Mastering Virtual Tours: Setup Tips for Assisted Living Success
Nov 24, 2024
Virtual tours are an amazing tool for anyone looking to invest in the assisted living business. Want to check out a property without leaving your home? Virtual tours make it easy, especially if you’re buying assisted living facilities out of state. Let’s talk about how these tours work and why they’re so important.
Check out the video too:
Why Virtual Tours Matter
A virtual tour lets you see the property’s layout, condition, and amenities without actually being there. This is especially handy if you’re managing a busy schedule or looking at properties far away. Instead of traveling, you can hop on a video call with the seller through FaceTime, Google Meet, or Zoom to tour the facility.
Setting Up Your Virtual Tour
Want a smooth, hassle-free virtual tour? Here’s how to set it up:
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Coordinate with the Broker
Start by talking to the broker or seller. Pick a time that works for everyone so the seller has time to prepare. -
Choose the Right Platform
Make sure you both agree on the video platform, whether it’s Zoom, Google Meet, or FaceTime. Do a quick test beforehand so there aren’t any tech hiccups during the tour. -
Ensure a Strong Connection
A stable Wi-Fi connection is key! Poor connection = blurry video and missed details. -
Set Aside Enough Time
Aim for at least an hour. This gives you time to look around and ask questions without feeling rushed.
Conducting the Virtual Tour
Alright, it’s tour time! Here are some things to check out during the virtual tour:
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Inspect Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment (FF&E)
Ask about beds, kitchen appliances, and air conditioning. Are they owned or leased? Knowing this can impact your investment. -
Understand the Seller’s Motivation
Find out why the seller is moving on. It can give you clues about the business and any potential challenges. -
Check for Repairs and Maintenance Needs
Ask about the condition of major systems like the roof, HVAC, and plumbing. Make sure there aren’t any big, costly repairs coming up. -
Evaluate Fire Safety Systems
Ask about fire suppression systems and whether they’re up to date with local safety rules. -
Look at Appliances
Ask about the age and condition of large appliances like refrigerators, washers, and freezers. -
Assess Layout and Condition
Pay attention to the floor plan, room sizes, and cleanliness. Are there any worn-out spots or signs of damage? -
Observe Residents (If Present)
If you get a chance, observe how residents interact with staff. This can give you an idea of the facility’s vibe and care standards.
After the Tour: What’s Next?
Now that your tour’s done, here’s how to wrap it up:
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Take Detailed Notes
Write down what you saw and any answers to your questions. These notes will be helpful later on. -
Follow Up on Questions
If something isn’t clear, ask the seller or broker for more information. Keeping that line of communication open is essential.
Final Thoughts
Virtual tours are a powerful tool for assisted living startup investors, offering a full look at a property without traveling. Follow these tips to make the most of your virtual tours and feel confident in your investment decisions.
Want more resources to help you make smart investments? Download our Business Plan Checklist.
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Show full transcript 👇
Transcript
00:00:01
[Music] hey guys it's brandon gustafson welcome back to assisted living investing i'm happy you're back here on the channel again for another video uh on how to get started investing in assistive living i hope the last few videos have been helpful going through those tutorials loop net biz by cell they've been able to find some of that information going through that agenda how that works and everything i hope those were valuable make sure you comment below let me know if going through those things doing
00:00:39
tutorials and and sharing content and or sharing resources like that is helpful to you this video is going to be more of me just talking to you back and forth a little bit but i'm happy to get through and do some of those tutorial videos and help you see how some of those resources are going to work so today we're going to talk a little bit about how to set up a virtual tour what a virtual tour is how it works and how you can use a virtual tour to see a facility without having to go there and see it in person
00:01:07
so this is a tool obviously that i used because i was investing out of state so i'm in utah i've got facilities in colorado and idaho and trying to get there is going to be a pretty lengthy drive you know it's a 10 hour 10 to 12 hour drive for me to get to my facility in colorado springs it's a six hour drive to get up to nampa idaho and so uh just getting there is it's a day or two um for me to get to those facilities and but i wanted to see them i wanted to make sure there was still something that
00:01:33
was going to work for me so we set up a virtual tour so what a virtual tour is is just coordinating with with the seller and uh just walking through it could be on facetime it could be google me it could be a zoom call uh just using there are so many resources out there now that you can use to go ahead and have those types of conversations and to see the facility without physically being there so that virtual tour is just a walk through they'll take their phone um with them and they'll just kind of
00:02:03
walk around the facility and show you what's there show you the room show you uh what the kitchen is like show you what's on the outside of the facility just kind of walk you through the entire thing so you can get a feel for exactly what it looks like before you say yeah this is something i want to see in person or yeah this is something that i think we should pursue that virtual tour is just key in helping you get started and finding the opportunity that's going to fit for you and finding a facility that works for
00:02:28
you the other awesome thing with virtual tour is it gives you a whole lot more perspective that still photos just can't give you so if you're able to do that photos you can't get a feel for exactly how big a facility is or how big the rooms are or what the layout of the facility is like you might be able to get floor plans you might be able to get pictures of a facility but you just can't get a real feel for it but doing that virtual tour you can see what it's like you can get a feel for how many
