How to determine if there is a market for disabled ready homes

Question

Hello fellow Pocketeers, a little background, I am part of an investment team, who operates in the Central Florida area (Polk county, Lakeland, Bartow, Mullberry, Winter Haven, Auburndale) while we mostly deal with traditional SFR's (Single Family Rentals) we recently purchased a property which has been modified to provide access to people with disabilities (Wheel chair ramp, over sized doors, over sized showers etc.). We initially investigated whether there would be a market for disabled persons, we consulted with a local social worker, and a local healthcare worker, they did not think there would be much of a market. As a team we decided to convert the property back to conventional sizes for regular rentals. Recently while our crew was working on the house remodel, my foreman told me that a Woman stopped by to ask if the property was available for rent, as she was looking for a property with disability access, unfortunately he did not get her contact information, but that encounter awoke a curiosity in me.

My question is, has anyone ran into a situation similar to this where you were able to find a market for these types of rentals? or would you have any recommendations as to where to look and find out if there may be a market for this type of a rental? would these types of rentals generally cost more because of the required access?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Glenn McCrorey · Answer

@Christian Paez @Johnny Hastings Guilty as charged. The BP one wasn't too good because they made me talk about a bunch of other things but the Kevin B podcast was strictly about special needs housing. I start with the end customer then find the house. In your case, reach out to companies that provide Home and Community Bases Services (HCBS). This is where 3 to 5 individuals live in a house and share expenses while a Medicaid funded company provides these daily living services. Google that and your area and see what you find. Glad to help in any way.

Johnny Hastings · Answer

I did a little digging. The guest's name was: Glenn McCrorey. He was on episode 159 of Kevin's cast. A quick google search turned up that he was also on the BP cast. I can't vouch for the BP cast yet, but the info on Kevin's cast will get you a wealth of info. You can find that at KevinBupp.com.

Glenn McCrorey · Answer

@Christian Paez question 1...no question 2-4... I rent to the company not the individuals, the company is on the lease and yes everyone has their own bedroom. question 6.... you have a discussion with the representative from the company about what if any modifications are needed and who is going to pay for them. question 7... if you put in a ramp or something it has to meet the city's code. question 8-9...not commercial just normal residential rental.

Christian Paez · Answer

@Glenn McCrorey the information you have provided is invaluable, I scurried over to Kevin B podcast, and looked up your episode, and I must say that is great information. Now to start looking for companies who provide HCBS in our area, I did have a question about the companies who provide these services, are these generally the same companies who provide Assisted living?Another quick question, when you mention that 3 to 5 individuals, do you treat them as separate tenants? are they each renting a room? or is this all a single rental? How do you find out what kind of modifications are necessary for the potential renter? do the modifications have to meet some kind of code? do the properties have to adhere to commercial standard code? or do they still adhere to residential?Sorry for so many questions, it's just that as I keep typing other questions keep popping up.

Gavin Welch · Answer

I have sold a couple over the years, like you we rehab homes. Either there is not a demand for this niche or I couldn’t figure out to get in front of these tenants

Christian Paez · Answer

@Johnny Hastings Thanks for the quick response, and also finding the specific podcast, I do remember hearing that podcast a while back, this is very helpful.

Johnny Hastings · Answer

There was an episode of Kevin Bupp's Real Estate Investing for Cash Flow podcast that discussed this exact subject in detail, with an expert; it was perhaps an hour long. If you could look through his feed of back episodes, you'd likely turn that up.From what I remember, many of these types of folks are on some kind of disability, and they work through organizations that help them find housing and provide some financial assistance. You could do some digging and see if there's such an organization in your area. It seems like a rather lucrative niche to get into, if you could get tied up with the organizations that provide that assistance. Sorry for the somewhat vague response, but if you can find that episode of his podcast, then I guarantee you'd have all the info you want.