How To Replace Your Income With Real Estate In 2026 Even With No Experience

Why Senior Housing Investing Is Gaining Momentum

Senior housing investing continues to attract wealthy professionals, entrepreneurs, and multifamily investors searching for recession resistant opportunities backed by powerful demographic trends. In this episode of the Lifetime Cash Flow Through Real Estate podcast, Debora Randall shares how she transitioned from international economic development work in Africa into the senior housing space and why she believes this asset class offers both financial upside and meaningful social impact.

Debora explains that the growing demand for assisted living and memory care facilities is creating long term opportunities for investors who understand operations, demographics, and resident care. With the aging population rapidly increasing and new development costs rising dramatically, many operators are focusing on acquiring and repositioning existing facilities rather than building from the ground up. The conversation highlights why experienced investors are paying close attention to occupancy trends, tertiary markets, and operational execution in senior housing investing.

Debora Randall’s Path Into Real Estate Investing

Before entering real estate, Debora Randall spent more than two decades working in Africa as an agricultural economist focused on scaling businesses that create sustainable economic growth. Her experience helping companies adapt and survive through changing economic conditions shaped the way she approaches investing today. She shares how global economic shifts, foreign aid reductions, and the rise of AI reinforced the importance of building passive income streams and diversifying beyond traditional employment.

Debora discusses how joining Rod Khleif’s Warrior program gave her the framework, relationships, and confidence to pursue real estate investing seriously. Rather than chasing quick wins, she focused on finding an asset class aligned with her values. Senior housing investing stood out because it combines business fundamentals with the ability to improve the quality of life for elderly residents and their families.

Key Lessons About Senior Housing Investing

One of the biggest takeaways from the conversation is the importance of operations in senior housing. Unlike traditional multifamily properties, senior housing facilities require exceptional management, strong staffing, and systems designed around resident care. Debora emphasizes that even the best underwriting and business plans can fail without proper execution.

The discussion also covers several important trends shaping the industry:

• The shortage of senior housing beds is expected to grow significantly as the population ages.
• Memory care facilities remain in particularly high demand because of rising Alzheimer’s and dementia cases.
• Tertiary markets can outperform larger primary markets due to limited competition and higher occupancy stability.
• Existing facilities may offer better investment opportunities than new construction because development costs continue to rise.
• Financing can be challenging when occupancy is low, making creative financing structures and strong banking relationships essential.

Rod and Debora also discuss the operational differences between independent living, assisted living, and memory care communities. They explain how thoughtful facility layouts, resident engagement, and community integration can improve both resident outcomes and business performance.

Why Tertiary Markets Matter in Senior Housing

An especially valuable part of the episode focuses on tertiary market opportunities. Debora explains that many smaller markets benefit from limited new supply because construction costs make it difficult for large developers to enter those areas profitably. As a result, well operated facilities in smaller communities can maintain strong occupancy and become essential local resources.

She also shares an example of a facility positioned as a community senior center, creating familiarity and trust long before residents require full time care. This type of community integration not only supports occupancy growth but also strengthens the long term value of the asset.

The Human Side of Senior Housing Investing

Throughout the episode, Debora Randall reinforces the idea that senior housing investing is ultimately a people centered business. Success depends not only on financial analysis but also on compassion, operational integrity, and a commitment to resident well being. Rod echoes this perspective by emphasizing the importance of genuinely caring about the elderly population being served.

For investors looking to diversify beyond traditional multifamily assets, the conversation offers a practical look at why senior housing investing is becoming one of the most closely watched real estate sectors in 2025. From demographic demand to operational challenges and market selection, the episode provides valuable insights for anyone evaluating opportunities in assisted living or memory care.

About Debora Randall

Debora Randall is an agricultural economist and real estate investor with more than 20 years of experience helping businesses scale sustainably across Africa. Originally from Canada, she built a career focused on economic development and impact driven business growth before transitioning into senior housing investing in the United States. Her approach combines operational discipline, mission driven investing, and a focus on creating long term value through senior care real estate.

If you want to hear the full conversation and detailed insights, watch the podcast video or read the complete transcript below.

Senior Housing Investing FAQ

What is senior housing investing?

