Seniors For Living

The economy has been the common denominator for many of the housing market’s woes in recent years. But after years of shouldering the majority of the blame, things may finally be turning around – at least in a small corner of the senior housing industry.

According to an article by Elizabeth Ecker from SeniorHousingNews.com, providers are exploring the opportunities inherent in a perhaps unlikely place: the “distressed assets on their balance sheets.” Deals are not easy to make, as experts in Ecker’s article attest, but these troubled properties provide fertile ground for those providers who are committed to transforming them.

Rick Shamberg, whose firm specializes in “underperforming senior living assets,” describes the potential that such seeming liabilities present, such as loan modification or “working toward foreclosure to change ownership and then turning around the property to fill vacant units.”

Don’t expect this trend to spark a national turnaround, says Bobby Guy, author of From Distress to Success and an attorney who specializes in distressed acquisitions. However, Guy affirms, there is a silver lining: “For those who can afford to play in the distressed market and have balance sheets to support bank underwriting, this time is a huge opportunity—the best in our lifetimes.”

Read more about trends in retrofitting historic buildings for senior living purposes.