nearly $1 billion in closed transactions so far this year, after closing around $1.8 billion in investment activity in 2025, and its pipeline includes $450 million of near-term, actionable opportunities, excluding larger portfolio transactions. The REIT announced that it closed a few separate transactions in mid-April,... Read More »
  • VIUM Capital Announces Slew of HUD Closings

    VIUM Capital closed four HUD 232/223(f) financings in March totaling more than $63 million across a mix of skilled nursing and seniors housing communities. Two of the financings involved skilled nursing facilities in Oklahoma totaling 176 beds. The assets were originally acquired as part of a larger portfolio and refinanced following a... Read More »
  • Lument Secures HUD Express Lane Transaction

    Lument closed a refinance through HUD’s Express Lane for a 120-unit seniors housing community in Lincoln, Nebraska. Built in 2017, Pemberly Place Senior Living features 132 licensed beds and offers independent living, assisted living and memory care services. It also has an on-site medical clinic to offer a range of other healthcare services. The... Read More »

When a Deal Is Not a Sale

Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: KND) and Ventas (NYSE: VTR) have agreed on a plan that allows Kindred to exit the skilled nursing business, or at least mostly. Of the 90 or so SNFs that Kindred still operates, Ventas owns 36 of them and leases them to Kindred. The two companies have agreed that Kindred can purchase the 36 properties for $700 million (current rent is $49 million), or renew the current lease on all unpurchased SNFs through 2015 at the current rent level. If they all get purchased (and then re-sold at different prices) for $700 million, that would come to $160,000 per bed, which strikes us as above market for the Kindred SNFs. Most likely, the price represents a premium that KND... Read More »
Connecticut CCRC Changes Hands

Connecticut CCRC Changes Hands

A large for-profit CCRC in North Branford, Connecticut recently sold. Purchased in 2006 by a joint venture between The Shelter Group and Herbert J. Sims & Company for $72 million, 10 years later it sold for approximately $69.5 million. National Health Investors (NYSE: NHI) was the buyer, and its all-in acquisition cost was about $74 million, which included closing costs, various escrows/deposits, and other fees. The CCRC, which has 227 independent living units, 22 assisted living units and 50 skilled nursing beds, was originally developed in the early-1990s in two phases on 88 acres. Occupancy had been on an upward trend and was just over 88% in 2015. NHI will be leasing the community... Read More »

Will and The Waters

Going through a life insurance company, Aron Will of CBRE arranged acquisition financing on behalf of a joint venture looking to acquire a 139-unit assisted living/memory care community in Edina, Minnesota. In the affluent suburb of Minnesota, the community was built in 2013 with 97 AL and 42 MC units near a local hospital. Mr. Will worked with a joint venture between an institutional client and The Waters Senior Living in securing a $33.15 million seven-year acquisition loan, with a fixed rate and 18 months of interest-only. Read More »
November’s M&A train keeps on rolling

November’s M&A train keeps on rolling

There have been many big news stories so far since the start of November. Yes, outside of politics even. As many of you probably read in the latest issue of The SeniorCare Investor, we saw a resurgence of senior care and seniors housing transactions this month, after about a half a year of tepid M&A activity. We have to say that “tepid” is a relative term, but the reality is the average number of deals per month was 22.6 from June to October, compared with a 34.3 average in the second half of 2015 and a 30.4 average in the first five months of 2016. So far in November, we have already seen 18 transactions announced, and several of those have been big by 2016 standards, including two... Read More »
Harborview hits a triple

Harborview hits a triple

In three separate transactions, Harborview Capital Partners closed over $40 million in financing and showed off its variety of services in turn. Ephraim Kutner and Jonathan Kutner of the commercial real estate finance, equity and advisory firm first arranged a $10.6 million HUD loan with a 30-year term on behalf of a Chicago-based borrower to refinance a 115-bed assisted living community in St. Paul Minnesota. Harborview also closed two bank loans. One, led by Jonathan Kutner and David Chiger, involved a $16 million refinance of an Illinois skilled nursing facility. The five-year loan will pay off existing debt and provide cash-out proceeds to the Chicago-based borrower. And then Jonathan... Read More »
The cost of opportunity

