Top Banks for Assisted Living Investments: Who to Choose?
Jan 07, 2025
Starting an assisted living business is exciting, but choosing the right bank? That’s a big step too! Your bank will be a major part of your business journey, helping you grow, manage cash flow, and handle everyday finances like paying vendors. So, picking a good bank is a key move toward future success.
But how do you know which bank to choose? Let’s go through some helpful tips!
Check out the video, too:
Local vs. National Banks: Which is Better?
One of the first choices is between local banks and national ones. Both have pros and cons.
-
Local Banks: Local banks are often better for small businesses because they offer more personal services. They usually have lower fees and sometimes provide special programs for small business owners. Plus, by banking locally, you’re supporting your community!
-
National Banks: Big banks, like Chase or U.S. Bank, are great for convenience. They have branches all over the country, so you can access your account or get help no matter where you are. This can be handy if you travel a lot or operate in multiple states.
Many people in the assisted living business like local banks for their personal touch. When you’re planning to grow, local banks can offer flexible terms because they know you and your business.
Bank vs. Credit Union: What’s the Difference?
Now, let’s talk about another option: banks versus credit unions. Here’s the difference:
-
Credit Unions: Credit unions are member-owned and not-for-profit. They’re known for lower loan rates and friendly service because they’re focused on members. If you’re looking for cost-saving accounts or good loan rates, a credit union might be a great fit.
-
Banks: Banks are for-profit businesses. While they don’t always have the same low rates as credit unions, they often have more options for business banking, especially with larger accounts.
For example, I use a local credit union, and so far, it’s been a fantastic experience. Credit unions now offer great online banking and mobile apps, just like big banks. They’re also more affordable for small business owners on a budget.
Building Strong Banking Relationships
One of the best things about local banks and credit unions is the relationships you can build. When your bank knows you well, they’re more likely to support your business growth. This can mean better loan options, refinancing help, or even extra funds when you need them.
In the assisted living business, this relationship can be invaluable. Your bank can become a partner in your success, which is a big deal in an industry where financing is often critical.
What to Look for in a Bank
When you’re choosing a bank, here are some key things to consider:
- Do they offer online and mobile banking? Today, most banks and credit unions have these services, but make sure their platform is easy to use.
- What are the fees? Some banks charge monthly fees, while others might offer fee-free options for small businesses.
- ATM Access: If you’ll need cash often, check that they have ATMs near you.
- Business Savings and Checking Accounts: Some banks offer sub-accounts to help organize your finances.
- Extra Services: Look for perks like fraud protection, mobile deposit, or easy transfers.
Why Your Bank Choice Matters
Choosing the right bank is essential for running your assisted living business. From managing day-to-day expenses to securing loans, you’ll rely on this partner a lot. Local banks and credit unions often offer more personalized service, which is especially helpful for small businesses. National banks, on the other hand, might be more convenient if you’re on the move.
Whether you go with a local bank or a big one, make sure it’s the right fit for your business needs. And remember, a strong banking relationship is an investment in your business’s future!
Ready To Take The Next Steps?
To help you get started, download our Business Plan Checklist to ensure you have all the tools you need to create a successful business plan. This checklist will guide you through the essential elements to launch and grow your assisted living facility.
Need help figuring out where to start? Join the next Roadmap Challenge and build your launch plan with me.
Show full transcript 👇
Transcript
00:00:00
deciding who you want to bank with is is a really important decision you're going to be working with this with this company for years you're going to be getting on their website almost on a daily basis at least weekly certainly monthly and you want to make sure that you're working with somebody that you're comfortable with that you can have good conversations that have good customer service and and you feel comfortable working with them today in our video we're going to get into who you should bank with hey i'm
00:00:28
brandon gustafson and i own and operate two assisted living facilities and i created this channel to help people like you learn the ins and outs of investing in assisted living welcome to assisted living investing [Music] welcome back to assisted living investing in our last video we talked about um how do i set up a business bank account what's that process like what what is what do i need to do to to set up a business bank account and today we're going to be getting into who you should bank with
00:01:09
what are some of the options that you have and and who you should consider banking with as you get your business bank account up and running and and some of the things you want to take into consideration as you're getting that process up and running the first options that you want to look at is local banks versus national banks which one of those is is better i'll be just like completely blunt with you i prefer local banking i just feels a lot better there's generally going to be a lot more perks it's just it's nicer to
00:01:40
have a local bank nothing wrong with the national banks and you know there's a lot of advantages to working with them but especially if you're in a spot where you have you know you live in the location your facility is there you already have an existing relationship with a local bank going down that option is probably going to be the best one for you you don't need to go with somebody big you know like chase or us bank or something like that you don't need to go with them you can go with the local bank uh
00:02:08
that that you've always banked with that's totally fine they're going to have an option for you to to do a business bank account but i'm going to get into a little bit of the details of differences um specifically like what local banks can offer you so you have a good idea of what they can give you that a national bank just might not be able to offer so local banks are generally going to be easier to work with they're local to you to your facility really they're just a great option local
00:02:37
banks are are likely going to have less and smaller fees than a larger bank is going to have local banks they often have better services and products that they're offering than big banks do they just have better options they're not as generic and and one size fits all they're going to be able to handle the needs that that you have as a small business owner local banks are also there they're going to help support your local community and your local economy which is just extremely important