00:02:53
steps people are taking between rooms what the hallway is like is it really wide are you able to fit wheelchairs in it is it an open concept thing where you've got like a huge uh common room for everybody to join how is the the kitchen in relation to the rest of the room uh where's the dining room how does that all lay out and what does it look like pictures just don't give you that but doing the virtual tour doing the virtual walkthrough is gonna be able to get you that type of information i'd also encourage you to
00:03:20
some some of these facilities are gonna do like an actual virtual tour where they have it on a website so you can go through and you can click through those and in my experience are just like they're good um they're better than pictures but they are not the best and being able to have somebody where you can have a conversation be like hey could you go back i wanted to see this or i had a question like what it looks like you've got a hole in the wall there or it looks like the thermostat is
00:03:46
50 years old is there something we could do to fix that or like tell me how are some of those things working having that person on the phone with you while you're walking through the facility is just an awesome resource so i would highly encourage that you set up your virtual tour with the seller or at the very least with the broker so that somebody is there they can answer questions for you you can move around wherever you need it to go and and they'll be able to give you more information that way this video i'm not
00:04:14
going to get too much into terms like i did the last video but make sure you comment below if you like that i can find terms and like throw them up there and we can go through those together i love being able to do that but in this video i'm going to really just be getting into it and talking about virtual tours and how they work if you have questions about what a virtual tour is they'll make sure you comment below so the reasons why you might be doing a virtual tour like i mentioned it could
00:04:36
be covid it could be sometimes the seller doesn't want any of their residents to know that they're selling a facility and so they don't want anybody to come and see it uh oftentimes whether you're doing a virtual or tour or an in-person tour i need to pretend like you are trying to place one of your own loved ones in the facility so you can get a feel for what it's like as a buyer because it just makes people uncomfortable which is very understandable you have the technology now to still go
00:05:03
and see a facility uh have conversations with people so use that technology to your advantage make sure you're using all the resources that are available to you so you can be successful as you're doing your underwriting and doing your due diligence and trying to find the right facility for you that you want to purchase and and then operate going forward so how do you set up a virtual tour it's a great question so how do you set up that virtual tour the the first thing is to have a conversation with the
00:05:28
broker it could be your broker that you're working with it could be the listing broker that broker actually might be able to work with both of you and that that's totally fine but talk with the broker make sure you set up an appointment uh that works don't just um don't just willy nilly go out there and say hey i want to do a virtual tour of your facility and i need to do it in the next 30 minutes that's not going to work so make sure you're you're going through proper channels to get that virtual tour
00:05:53
uh set up give the seller an opportunity to clean things up make sure that they're comfortable doing the virtual tour with you so that you know just like a an in-person tour of a facility or a home you want to make sure that that seller is comfortable that they know that it's happening so set that up through the broker that's going to be the best person for you to work through in setting up the facility the other thing that i would suggest doing is make sure there's an expectation that that you have an hour
00:06:20
of their time you might not need a full hour and that's okay but make sure that you have more time than you think that you need scheduled and set aside for that virtual tour i would hate for you to do the virtual tour get in there say oh yeah it's only going to take 15 20 minutes and that's all you tell them that they need and so they set up their pharmacist to come or they've got their nurse coming or you know whatever happens whatever that facility administrator or seller might have on tap you don't want
00:06:49
it to kind of bump up against it so make sure you have plenty of time to have a virtual tour and then leave some time for a question and answer some q a at the end with the seller so you can really get a feel for for things and then don't be scared to ask questions as you're going through the facility sellers are are so open to telling you information they are so passionate about their facilities in every experience that i've had doing a tour virtual tour having conversations with sellers they
00:07:16
love working in assisted living they're getting out it could be for personal reasons it could be financial reasons there's a myriad of reasons why they could be getting out of the facility and getting out of the industry but in my experience they still are super passionate about it and and so they'll tell you about things they'll tell you oh yeah like we've had this facility now for 20 years and the there's a little bit of a leak in the in the sink we're able to just fix it this way but
00:07:41
it's something you might want to take care of or in your mind you're like i probably need to take care of that so but make sure you're also taking notes as you're doing that virtual tour um have a pen and paper have something that you're typing up notes on so that you can be aware of those things so that if you ever do go do an in-person tour or you have an inspector coming to look at the facility that you say hey the sink is is leaky could you look at that and tell me like is it just like a quick fix the thing do
00:08:06