Senior housing investing is a real estate investment strategy focused on properties designed for older adults, including independent living, assisted living, and memory care communities. Investors generate income through resident fees, long term occupancy, and property appreciation while meeting the growing demand created by an aging population. Many investors are attracted to senior housing because of its strong demographic trends and the opportunity to combine financial returns with impact driven investing.

Why is senior housing investing becoming more popular?

Senior housing investing has gained popularity because the number of Americans over the age of 80 continues to rise rapidly while the supply of quality senior housing remains limited in many markets. Investors see the sector as a long term growth opportunity supported by demographic demand rather than short term market cycles. The need for assisted living and memory care services is also increasing due to longer life expectancy and rising rates of Alzheimer’s and dementia related conditions.

What are the different types of senior housing properties?

Senior housing properties generally fall into three main categories: independent living, assisted living, and memory care. Independent living communities are designed for active seniors who require minimal support, while assisted living provides help with daily activities such as medication management and meals. Memory care facilities offer specialized services and secure environments for residents with cognitive conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

How does senior housing investing differ from multifamily investing?

Senior housing investing differs from traditional multifamily investing because operations and resident care play a much larger role in the success of the property. In addition to managing the real estate itself, operators must oversee staffing, healthcare coordination, resident engagement, and regulatory compliance. Revenue is often tied directly to the quality of care and services provided, making experienced management teams essential.

Is senior housing investing recession resistant?

Many investors consider senior housing investing to be more recession resistant than other real estate asset classes because demand is often driven by healthcare and aging needs rather than discretionary spending. Families still require quality care solutions for aging relatives regardless of broader economic conditions. While occupancy and operational performance can fluctuate, the long term demographic outlook continues to support demand growth.

What makes memory care facilities attractive to investors?

Memory care facilities are attractive because demand for specialized dementia and Alzheimer’s care continues to rise across the United States. These properties often generate higher revenue per resident due to the level of care and staffing required. Investors also see memory care as an underserved segment of the senior housing market with strong long term growth potential.

Why are tertiary markets important in senior housing investing?

Tertiary markets can offer strong opportunities because many smaller communities have limited senior housing supply and less competition from large institutional operators. High construction costs often discourage new development in these areas, which can help existing facilities maintain stable occupancy. Investors who understand local demographics and community needs may find strong cash flow opportunities in well operated tertiary market properties.

What should investors look for in a senior housing investment?

Investors should evaluate several factors, including occupancy trends, local demographics, management experience, staffing quality, and the condition of the facility. Market demand, competition, licensing requirements, and operational efficiency are also critical. Because senior housing is highly operationally intensive, partnering with experienced operators is often one of the most important components of a successful investment.

What are the risks of senior housing investing?

Like any real estate investment, senior housing investing carries risks that include rising labor costs, regulatory changes, staffing shortages, and fluctuating occupancy levels. Financing can also become challenging for underperforming facilities. Investors must carefully analyze both the real estate fundamentals and the operational capabilities of the management team before investing.

How can someone get started in senior housing investing?

Many investors begin by educating themselves on the operational side of the industry and networking with experienced operators. Some choose to invest passively through syndications or partnerships before acquiring properties directly. Understanding demographics, healthcare trends, financing structures, and local market demand is essential for building a successful senior housing investing strategy.

00:00:28:24 – 00:00:50:23
Rod Khleif
Welcome back to multifamily Rock stars. So these are the episodes where we deep dive on our guest deals and, you know, try to give you practical and actionable items for getting started doing your first deal, especially if you’re brand new. So I’m really excited about our guest today is wonderful human being named Debora Randall. And she, joined the warrior program a couple of years ago.

00:00:50:23 – 00:01:07:00
Rod Khleif
And I’m going to steal her thunder for a second, but, didn’t join it to find romance, but has found romance inside the warrior program, which is just really cool, because I love the guy she’s dating. And, I think you might be our first romance story in that. Deborah, welcome to the show.

00:01:07:02 – 00:01:09:04
Debora Randall
Thank you. Yeah.

00:01:09:06 – 00:01:27:19
Rod Khleif
At least I’m not aware of any other warriors, dating. But, you know, it’s just, it’s just, it really a treat. So, listen, welcome. We’re gonna have a lot of fun today, guys. We’re going to talk about senior housing, which she is in. I’m in. I’m actually raising money for six facilities tonight. Actually, I don’t know when this is going to air, but,

00:01:27:21 – 00:01:43:06
Rod Khleif
Yeah. So I love that asset class. But why don’t you give us a little background, Deborah? Because you have a very unique, unusual, I would say even background, prior to real estate. So if you would, kind of kind of do that and then bring us current to real estate.