00:03:10
being doing what you can to support your local economy is really it's great i would highly encourage you to do that have no say in the matter you get to decide exactly what you want to do but supporting your local economy is is just extremely important um especially in times like we live in today so something that you want to be familiar with there big banks however do provide you some convenience so you know they're going to have branches nationwide so say you are on vacation you live in california
00:03:44
you're on vacation in new york you have something come up and you need to take care of it um you're banking with chase there's going to be a chase branch in new york you could run into and get things taken care of there at the bank rather than than working on the phone or trying to get through processes there it just there is some convenience there to having a big national bank that just kind of works in all the states that you're located in so it's something you want to consider
00:04:15
is there going to be a situation where you need that big national bank and should you go with them so again in my opinion i would highly suggest local banking local banking local banks have a ton of perks that you don't get with big banks and they're going to benefit you in the long run as you work on developing relationships with that local bank it could lead to better loans down the line it could lead you know if you want to look at refinancing it could look at you know expanding your business portfolio and
00:04:43
things like that developing a relationship with that local bank is really going to benefit you so i highly suggest local banking but you can look at what's going to be best for your situation as well the next thing i wanted to get into is a bank versus a credit union which one of those uh what's the difference between banks and credit unions i'm not going to get into all of it in this video i don't have enough time for it but at its crux a bank is a for-profit for-profit institution
00:05:13
that's owned by investors and they're seeking to make a profit for those investors and credit unions are member owned and they are non-profit institutions so they are a little bit more member focused and you know giving back to to the members that's what's important to a credit union credit unions uh they'll also also often have like lower interest rates if you're looking at getting a loan or you need some operating capital or you're looking to refinance or like i mentioned just a second ago
00:05:45
building your business portfolio or something like that and you need to you've established yourself as a business owner now you need to get access to more funds credit unions are going to typically have lower rates on those types of loans so you might typically they're going to have better customer service than a bank because they are so member focused they also have generally have low or no fee accounts available i talked about that in my last video so i'll link that up here but something else that you want to
00:06:14
just kind of take into consideration there that credit unions are going to generally have low or or no fees which is going to benefit you as a small business owner personally we do our banking with a local credit union over a bank we've found one that is just i've mentioned them several times they're just great to work with they have a great online banking option they have a great mobile app that allows us to do things you know several years ago i think banks were probably on the more on the cutting edge
00:06:44
of online and mobile banking but credit unions are really starting to catch up now and i i don't think there's any issues with with working with those types of credit unions i really enjoy them they have several branches in the states that we operate in and they just have incredible customer service i've talked to several customer service reps at our at our local credit union that we use and they have just been incredible um the credit union i'll give them a plug here is mountain america
00:07:11
credit union highly recommend them if they're in a state that you work in but if they're not that's okay there's going to be a credit union like that where you work where you live find those people if you already bank with them locally then great continue that that relationship and and shift a business account over to them and start working with them it's going to help you out a lot just do what's best for you and make sure that you're able to leverage some of those existing relationships that you have is
00:07:43
is just another thing that i would really highly recommend that you do the other thing that i mentioned this in in our last video is think about your needs i'll link that up here but i want to you know quickly give you an idea of what those were just really quick recap of those do you need mobile or online banking are you going to be doing mobile deposits transferring funds back and forth fees what types of fees are you going to be looking at do you need access to an atm savings and checking accounts and
00:08:14
sub accounts and any extra perks and protections so go ahead and watch that video i i went over that a little bit more in detail than i did here but those are things that you want to consider as you're trying to look for your bank on top of a local versus national and a bank versus a credit union what do you want to look for make sure it's something that meets your needs and make sure it's something that you're going to be happy with because you're going to be working with this this institution for
00:08:39
years so you want to make sure that it's a good relationship next video we're going to be getting into the the secret about direct deposits for medicaid payments how does that work with a bank uh what's that process like so i'm going to get into it and kind of give you an idea we've talked about the secrets of of how medicaid works i'll link that video up here but we're going to get into now the secret of direct deposits for medicaid payments and what that's like
00:09:06
to learn more about investing in assisted living make sure you visit me on assistedlivinginvesting.net i've got other content up there i have some free resources you can set up a consulting call with me we can have a conversation about your specific situation i can help you out through that process and then also please follow me on my other social media platforms we'd love to have conversations with you over there and remember it doesn't take a lot just a little bit just keep making
00:09:32
progress step by step by step if you keep making that progress you will be successful i promise thanks for watching [Music]
Download Your FREE Calculator
Stay connected with news and updates!
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.
Don't worry, your information will not be shared.
We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason.