All Forum Posts by: Shane H.

@Mel Jeffrey what do you have?

@Jared Vincent what state are they in?

@Jamie Beltran

I dont know Wisconsin's regs but I'd guess most states are somewhat similar with their own sets of quirks in the rules/regs.  

Are you not keeping the executive director or not planning on hiring one?   If one of you is planning on taking on that role you just bought yourself a full time job.

How large of a project are you looking for?

I'm working on something that I may make happen 1st quarter 2019 - and could likely do it myself but have another idea that would be a short term play for an outside investor - they'd just own the RE for a year or two then sell to me later so they'd exit and move on to the next one.

For the asking price those houses are likely all going to be dumps.

I've lived in Topeka for the past year and do not want to invest here in rentals.  The city has a lot of cleaning up to do - has lots of potential but all the big money lives out of town in Lawrence or Western burbs of KC or the SW part of Topeka, or for those simply not wanting to live in town regardless of your resource level you locate out in the country/county like we did.   Acreage on a blacktop road out of city limits I've learned is a gold mine here due to folks feeling like I do and not feeling safe living in town.  I think we go to Kansas City (an hours drive from our house to Downtown) to do activities more than we do in Topeka.  

 My goal next  year is to get involved in the chamber or some sort of committee that could possibly steer development one way or the other - 

To the OP - id seriously do your homework unless you want to be a slum lord.  

Is the only facility they own?

@Akhil Viz be careful in that zip code - some decent pockets of areas but there you can be on a street where everyone is a meth head or the next is some 40-60 yr old blue collar workers taking care of their homes to more crime ridden areas.

Definitely is not an area to bank on any appreciation but you can cash flow if bought right and you get in a decent area to attract decent tenants unless you want to be slum lord.

@Daniel Rutherford welcome Daniel

@George Blower - George is a good dude as well - George and his company helped me setup the financial vehicle to get into my present career just at a year ago.

In the company of good people.

Sorry Gwilym - missed your reply.  I'm sure the off site management can be successful but it would boil down to a couple things in my short stint of experience -- how good are they and how good are the people on the front lines working at your facility.

If you want to own the entire business/real estate etc - then it's much more involved than just owning the real estate and leasing it out to an operator.  Your reputation is on the line every day - and this is a very emotional decision families make putting their loved ones in the care of someone else 24/7.  Lots of regulations come with this and how many depend on the size of the facility.  

I had a lot of bumps in the road on my journey and did not buy the business I was supposedly getting on paper however starting this summer I believe we turned a corner.  We had a good reputation in the community and a great operator, but the operator needed guidance and help to steer the ship to calmer waters.  I looked into having someone else run the facility when I was a bit overwhelmed as one of my possible maneuvers earlier this summer/late spring but glad I didnt do it.  I dont think a management company would have taken some of the steps or put the legwork in that I did.  Part of our appeal in the community and amongst the residents and their families is they get to see me active and around (I dont have to be there every day - if I was there one or 2 days a week part of the day that would suffice enough but I like being there at times - will like being there more once I get my office fixed up in view out basement of the facility my office now sucks so I like to work from home a lot)

For example something as simple as changing up how we order food and where we get it and who orders it has saved us approximately $1500-2+k a month roughly (feeding roughly 30-34 people 3 meals a day + snacks).  The way I'm doing it most management companies I dont think would like the system but I could be wrong.  We do not use a food supplier since they are a complete rip off and unless you are spending hundreds or 10's of k's per month you have no leverage on a food supplier to lean on them and get their costs down.   I've set up accounts at 2 of our area grocery stores and Sams and had our lead cook start ordering food instead of our executive director.  The lead cook and our other cook take turns picking it up.  One store is a backup in case of emergencies so we can order food online and have it delivered the next day for $5.  The other store we order the bulk of our stuff from for $5 will have the order ready the next day or same day sometimes and we just park outside, call a # when we're there and they bring it to the car.  In some other markets this same store does delivery but not here yet.  We also get a lot of stuff from Sam's.  I just showed them how I wanted the food ordering done and then stepped back and let them do it.  So far they've been doing a good job.   Having our cooks order the food has also probably freed up around 10 hours or so a week for our ED to do other high level things.  (And also I went in depth on this for a month doing it myself - you'd never think it but the local Kroger chain is for the most part less expensive on MOST things we order vs Sam's and Wal Mart - I was literally breaking everything down to the ounce - and also factoring in time it would take for staff to make it to a Wal Mart and pick up groceries and the overall headache of dealing with Wal Mart staff - anyways if you get off brands if you have a major grocery chain I'd think you'll find they are more cost effective)  (PS - I also spent a lot of time talking about food and supplies as I think most would find this is probably the most expensive monthly line item expense after staffing)

