Senior housing (NOT assisted living) in Michigan

[Jam Jackson]

After thinking aloud and speaking to baby boomers within my family - just wondering whether investors have found success in investing in multifamily properties that are restricted to those 55+....specifically 3+ units. I'm not talking assisted living or any kind of housing with any level of nursing/chore care. Simply properties which are only rented to independent seniors. My mom, who lived in San Diego, often talks about the variety and number of properties in that area specifically for active/independent seniors. Though MI is obviously not the draw CA is (enticing people of all ages to move there)....we do have an aging pop and our own large pop of baby boomers so just wondering whether anyone has found success in this arena in MI? If so, what has your experience been like and what strategies have you had to employ to find success?

[Kevin Spillers]

After 6 years of buying 50 year old SFH's and fixing them up and renting them I realized that I was tired of repairing old crappy houses that were poorly built in the first place. I also noticed that my best tenants were older folks--they didn't move often, took care of the properties, didn't throw wild parties and actually paid their rent on time. So 14 years ago I designed and built a 4-plex for 55+ tenants that takes many of their special needs into account (36" doorways, easy access large showers, etc.). Last week I finished my 53rd unit and I have 8 more under construction with 30 units planned for next year. My occupancy rate has been over 99% and I have had exactly ONE eviction in these 14 years. All rents are required to be auto-drafted from tenant's accounts and they don't have a problem with that--on the 4th of every month I log into my online account and with the strokes of a few buttons, all rents are drafted into my account. These apartments could be built anywhere in America, look around you--the whole country's getting older, not just in retirement areas. The other beauty of it is that I build high quality construction, 2 x 6 exterior walls with blown in foam, 5/8's decking, architectural shingles, upgraded fixtures, expensive toilets that never clog, low-maintenance exteriors, etc. This keeps my repair costs and property management needs to a bare minimum. I highly recommend finding a way to cater to the needs of seniors where you are, it's a great business and you can feel good about providing quality housing to people who've worked hard their whole lives at a reasonable price.