Leasing SFR to Assisted Living Operators

[Charles Plimpton]

Hello all,

I'm looking to buy SFR's in Southern California and lease them to assisted living operators. I just want to be a landlord--don't want to be a caregiver.

Do these sorts of deals actually happen in practice? Are RAL operators willing to lease or do they generally want to buy?

And if these deals do happen, are operators requiring landlords to deliver a property that is essentially ready to go for the use, or would they make alterations on their own? My ideal scenario is NNN leasing a property to a RAL operator and letting them do the alterations in exchange for reduced rent and/or a small tenant improvement allowance. I'm in shopping center leasing so I see it in similar terms: landlord leases an empty box to a restaurant/retailer and the tenant does their tenant-specific improvements.

I plan to look for properties that have the "bones" of what RAL operators are looking for (single-level, 4 or 5 bedrooms) and allow them to make the improvements they need. Is this a viable strategy or are operators going to be much more demanding about delivery condition?

Thanks,

Charles