i need to replace apply pipe or is it like a full sink like i've got to do the entire thing so as you're doing that virtual tour make sure you're aware of some of those things that are coming up the other key thing is going to be make sure that you're both comfortable with the tool that you're using for that virtual tour whether it's facetime or google or zoom make sure it's something that they both have devices that it works on um so facetime apple and android they don't always get they don't
00:08:31
always work well together and so if they are an apple user and you're an android user or vice versa and one of you wants to use facetime the other one doesn't have it or or something like that it's going to make having that virtual tour extremely difficult it's going to add added stress to both of you so just make sure that you're very comfortable with the flat with the platform that you're that you're both going to be using so that you can have a successful tour of the facility and the last tip that i
00:08:58
would give you advice on setting up the virtual tour is make sure that the seller knows that they need to be connected to the internet don't rely on their on their cell phone network especially if they're doing this over for their phone if they're doing it on a computer they're going to be connected to wi-fi but if they're on their phone they might be just trying it on the cell the cell tower as they're walking through the house they might hit a dead spot or or who knows what happened so make sure that
00:09:23
you set up an expectation that they need to be on their wi-fi so that you can have a more stable connection and people don't get dropped and things it's still going to be bumpy in my experience it still can be a really rough ride there's going to be lag and things like that but the the more uh control that you implement at the beginning setting an expectation that it should be on wi-fi it's going to help you out and and it's going to be a really big benefit for you there so what are some questions that you
00:09:53
should ask when you're doing a virtual tour that's that's also an awesome question a list of things i'd encourage you to probably get on and do some googling of your own to try to figure out exactly which terms or which types of questions you should be asking people when you do that virtual tour uh but some things that i have kind of kept in mind as i'm doing the virtual tour these are some of the questions that i want to to ask people so first of all you want to see what type of ffa furniture fixtures and
00:10:21
equipment is going to be included in the cell and kind of what the condition of those things are so as you're going through and you're seeing oh every single room has a bed um ask them hey are those beds the residents or are they part of the facility and they'll tell you and then if it's part of the facility you can say how old are they how frequently are you replacing those beds and just kind of getting a feel for what that looks like one of my facilities we go through beds relatively quickly i
00:10:47
would say they last three to five years and and we have to change them out because our residents are they just kind of beat them up this is not our elderly care facility it's just like they'll be on the beds 24 7 and and so beds will just get sunk in box springs get sunk in so just make sure you're aware of that might be a need that you have so ask questions about furnitures fixtures and equipment i would ask them why they're selling people are going to be able to tell you that their broker might
00:11:15
not want them to but they'll tell you they'll be honest with you and and it's good to have a conversation and oftentimes it's going to be a financial situation maybe they're getting close to retirement they just don't want to deal with it anymore it could be an investor um like yourself that they started out with a few smaller ones and they want to get into something bigger and so they're just kind of shifting around their um their portfolio it could be a myriad of reasons and
00:11:39
whatever the reason is it's okay don't judge people for the reason for selling but it's good good to get that information from from the seller as well you'll want to ask if there's an hoa if there is an hoa what are the fees how has the neighborhood handled an assisted living being in the hoa or just in the neighborhood even if there's not an hoa i get a feel for what the neighborhood is like and what an hoa might feel like and just make sure that you're having a conversation there it
00:12:06
might it might require that you have a conversation with the hoa to let them know that ownership is being transferred for this facility and you want to make sure that things stay the same and that there won't be any issues going forward so that's another really key thing that you want to ask as you're having that conversation with the seller i would ask them if there have been any major repairs recently um if there have been what those are are there any major repairs that need to happen like is the
00:12:31
ac unit 20 years old and you might need to replace it is the roof now 40 years old and and it needs to be replaced or something like that uh is there any deferred maintenance that they've just been putting off because they had in their mind they're going to be selling they're like oh i'll just let the the next owners deal with that not that that's a bad thing you're probably going to find it facilities that are for sale but it's really good for you to be aware that those things
00:12:53
are out there and what they are and just kind of get an understanding of why maybe they didn't replace it or what they have replaced recently so that you know what you may or may not need to worry about specifically i would be asking things around like the roof hvac plumbing you know those types of larger expenses that are that are going to be out there you want to make sure that you have a good understanding and also when you're doing a home inspection that you're having those things covered and looked into
00:13:18
make sure that you have a really good understanding of exactly what's going on at the facility in the house so that you know you know if you get in and you're going to have to replace the roof the next five years that you can build that into your loan or or whatever you need to do that's something that's really important another thing with assisted living oftentimes you're going to need to have a fire suppression system i think in the states that i've worked in that's a
