Hello everyone, Look forward to meeting you guys in October here in my hometown. 

I have learned that assisted living is not simply multifamily with higher rents. It is an operating business wrapped in real estate, and the real estate can look attractive while the operation quietly destroys the investment.

1. What is the real resident revenue not the asking rate?
I want to see actual collections by resident level of care, private-pay versus Medicaid exposure, concessions, and move-outs. A facility can advertise a high monthly rate while its realized revenue tells a very different story.

2. Is demand actually strong in this micro-market?
Demographics are a tailwind, but “aging population” is not enough. I look at the local competitive set, occupancy, pricing, new supply, referral sources, and whether families in that trade area can afford the facility’s private-pay rates.

3. What does labor look like after normalizing the staffing model?
Payroll is usually the largest expense line. I want to understand staffing ratios by shift, overtime, agency labor, management depth, and whether the reported NOI assumes an owner is doing work that will need to be replaced after closing.

4. What are the licensing, life-safety, and deferred-maintenance risks?
In conventional apartments, a bad roof or HVAC problem is expensive. In assisted living, compliance failures can threaten the license, the census, and the business at the same time. I would rather find these issues before closing than explain them after.

interested in how others here evaluate senior housing. What is the one operating metric or diligence question you think investors consistently underestimate?