• Out-of-State Owner Divests to Investor

    A couple of assisted living and memory care communities in Eastern Tennessee recently traded hands. The two properties comprise more than 100 units. A Chicago-based investor aligned with the seller’s long-term vision for the communities acquired the assets, and partnered with a regional operator that was looking to grow their presence in the... Read More »
  • CFG Hit the Ground Running in Q1

    Capital Funding Group wasted no time in the first quarter, closing $428.9 million in total financing. The transactions spanned skilled nursing, assisted living, independent living, memory care, behavioral health, multifamily and commercial lending on behalf of nationally recognized borrowers. Some highlighted transactions include: ● A $17.6... Read More »
  • Separate Borrowers Secure Financing

    Cambridge Realty Capital announced a couple separate closings. First, the company provided a $4.31 million HUD refinance of Elizabeth Care Center, a skilled nursing facility in Elizabeth, West Virginia. Cambridge utilized HUD’s Express Lane, which enabled the loan application to receive its firm commitment just 18 days after being accepted. ... Read More »
  • Blueprint Brings on New Team Member

    Blueprint welcomed Peter Trazzera to the team as Senior Director, Capital Markets. Trazzera brings deep expertise in financing solutions and is set to further elevate Blueprint’s capabilities in the sector. He has an extensive background in institutional capital, and is joining following a 12-year tenure as Senior Vice President at KeyBank... Read More »
  • High-Priced Sale Closes in Chicago

    The bar keeps getting raised for pricing in the seniors housing industry, and we believe a new record has been set for a property sale in Chicago, Illinois. It was revealed that the seven-story Belmont Village Lincoln Park was bought by CBRE Investment Management for approximately $151 million, according to property tax records. Based on a lower... Read More »
Celebrating 30 Years

Celebrating 30 Years

The American Seniors Housing Association has been supporting the senior living industry for 30 years now, with David Schless at the helm throughout. I fondly remember going to my first annual meeting of the American Seniors Housing Association, back when it was part of the National Multifamily Housing Council. Let’s just say it was quite smaller than it is today, and I have to say, a bit more intimate. If you attended one of those early meetings, you may remember my question to Murry Gunty of Lazard Freres, when in the 1990s he was in the middle of patching together a company that seemed very disorganized, as I outlined his various, unconnected acquisitions. I asked, “So Murry, what’s the... Read More »
Celebrating 30 Years

Can Skilled Nursing Be Reformed?

The American Health Care Association and Leading Age have proposed a reform agenda for skilled nursing. As usual, the problem is Medicaid. The American Health Care Association and Leading Age have proposed a policy “agenda” to address some of the problems that exist in skilled nursing facilities today, which were obviously highlighted by the impact of the pandemic.  As part of the reforms, they want enhanced infection control practices, 24-hour RNs, 30-day minimum supply of PPE, better recruiting and retention of staff, improved oversight systems, and a shift to all private rooms. There is little here to disagree with, except that they expect Medicaid to pick up most of the $15... Read More »
Celebrating 30 Years

Financial Relief For Seniors Housing

Federal financial relief may be coming to assisted living and memory care providers, but will it be enough? The folks at ASHA, Argentum and NCAL have been working overtime to obtain some federal financial relief for their private pay members to deal with the burdens associated with COVID-19.  It’s supposed to be coming soon, but will it be enough? For now, the formula will be based on how it worked for Medicaid providers, which is 2% of 2019 revenues. For an 80-unit assisted living/memory care community with an average $5,000 monthly rate, that might come in at close to $80,000. If you have 50 communities, that is $4 million. Now we’re talking. For a more modest community with 50 units in... Read More »
Celebrating 30 Years

ASHA and Stifel Nicolaus Meetings

What we heard about industry trends 3,000 miles from home. After spending three days at the American Seniors Housing Association meeting and the Stifel Nicolaus “2020 Seniors Housing & Healthcare Real Estate Conference, other than jet lag, there were a few takeaways. First off, on a few panels stand-alone memory care communities came up, and not in a good way. Because they tend to be small, a few resident deaths can have an outsized impact, the former over-development has still left a bad taste, and stand-alone anything is viewed by many as too risky. Speakers believed cap rates were at least 100 basis points higher than for assisted living.  One thing we did hear is that... Read More »

Being Large In Seniors Housing

Size isn’t all its cracked up to be, and it does matter whether you own or operate the real estate. We always hear that size matters, but it can also work against you. While no one has claimed to be able to define the optimal size of a seniors housing company, I have yet to hear anyway say that they would be comfortable running a company with more than 500 properties. Most would say that 250 would be tops, with many of them even much smaller. I am talking about owning and operating, with the emphasis on operating. For REITs, I don’t know if there is a real number where their efficiencies get maxed out. They are not hiring the staff and serving the food. And they are not trying to... Read More »