How to Buy an Assisted Living Facility (Even If You’ve Never Done It Before)
Jun 23, 2025
Starting your own assisted living facility can seem intimidating, especially if you’ve never done it before. But the good news? With the right steps, resources, and guidance, you can make it happen—one step at a time.
Whether you're ready to dive in or just exploring the idea, this guide will help you navigate the process of purchasing and operating an assisted living facility with ease. Let’s break it down! 🚀
Check out this video, too:
Why It Matters
Buying an assisted living facility isn’t just about making money—it’s about providing care and a safe environment for seniors and others in need. It’s a business that can offer financial freedom and personal satisfaction. But to get started, you need a clear plan, the right resources, and the confidence to take action.
The beauty of starting an assisted living business is that you’re making a real difference in people’s lives while building your own future. The process may feel complex at first, but with a clear strategy, you’ll be on the path to success.
Steps to Buy an Assisted Living Facility
1. Create a Business Plan That Works đź“‹
The first step in your journey is to build a solid business plan. This plan serves as your guide to success and will help you secure funding from lenders and investors.
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What to Include: Your business plan should cover everything—from your goals and vision to your financial projections and market research.
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Use a Template: Use the Assisted Living Launchpad Bundle. Included in this bundle is the process I used to secure over $1.5 million in SBA funding. It’s specifically built for the assisted living industry, and it’ll help you avoid mistakes and get funding faster.
Why It’s Important: A clear business plan shows lenders you know what you’re doing. It’s the foundation of your entire business. Investors want to see a roadmap that proves you understand the market, the challenges, and the financials.
2. Secure Your Financing đź’µ
Before you can buy a property, you need to know how you’ll pay for it. Whether through SBA loans, grants, or private financing, understanding your options is crucial.
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Get Your Numbers Right: Use the free Underwriting Calculator to estimate how much you can borrow and what your payments will look like. This will give you clarity on your financials and ensure you’re prepared for the next steps.
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Explore Your Options: Learn how to apply for SBA loans or find available grants that can help fund your purchase. There are multiple financing options, and choosing the right one for your business will make a huge difference. You can learn more about this process in the Assisted Living Launchpad Bundle.
Why It’s Important: Getting your financing right means you won’t be blindsided when it’s time to make a purchase. It’ll also help you move forward confidently and set realistic expectations for your startup costs.
3. Find the Right Facility 🔍
Once your plan and financing are ready, it’s time to find the right property. You can work with a commercial broker who specializes in assisted living facilities or search yourself on sites like LoopNet.
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Set Your Criteria: Know what you're looking for in terms of size, location, and care offerings. Will the facility need renovations? How many residents can it accommodate? The more details you can define, the better.
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Work with Experts: If you’re using a broker, having one that specializes in assisted living properties or is familiar with the industry can be super helpful. Their expertise will help you save time and avoid costly mistakes, especially when it comes to understanding the regulations around healthcare and zoning.
Why It’s Important: The location and structure of your facility can impact your long-term success. Find a place that matches your business goals and vision. You want to ensure that the property is in a desirable area, meets your licensing requirements, and fits your budget.
4. Ask for More Information đź“ž
Don’t be afraid to dig deeper when you find a property you like. Even if you’re not ready to buy, start getting the details you need. The more you know about the property, the better position you'll be in when it's time to make an offer.
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Sign an NDA: If necessary, sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). It’s a standard process and won’t tie you into anything you’re not ready for.
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Start the Conversation: Reach out to the seller and ask questions about financials, operations, zoning, and any other critical details.
Why It’s Important: Starting a conversation and requesting more information gives you the confidence and knowledge to make the right choice. Don’t hesitate to ask questions that clarify the condition of the property, operational issues, or hidden costs. Information is power!
5. Take Action 🚀
Don’t wait for the “perfect moment.” Start taking action now! Reach out to sellers, sign NDAs, or begin analyzing the facility’s financials.
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Make Progress: It’s easy to get stuck in planning mode, but real progress happens when you take consistent action. Whether it’s reviewing a facility’s financials or talking to a lender, every step moves you closer to owning your facility.
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Stay Consistent: Keep making small, but steady progress each day. Consistency is key when it comes to making any dream a reality.
Why It’s Important: Taking action keeps the momentum going. Each step you take brings you closer to securing your facility. The sooner you take that first step, the quicker you’ll make your business a reality!