One thing I haven't tackled yet is changing our chemical supplier and firing ecolab - it's a lower hanging fruit of probably saving 200-500 a month depending on who I go with - not insignificant but there's other bigger fish to fry for now but I'll get them out soon.

Anyways the biggest struggles if you want to be owner of RE and business is STAFFING - that will be the biggest struggle - we are doing better but not where I want to be yet.  After that it's controlling costs and cash flow - as if you are not all private pay and for example have some govt payers or local programs you've partnered with they are slow to pay so you have to stay on top of them.

I'm still working on this and have a LONG ways to improve to be a better manager myself but starting January 1 I will start handing out cards with a token of appreciation inside on all staff b-days, employment anniversaries and try to pick someone once a mo or every other month and do something for them or simply bring in lunch, drinks etc.  I already let them eat free at our facility but staff can come from lower means so things like this mean a lot and they are in this line of work more than likely due to the fulfillment they get out of serving people and making them happy.  So If I dont take care of them they'll leave and go somewhere else if they are paid less or even for a simple thing as making .10 cents more an hour.

I'm trying to get our offices redone and mine will be the last to have anything done - first one on the list is my executive director, then our nurse, then I'll construct a decent breakroom/mini office where at the CMA/CNA station - again not things to worry about if you're running a home plus - but dont shove someone running a home plus into a hole and not give them decent equipment or a space they can make their own - take care of them and finding a good operator/executive director will make or sink your business!

I'd try to start with 24 beds with 2 home plusses close together - I'm probably biased but believe it gives you more scale - with that many beds you can find a decent opeator/executive director, keep a nurse on staff etc - with just 12 or less it would be very tough unless you are acting in one of those roles and working in the business.

@Michael Stamps - how have the turnouts been?

I've been unable to attend all summer due to being tied up either with our business or family events the day the meetings are scheduled - hope to be able to attend the next one.

Do you know if there's a way we can get some sort of networking group or if there is already a networking group for contractors?  

I know no one here and we need projects completed at our facility.  Wanting to build up my network of contractors here.  There is a FB group a wichita contractor started that makes it easy to connect with folks and also the wholesale groups -- I've started one of them geared towards Wichita, but I can not find any for Topeka/Lawrence - every investor in this area and contractor seems to be underground and hard to find.  I've started a FB group for Topeka contractors and Real Estate but haven't been able to get any traction to find members - kind of the chicken or the egg argument on that one - a NE KS Wholesale RE/Networking group would probably be good to start on FB as well.

How can we get an online movement started?  Would make it easier for all to do  business.

So far I've got a couple carpet guys to install flooring when we need it - I've found a plumber - would like one more - 

My needs are:

• Plumbing company that specializes in line scopes and can use a camera - 
• Plumbing company that can work at night to possibly replace some of our older main sewer line in the slab when I'm ready to upgrade
• Any Fire Sprinkler company/Contractor besides Jayhawk - I'm afraid I'll need to go to Wichita or KC to find one - seems they have a monopoly here
• Contractor for IT - just someone that can come in set up computers on occasion and do higher level network security or setup for me when needed
• Blog author
• A GC that can do some light remodeling - such as reframing an office - move a wall
• A commercially licensed GC that can eventually do a complete commercial kitchen remodel and add on when we are ready to
• Soil company/Engineering firm to help determine how many trees we can remove off the creek bank in back of our building - and possibly build a retention wall
• HVAC contractor for building HVAC Upgrade - likely need an engineering firm and then contractors that can do the work - I'd want to buy my own equipment so I'm not overpaying for materials
• For my personal house - Brick Mason
• Painters
• Finish Trim Carpenter for light remodeling - can also do projects in the Senior Center
• 2nd Electrician that can do residential projects and help with upgrading some equipment in the senior center.

(Keywords - Topeka, Kansas City, Lawrence, NE Kansas, North East Kansas)