The cost of opportunity

A regional owner/operator in California saw a value-add opportunity when it acquired a 119-unit assisted living/memory care community owned by a large real estate investment company in San Bernadino County. Built over 25 years ago, the community was just 67% occupied at the time of closing. It sold for $15.5 million, or $130,252 per unit, which is about $68,000 less than the average price for assisted living communities in the four quarters ended September 30, 2016, and probably even lower than the average price for California properties. So there is certainly an opportunity to add value, but the work has to be done. Jim Hazzard and Nick Stahler of The JCH Group handled the... Read More »
Kindred Healthcare Plunges

Kindred Healthcare Plunges

Exiting the SNF business, Kindred’s decision is just part of a national transformation of the sector that started a year ago. And I thought last week was a tough one. When Kindred Healthcare released its third quarter earnings on Monday night, I knew it would open significantly down, but 33% down? The company has decided to exit the skilled nursing sector – sound familiar? This was a bit surprising because even though they had already gone from 300 SNFs to around 92 today, I assumed the remaining facilities were the best ones, and in the markets close to its LTACs, rehab hospitals and home health services. That was the entire theory around being the post-acute provider of choice in... Read More »
Detroit Dealmaking

Detroit Dealmaking

Green Courte Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, has been one active acquirer in the independent living market, when few other buyers have been investing in the sector. Even though the IL market has been a huge factor in pushing average seniors housing prices to record-highs average (peaking at an average of $248,300 per unit in the four quarters ended March 31, 2016), its share of M&A has been shrinking in the last couple of years. Nevertheless, Green Courte has acquired five IL properties in the last year. Its most recent transaction involved a portfolio of three IL communities located in the Detroit MSA, which it purchased for an undisclosed price. All totaling 371 units,... Read More »
Insured success

Insured success

Fortegra Financial Corporation, an affiliate of Tiptree Financial Inc., is a specialized insurance and insurance services company that is dipping its toes in the seniors housing market. That is not to say Tiptree is a debutante to the industry, with its wholly owned subsidiary Care Investment Trust making five acquisitions for 17 properties since 2013. For Fortegra, the company is acquiring a 77-unit senior living community with independent/assisted living and memory care services in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The stabilized property was owned by a regional operator which is exiting the industry with this sale. Fortegra is paying $11.5 million, or $149,351 per unit, for the community and is... Read More »

2016 HUD Rankings

We reported a few weeks ago that Lancaster Pollard was the most active HUD 232 LEAN lender with 60 transactions with a total value of $554.4 million, but KeyBank was close behind at 54 loans worth $521.8 million. In third place was Housing & Healthcare Finance with 28 deals and $355.9 million. HHC also closed the largest loan of the fiscal year, an $80.7 million loan on a 520-bed skilled nursing facility in New York. Berkadia Commercial Mortgage came next with 26 deals worth $180.5 million and Capital Funding followed them with 21 financings worth $261.0 million, including the second-largest closing of the year: a $43.4 million loan for a 314-bed skilled nursing facility in New York.... Read More »
Blueprint’s Mass of deals

Blueprint’s Mass of deals

Continuing Blueprint Healthcare Real Estate Advisors’ active 2016, Steve Thomes and Chris Hyldahl were the lead advisors in the sale of a 123-bed skilled nursing facility in New Bedford, Massachusetts, owned by a New York-based national owner, for $4 million, or $32,520 per bed. Occupancy could be improved from 79%, but that will be the job of a regional owner/operator with a significant presence in eastern Massachusetts. But wait, there’s more…in Massachusetts. Mr. Thomes, with the assistance of Michael Segal and Ben Firestone, sold an 87-bed skilled nursing facility to a regional owner/operator that is growing its Massachusetts portfolio. Really operating at 78 beds, the facility was 83%... Read More »