Next Steps: Ready to Take the Plunge?
Ready to get started? Here are your next steps:
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Download the Business Plan Checklist: Start building your business plan with this free resource. It’s your roadmap to success!
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Need help figuring out where to start? Join the next Roadmap Challenge and build your launch plan with me.
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Take Action: Begin searching for your property, apply for funding, and keep moving forward! Don’t let fear hold you back.
Show full transcript 👇
Transcript
00:00:00
today which is how to find an assisted living facility for sale going to just before we get started on that though I want to remind you to get over to the website you can get over to Assisted Living investing. net I've got a ticker going down here across the bottom and that's going to um help you get a business planning guide which is a guide I put together to help you build a business plan and uh and help you make uh some good progress I'm going to share my screen really quick maybe um let's do
00:00:27
this add that there we go so I'll have that have a ticker but get over to Assisted Living investing. net have a bunch of free resources over there free calculator business planning guide at BP checklist um we'll link those down below as well so you can get access to to all of that and help you along your investment Journey wanted to also just kind of give you some quick background on on who I am as we get into the topic for today's video which is again how to find an assisted living facility for
00:00:54
sale this came out of a question from somebody in the group and on the fa on Facebook and wanted to just make make sure we get this out to people and and we're providing you some some extra value as you are getting started some background on me I own and operate two assisted living facilities out of state I live in Utah have one facility in Colorado one in Idaho and uh have secured over1 and a half million dollars in SBA funding and through that process uh have have learned how to do this for
00:01:22
over three years I also have a master's in healthcare administration have worked in the healthcare industry for over a decade and uh have just a lot of experience and just kind of working through things if you're new here type in newbie down below if you need some help and never done this before and if you are an operator and just kind of looking to expand or something like that type in operator down below as well uh and want to remind you as well Assisted Living investing we're here to help you
00:01:46
launch your Assisted Living business so if you have questions or need help with that along the way reach out to me on messenger or get over to assisted living investing. netcon or strategy U depending on your questions and if you want help set up that strategy session and we can have a conversation from there all right let's get into the topic for today again we're talking about how to go and buy one of those facilities that are for sale how to find them and I wanted to share something oh really quick before I get
00:02:16
into that I want to apologize for the video last week there was an audio issue I'm very aware of that um if you needed some help I'm actually building out a tool for that uh that I can give to people for free so uh if you are interested in that type in um calculator down below and I'll put you on a list so you you get notified once we create that that tool for you that we talked about in the live last week which was comparing a an existing facility purchasing an existing facility versus
00:02:44
doing a conversion on a home and a conversion there so if you're interested in that type in calculator down below and I'll make sure I get that over to you um let's see let's jump back over here free tools that you can use as you're looking to purchase an existing facility and this is how I got started started and these tools are incredible they they can help you out a lot they can really help you start making some progress and getting some traction and getting being able to look at real
00:03:11
numbers and just kind of help you through the process so there's three websites that I would suggest that you go to they're free for you to use and set up con um set up a profile and everything uh that you would need to do so you don't have to worry about that you just set up an account you can get even get in on them and browse without setting up an account so it super great tools they are bis byell loopnet and kxy um those are all domains and so if you go to those and set up you know start
00:03:42
looking you're going to be able to find Opportunities what's really cool is they actually will allow you to filter down to assisted living or Senior Living um on there and that's going to to let you it gives you a map let you look at things in in certain geographical areas lets you get down all the way to a system isted living and you can find a lot of opportunities on there and it's a super just a very easy tool this is actually how I got started I got on loopnet I was like I wonder if I can
00:04:11
find something on loopnet and I didn't realize there were filters and so I just like started digging through stuff and was able to to find the first opportunity that was not a a home that was conversion it was a home that was for sale and I was sitting in the office of my chiropractor waiting for my visit and I had I got there early had about 15 minutes and I went to call them uh call this this broker this listing broker for this opportunity that was local to me here in the Salt Lake area and I called
00:04:40
him and I had no idea what I was doing I had no idea what type of conversation I was supposed to have and I just said hey I found this thing on loopnet and I'm interested in it and he's like yeah we could send you some information on that we just need you to sign an ND I'll send that over what's your email and my brain was thinking I I have no idea what an NDA is like I I was like okay yeah here's my email send it over and then I immediately emailed my attorney and said hey I've got this opportunity they want
00:05:10