00:13:42
requirement so i would ask them do you have fire suppression in here if not like why were you grandfathered in and so you didn't have to have it i'm gonna need to do it or can i get grandfathered in as well our suppression system is it working is it up to date are you making sure that everything is checked out on an annual basis like it should be is it is the phone line in there what kind of a phone line is connected to it like those are really good questions to ask and something that i have overlooked
00:14:06
in the past and so you want to make sure that you have a good understanding of that fire suppression system and making sure that everything is kind of in place there states are becoming more aware that that's a something that needs to be there and they're kind of clamping down on it and so having good information on what that fire suppression system is like is just going to be beneficial for you as as you move forward i'd ask if there are any major issues with any of the appliances you know if
00:14:32
there's like a standalone freezer bridge washer dryer some of those types of larger units that are just a little more costly what's the age how are they functioning that type of stuff make sure you're having questions there another one is do the rooms have like individual ac units is it uh just like a general central air kind of what's the situation with the air conditioning the hvac in in the facility and what does that look like and how have things been maintained are there records of it and
00:14:58
those are also really good questions to ask and just be aware of as you're going through the tour of the facility then some things that you probably want to try to take notice of as you're doing your your tour of the facility as best you can as you're doing a virtual tour can be hard to to catch some of these things but just try to take note of it um i think it's worth that so take note of what the floors are like does it look like there are big stains on the floors is there mixed carpet or do you have
00:15:26
carpet in rooms and hardwood and in other areas laminate flooring is it hardwood or laminate flooring like get a feel for that what does the paint look like how do the windows look do they need some attention are how old are the windows that might be a question you could ask the the owner are you going to need to replace windows soon like those types of things you want to try to keep an eye out for and see are are there any big cosmetic type issues that that i need to to get done to make it look like a really nice
00:15:55
facility is something that you'll want to be aware of as they're doing the walk through try to keep an eye if you see any residents look happy are they just sitting there not looking happy kind of get a feel for our is the seller interacting with the residents as they go through like oh hi how are you are they inviting to to them just kind of keep an eye on what those interactions look like that's going to be really helpful um to just kind of get a feel for what the culture is like in
00:16:20
the facility um so that you know kind of what you're getting into and what the expectation might be there the residents in the facility try to keep an eye on what the layout of of the house is as they're walking through does it flow nicely are there are there good open common spaces for people are there a lot of halls that you have to go through and look like and just kind of get a feel for what that layout looks like as as you're doing that virtual walkthrough of the facility i get a feel for what the
00:16:48
size of the rooms are like is it something where you've only got one bed in there and it's already really cramped is it a semi is a semi-private room where you've got multiple beds in there is there a lot of room what's the closet space like some of those are kind of hard to look at when you're doing a virtual tour but it's also kind of helpful to see just kind of get a feel for what it looks like or does these rooms look like really like properly sized and they're perfect for it there
00:17:10
are rules and regulations around that so you're not going to have just like a little tiny cramped room you'll be able to kind of get a feel for what it looks like and and make sure that the residents are comfortable and that it's something that you would be comfortable putting your loved one in um like that for me is something that i always use as as kind of a key takeaway is this something that i would want my grandparents to to live in and if the answer is yes then i think i'm in a good
00:17:33
spot there so that's kind of a good rule of thumb to look at as i'm looking at facilities that are for sale and doing that virtual walkthrough so that's kind of an overview of what virtual walkthroughs are a few tips on questions to ask things to keep an eye out for i hope that was useful make sure you like comment subscribe and comment down below let me know if if there's anything any questions we should ask as well things that you've had experience doing a virtual tour that i
00:17:56
may have missed make sure you let me know what those are so that other people can learn from that and we can learn together i think this is super valuable next time we're going to be talking about what how to set up and and how to do an in-person tour so we went to virtual tours this time we'll talk about in-person tours next time so that you know what that process is like and how you can get through that and a lot of the same things that we went over today but you're gonna be doing it in person and so there's a
00:18:24
little bit it's a little bit easier to catch some of those things and to go outside and see what it's like on the outside of the facility and and really get a feel for what it looks like so we'll go over that next time again make sure you like subscribe and comment down below so that i can answer any questions that you have make sure you let me know if there are other videos that you want me to go over if you have any questions so i can reach back out and let you know and and help you through your process of helping
00:18:50
you find a facility i'm so excited that we're doing this together learning together and excited to have you on on the next video and uh yeah have a good day and we'll talk to you later [Music] you
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