00:01:43:08 – 00:02:12:19
Debora Randall
Okay, great. So, I’m Canadian, grew up there and then always wanted to move to Africa and work in Africa. So I moved there in 2004. So almost 22 years ago now. And I’m an agricultural economist. So basically work with businesses to scale them up into economies so that it actually benefits people. So, you know, that whole thing of, you know, don’t give a man a fish, teach a manifest, teach a man to fish.

00:02:12:21 – 00:02:29:13
Debora Randall
Yeah. But if you teach a man to fish and he can’t buy a rod or a reel, you know, and he can’t sell his fish, his income isn’t going to go higher. So we work with the businesses around that fisherman in order to actually increase his income.

00:02:29:13 – 00:02:31:06
Rod Khleif
So that’s beautiful work.

00:02:31:08 – 00:02:32:10
Debora Randall
Whatever. Yeah, right.

00:02:32:13 – 00:02:51:11
Rod Khleif
That’s beautiful work. And yeah, just as an aside, you know, I’ve been threatening to do this for years. You know, I’ve done a lot through my, charity and as far as feeding, you know, giving the fish and backpacks and teddy bears and stuff. But I’ve always wanted to build schools, however, with the caveat that they’re self-sustaining.

00:02:51:13 – 00:03:08:17
Rod Khleif
Like, I have to buy enough land for an agriculture infrastructure or put in an IT infrastructure, maybe an AI at this point. Infrastructure. But but have the schools not just support the school, but the whole community. And that’s I’ve been threatening to do that for a long time. It’s about time I got off my ass and actually took a step in that direction.

00:03:08:17 – 00:03:25:12
Rod Khleif
But that’s something I’d love to do. It’s one of my vision boards. But anyway, so why real estate? So? So what? By the way, you’re a single mom with two teenage girls. You got it. You you’re you’re brave. You know, you’ve got courage for sure. Go to Africa. Holy cow. But, why real estate?

00:03:25:14 – 00:03:48:13
Debora Randall
Well, one of the things that I learned in my work with businesses, you know, like businesses over there, they don’t, you know, like during Covid, for instance, there’s no bailouts, right? So what you learn when you work with businesses, you adapt or die. Basically, if you don’t adapt and pivot, you’re not gonna your business fails. Right. And so that was a huge lesson I learned.

00:03:48:13 – 00:04:08:12
Debora Randall
So as I’m kind of working, I have a company based in Kenya do a lot of consulting. I go into businesses, help them out, make them better, help them get that impact. But I also had, you know, have to survive, right. And for my girls of myself. So I started thinking, I’m still kind of on that left side of the cash flow quadrant.

00:04:08:12 – 00:04:28:19
Debora Randall
I’m still trading money, my time for money. I need to think outside that box. I wanted to get more passive income. And also, one of the things about that I saw in Africa is most Africans have a they call it a side hustle. I love that, right? They’re always doing something that’s not never one job. They got some real estate here.

00:04:28:19 – 00:04:45:21
Debora Randall
They got a shop here. They’ve always got something because you can’t rely on the job you’re in. It just kind of buffers you. Right. So I started looking at that and I was like, okay, I need to create a side hustle for myself. I need to adapt myself. So I joined the warrior program two years ago, always wanted to get into real estate.

00:04:46:01 – 00:05:13:00
Debora Randall
And I was like, I need to be thinking about that other side more passive income, you know, creating income for myself, not relying. And then what happened is, you know, a year ago, the U.S cut all the foreign aid. So I lost a big chunk of my income, the UK government, which is another bucket of money that, you know, I get money from my business, gets money from is about to cut and is cutting now.

00:05:13:00 – 00:05:40:15
Debora Randall
So my income is drying up. But I’m ready. I pivoted before and I think that’s the key thing. You know, our economies are totally changing. Like I is going to be taking jobs away. We’ve been hearing that and there’s a pivot that’s happening and we all have to be learning from you know what I learned over there and pivot before that happens, whether that’s passive income investing in real estate, whatever, like think.

