Should I try RAL? or just lease to someone who is established?

[Denise Jdsmom]

Hi Everyone! I'm in Maryland and have a house that I was originally planning on flipping, but found this as a possible way to make money as well. I am interested in finding people who are in the business of RAL and would like a long term lease. The house has 8 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms.

Main floor -- 1 bathroom (shower, no bathtub), 1 bedroom, VERY LARGE living room, as well as an additional small living room, dining room, mudroom and kitchen.

2nd Floor -- 1 bathroom (with bathtub), 7 bedrooms, no living area or any other area on the 2nd floor.

I don't really want to deal with getting a license or taking care of ppl, I just want my monthly rent paid on time. I honestly don't know a lot about Residential Assisted Living, Foster Adult Care or what have you. I found out about it yesterday and am starting into the rabbit hole. 

I am a mom of 3 and would be living in the RV in the back. Until we move on to our next flip, which should be later in the year. Which is why I was thinking of doing RAL, myself, I heard that I don't need a license for 1or 2 people (not sure if that is even true). I'm a SAHM (stay at home mom), since the pandemic, I've drastically reduced my time working in my profession. I do have medical background but no degrees, I can find help if needed, I just don't know how difficult it would be to:

A) Find clients 

B) Rent out rooms to them 

C) Pricing in my area

D) How much the insurance would run up for this and 

E) Fixes to property that are necessary in order for this to be done correctly

In an ideal world, someone would come by, walk around my property and tell me everything I need to fix and say, either, "Once you fix all this, I can lease from you for $XX or if you do all these fixes and want to avoid too much hassle you can rent it out to 2 ppl for $XX, in fact I know of 2 people and would love to get a commission from you if you decide to rent to them!" 

Again in an ideal world, that would happen, but I'd be happy with just getting pointed in the right direction, youtube videos that don't say a bunch of nothing then advertise a package, info on FB or other social media groups that have valid info on this and I can network or really any advice in order to start this journey. 

[Sendhil Krishnan]

I'm not sure an RAL would make the best use of this house due to the two story nature. If you have a split floor plan it makes it less ideal due to safety issues (stairs) and supervision issues. Typically if you have one main living room, it is easier for caregivers to keep an eye on all the residents. Assuming there are two caregivers, one could be in the living room, and another could help residents that may need assistance in the bedrooms. If you have split floor plans, you have multiple areas that need coverage and therefore to reduce liability you would actually need more caregivers or assistants. It's not impossible to do but it certainly can add extra costs. An adult foster care facility would probably more doable as the adults are more independent and may not need constant supervision. Remember adults in RALs are typically 75 years and older and typically have greater needs. You definitely don't want them falling where they are not easily seen by caregivers) and even tripping down the stairs as well. 

Hope that helps!