me to sign an NDA what is that and it's just a non-disclosure agreement it basically says you're going to receive information from them and you can't share it with anybody else that's essentially what it is so if you ever have somebody tell you um we need to sign an NDA that's very very standard inside of the industry so if you're new to this and you don't know what that is there you go um but that's how I got started was on Loop net and and from there that's how I really took things to
00:05:36
the next level as I was was getting into this so let's talk a little bit about that this is working with Brokers working with Brokers they are just incredible there's really kind of two kinds that you could be working with here and they kind of cross and things like that but at its core there's there's two different types of Brokers one is a listing broker and this is let's think real estate let's think um when you are buying a home you have a list listing agent that listing agent is
00:06:02
the person that is working with the seller and they are the one that puts that home on the MLS and uh they work through through that process a listing broker is essentially that they're just doing this um from with with Assisted Living you may as you are going through this process of finding opportunities you may find real estate agents that are listing a residential assisted living home that is actually pretty common because somebody thinks I want to sell this it's a home I'm just going to talk
00:06:34
to my friend that's an agent um down the street uh or my family member and they're going to try to sell it and there's I actually ran into one of those uh situations when we bought our second facility and made it a lot harder um it was so much easier to have a broker be involved because they know some of the intricacies of working with commercial side of of things and and it just was a lot more helpful for us to have somebody like that in our on our side and in our court uh that was helping us and in our
00:07:04
corner and helping us move things along so listing agent is one and the other is just a commercial broker that's that's what we used as we were getting started so a commercial broker is somebody that's going to be your Advocate think again when you're buying a home you hire an agent so that you can have somebody that's your Advocate that can help negotiate for you and helps you understand the contracts and and the different things that go into buying a home it's the same thing with this type
00:07:27
of a broker they're going to be on your side they're going to be helping you negotiate and understand the complexities of getting funding and closing and everything that's going to go through that process and they are honestly one of the the best um the best people that you can can get in contact with and and work with as you're going through this process in the accelerator course that I have on on the website I go through the importance of finding a good broker how to work with them and
00:07:57
how they can help you out so if you're interested in that get over to the website Assisted Living investing. netal again in YouTube there will be a link for that and if you want some extra coaching or want to learn a little bit more about that then get over to assisted living investing. netrat and we can have a call or type in strategy down below if you're on Facebook I can message you and if you are on YouTube I'll message you with a link uh so we can set up a call now let's talk a
00:08:22
little bit more about uh finding a broker and this is this is kind of one of the harder things that you can do um one is just cold Outreach and I shared that story with you about Loop net because that actually led me into talking to a broker and and starting to learn a little bit more about what uh what it takes for you to to find a broker and how to talk to a broker and and work with them through that process and it's really really helpful to get in contact with them and and make some progress that way so doing that cold
00:08:54
Outreach and having those types of conversations is great you could also do this by Googling somebody and saying you know commercial brokers in my area or or Brokers that work with assisted living in in my area those types of things are going to help you find those those Brokers and you just have a conversation with them you reach out and say hey I want to purchase this home what's the process there's my criteria and you're kind of building that up and and getting more information to have those
00:09:19
conversations so cold Outreach is great for a business that I that I started a few years ago novas Health which was the one I I've shared the story it was a business that failed but the broker that I used to help us find the the building for where we ended up putting that that business in was a cold Outreach on loopnet I reached out to like three or four went and did some site visits with with each of them found one I really liked and that's who I ended up working with until we closed on on an
00:09:46
opportunity so it just kind of gives you an idea there the second one is networking so it's getting in contact with people um contact like me people in the group and and those types of people that in the Facebook group and starting to reach out and have conversations with them and and building relationships so that you can uh find people that are going to help you out so networking is huge networking is is huge in in real estate in general in the Assisted Living World um but it's also going to be
00:10:16
really big for you as you're trying to find this broker and trying to find this person is going to help you along your investment Journey so those are the best ways for you to find that broker as as you're trying to get things uh started now what's the process for we actually getting started with this number one you want to outline your criteria you you want to say Okay I want a home that has 10 beds in it and I want it in this geographic location you need to have some parameters for for that criteria so
00:10:43
