Seller FAQ

Is it better to sell assets or stock?

The structure of your sale is a great question for your attorney and tax advisor. But, in our experience, most sales of assisted living facilities are sales of assets. What’s the difference? Buyers normally prefer to buy your assets, including your building, business, FF&E, and other things used to run your facility, rather than buying the stock of your corporation to take control of those assets. The primary reason for this is that when a buyer buys the stock of your corporation, they also normally get all of your liabilities and potential liabilities. In an asset sale, buyers get the pieces they need and nothing else.

How are accounts receivable handled at closing?

In most cases, buyers are purchasing the assets only and not the stock of the business. Accounts receivable are often excluded from the assets included in the sale. In some cases, A/R is included in the sale but there are amounts held back or escrowed to help ensure that the A/R represented by the seller is the amount actually collected.

Should I sell two businesses at the same time?

Many owners of assisted living facilities own other businesses, too. Sometimes, the other business is something related, such as a home care agency or a transportation company. Sellers normally want to exit as simply and cleanly as possible. When they own multiple businesses, they often prefer to sell everything as a package. But that can be a bad idea.

Finding the right buyer for your assisted living facility can be challenging. Finding the right buyer to take on multiple businesses is very challenging.

Most buyers are searching for a specific type of business. When they find that business, anything that’s included but not necessary to the business they want becomes a surplus asset with little value to them. Sellers of multiple businesses normally receive the most value by selling each individual business to a qualified and motivated buyer for each business type.

So, our advice is to split up the pieces, go through two or more sales, and enjoy a better return from your hard work.

How does Senior Care Realty keep a sale quiet?

Most owners of assisted living facilities prefer to keep their sale confidential until closing, or as close to that as possible. Selling your property without letting anyone know it’s for sale is a challenge. We help keep sales confidential using these steps:

1. Knowing the Market. We generally don’t use mass marketing or general advertising. We take the opportunity to the right buyers in several ways. But it starts with knowing who is looking for the type of property we’re selling. We’ve developed that knowledge over a decade of helping sell assisted living facilities, while continually staying in contact with buyers to know their needs.

2. Phone calls. With our knowledge of the market and a database of more than 7,000 people involved with assisted living, we can usually identify a list of likely buyers. Our advisors hit the phones to provide buyers with generic information about your property, never revealing the name or specific location. If a buyer is interested, then can move to step 5 below.

3. Email.  More than 5,000 people have subscribed to our email updates. These updates include information about the market and also generic information about our latest projects. (If you want to subscribe, click here.) For clients that want a sale to remain confidential, we never provide specific details in our emails. Our email newsletters help us quickly spread the word about your property but in a quiet way.

4. Online marketing. Buyers know that our website is the place to go to find assisted living facilities for sale. Once again, your property is listed on our site with generic information only (unless confidentiality isn’t a concern). Buyers that find a property meeting their needs can complete a confidentiality agreement online to speed the process. After they complete an online confidentiality agreement, one of our advisors will get back to them with more details.

5. Confidentiality agreements. Whether a buyer comes to us by phone, email or online, they need to complete a confidentiality agreement before receiving detailed information about any confidential listing. Our clients are updated as new prospective buyers inquire about their property to help ensure that details only go to approved buyers.

6. Buyer screening. While our team knows hundreds of buyers, we may not know them all. So new buyers are screened by our advisors to help confirm their ability and desire to purchase your property.

7. Buyer coaching. Once a buyer is provided details about your property and before they tour or take more steps, we help coach them to keep a sale confidential. For example, before touring the property, we discuss the right way and the wrong way to ask questions in front of staff or residents.

Some of the steps listed above, such as buyer screening, are not provided by our staff if a seller chooses our advertising-only service. Still, these steps help all clients keep their potential sale confidential.

There is more to it than the seven steps above, but these steps help keep a sale quiet.

Should I get an appraisal before selling?

An appraisal is an excellent way to have an independent third party’s opinion about the value of the property. The appraised value may be more or less than the value estimate a seller may receive from Senior Care Realty. So a seller just needs to decide if the cost of the appraisal is worth it. But keep in mind that a seller’s appraisal may have little or no value to a buyer, except as a potential negotiating tool. A buyer’s lender will need to order their own, independent appraisal of the property too.

How long does it take to sell?

The time between starting a sale project and closing on the sale varies depending on many factors. But the process often takes from 3 to 9 months. Read our blog article on this topic for more information.

Are there other fees when selling?

Senior Care Realty charges an initial marketing fee when beginning the project, and a smaller monthly fee for continued marketing. However, marketing fees are often waived for certain projects.

What is the commission rate?

Senior Care Realty’s commission rates are competitive with other commercial real estate brokers. Commission rates vary depending on the size of the transaction.

Buyer FAQ

How do I learn about new listings?

There are several ways you can learn about new listings. First, subscribe to our e-newsletter for alerts on new listings and more. Second, visit our website frequently and especially check out the Featured Listings. Third, if you have shared your buying criteria with Senior Care Realty, one of our advisors may contact you directly when we find a matching property.

How do I finance my purchase?

There are many ways to finance an assisted living facility. Community banks are usually a good resource for borrowers that have experience with this type of property and 20% – 25% cash down payment. Other sources of financing include SBA loans, HUD loans and sellers. Contact us for more specific referrals. Learn more about seller financing by reading an article in our blog.

What’s an ALTA survey?

Buyers often hire a surveyor to provide a survey of property they are buying. Sometimes, a survey is required as part of loan commitment or a title insurance policy. An ALTA survey is prepared to a set of minimum standards that have been jointly adopted by the American Land Title Association.

Investor FAQ

What is another source of information for investors?

The National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC) is a great resource for investors. NIC is an industry resource providing research, education and information about senior care real estate. It hosts annual conferences that provide networking and more learning opportunities. Visit www.nic.org.

Broker FAQ

Does Senior Care Realty cooperate with other brokers?

Yes, SCR cooperates with other brokers in several ways.