that when you go talk to a broker you're able to have that conversation with them and and say yeah this is exactly what I want and paint a picture for what you want and and the help that you need that's going to make it a lot easier for that conversation uh to be productive because then you can all be on the same page and and move things forward it's okay if you change your criteria and and tweak things a little bit as you learn more and get more information you want to have that criteria built out so that
00:11:10
it's pretty clear and and it's going to help you refine those those opportunities so rather than looking at the hundred opportunities that are out there you're going to be looking at 10 but they're the 10 that you really want and you're not wasting your time you're not wasting the time of a broker or anything like that the next thing is you want to create a business plan and you're going to need this business plan for a lot of things you're going to need it to um help get things get your
00:11:34
license with the state and help get uh funding and uh it's going to help you get some clarity on things it's going to help A lender just feel comfortable with you building that business plan is such an important piece of this we have the business plan checklist so get over to the website Assisted Living investing. netb checklist and you can grab that that checklist for free I also have the business planning guide we'll have a link for that and on YouTube as well where you can go to Assisted Living
00:12:00
investing. net BPG it's a pretty inexpensive way for you to get access to some templates and things to help you build a solid business plan that is the business plan that I use to help secure over one and a half million in SBA funding and it is built specifically for assisted living it's it's built in a way that I took things from four different lenders and from uh my experience with with assisted living and from the SBA itself to build this this solid business plan template it's going to help you
00:12:30
have all the things that you need to help you get the funding that that you need to to purchase a facility the third thing is finding that opportunity and this could be you know if you're working with a broker giving them that criteria and having them go out and find it or it could be you going out on loopnet and uh doing some of this yourself to to get started uh it could be any of those those things you have to go and find the opportunity and then the next thing the fourth thing there is you have to ask
00:12:55
for more information when you do that you can't just find an opportunity on lopet and be like oh that's a really cool house I think that would be cool even if you're not ready to buy reach out and and start having a conversation and start start getting comfortable and start putting yourself in that situation where you are going to be successful you got to start taking action is what you got to do so reach out ask them for more information sign that NDA it's totally fine you're you're not signing your life
00:13:22
away signing your house nothing nothing crazy like that so you want to do that get the information start analyzing it use the free calculator on the website and and get a feel for what those finan financials are going to look like so that you know how to make progress all right let's um get into Q&A here so if you have any questions make sure you type that I've got a few people live here and I see there's a comment by Anson so I'll get to that here in a second I think it was relevant to
00:13:46
something I was talking about a minute ago so I'll comment on that uh if you are on YouTube like the video well anybody like the video and then YouTube subscribe and ring the bell as well so you get notified when we put out this content we go live on Tuesday Mornings and we are putting out content on Thursdays as well and get over to the Facebook group on YouTube we will have a link for that there as well so you can get I put some extra content on there uh throughout the week that's valuable and
00:14:11
helpful in helping you make some progress and get some traction and if you want some help get over to Assisted Living investing. net strategy and fill out the form and we'll set up a time for us to call now Anon your question was or your comment uh your a real estate agent specializes in Al in in California so reach out to him if you are looking to purchase or sell a facility so Anson has some experience here in in the assisted living facility realm which is awesome uh and I mentioned earlier I said uh you
00:14:41
know some real estate agents don't have that experience but if you have somebody like ansen who is U that specializes in this this is the same thing with a broker you can specialize in in certain areas of of real estate and Anon it sounds like has a lot of experience doing that um he's specialized in that in California and so he'd be a great advocate he knows the the lay of the land I I don't know Anson so you need to have a conversation with him um but just based off of that um if you're looking
00:15:08
to do those things Anon might be a really good person for you to reach out to if you're in California so uh there you go Anon um if there are any other questions then let me know and uh we'll get to that but I wanted to thank everybody for watching if you have questions after the fact type those in you have questions in the Facebook group type those up and I I do my best to try to stay on top of all the questions that come into the group so I can answer them and and help you out along your
00:15:34
investment Journey because at Assisted Living investing I'm here to help you launch your Assisted Living business to create more time and Financial Freedom for you and for your family so thank you again for watching get over to the website Assisted Living investing. netv checklist we'll have links around so you can get access to that free business planning checklist and help you out um along your investment journey I want to thank you for watching uh and remind you you know remind you that it doesn't take
00:15:59
a lot just a little bit just keep making progress step by step by step if you keep going consistent and persistent you're going to be successful just take action you got this thank you for watching and have a great day
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