00:05:40:17 – 00:05:41:09
Debora Randall
You know, I’ve.

00:05:41:09 – 00:05:59:02
Rod Khleif
Been screaming that from the rooftops. You know, if you’re if you’re in a job that’s going to get affected by yeah, you better be starting that side hustle. You know, if, you know, there’s 8000 people believe turning 65 in this country, I’m sorry, turning 80 in this country every single day, 8000 people turning 80, 10,000 people are turning 65.

00:05:59:04 – 00:06:15:11
Rod Khleif
Out of those, 10,000 are turning 65. Many have jobs. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Businesses, many of businesses, there’s opportunity to buy businesses. You know, we’re in the senior housing space because of those 8000 are turning 80 every day. There’s a huge shortage of beds. I mean, it’s it’s I don’t I’m not sure we’re going to be able to keep up with it.

00:06:15:13 – 00:06:34:14
Rod Khleif
I think, you know, you’re in your assisted living facility right now and in Dallas. Right. And I’m, I’m buying six of them in Dallas, San Antonio, in Houston, literally. Right now. And, you know, there’s talk that there could be a waiting list for these things because there’s such a huge shortage of beds and, you know, and they’re expensive to build.

00:06:34:14 – 00:06:51:14
Rod Khleif
It’s about 250,000 a unit to build them. You know, I’m I’m excited because we’re paying 40 a unit for this, six pack that we’re buying and really exciting. But, you know, so have you done have you just done senior housing in the warrior program? I’m sorry, I didn’t already know, but. Yeah, just it’s just been senior.

00:06:51:14 – 00:06:52:06
Rod Khleif
Okay.

00:06:52:08 – 00:07:11:06
Debora Randall
So one of the things like I, I love, I think I love living with, like, making decisions from my heart to write, like, yeah, all about business. But I want business with heart. And that’s what I that’s actually one of the reasons I joined the warrior program, because Roger’s very much like that. And you draw in people like that.

00:07:11:06 – 00:07:33:19
Debora Randall
So I really get to work with people like that and partner with people like that. Right. But I believe business can be a force for good. And that’s what I saw in my experience in Africa. And I when I joined the warrior program and wanted to get into real estate, I wanted to do that here as well. And senior housing was like the perfect, you know, marriage between that profit.

00:07:33:19 – 00:07:33:24
Debora Randall
I love.

00:07:33:24 – 00:07:52:15
Rod Khleif
It, I love it, I love the elderly too. I mean, you know, and you know, it’s what’s funny is I actually you don’t you may not know this. I actually got my administrator assisted living facility administrator’s license in Florida in 2007. Because I love the elderly. I got the domain name affordable senior housing.com. I was going to do it.

00:07:52:15 – 00:08:05:09
Rod Khleif
And then of course, the shoe dropped in oh eight and I got my ass handed to me, so I had to back off of it. But I’ve been I’ve been threatening to do this for a long time. So it’s kind of exciting that I’m finally doing it. And I believe you need to love the elderly to do this.

00:08:05:11 – 00:08:19:21
Rod Khleif
But, you know, you mentioned something about the warrior program, and I just got to hammer hammer that home. What you just said. Because, you know, I don’t know if you’ve ever been to one of my actual live events where where I’ve got, you know, a thousand people in the room, you know, and I do. I do my Hall of Fame reward.

00:08:19:21 – 00:08:37:18
Rod Khleif
So, you know, we do a slide for each person that we’re recognizing. That’s a warrior. Not so much on how much success they have in buying units, but really how much they contribute to the community, how much they give back. And I did a slide for each one. I started to see a pattern. Every single one of them does something to make the world a better place.

00:08:37:23 – 00:08:54:20
Rod Khleif
You know, human trafficking, veterans, homelessness, veterans, suicide building schools in India, building schools in Latin America. I mean, just on and on. I looked at the thousand people in the crowd, and I pointed and I said, that’s what we call a frickin clue. By the way, if you are interested in applying to my warrior program, I’m going to brag for a minute.

00:08:54:20 – 00:09:14:13
Rod Khleif
I believe my students, my warriors, now own about 300,000 units under my tutelage. We’re counting over 275 and we’re missing 275,000. We’re missing a ton tons of senior housing. You know, I saw Deborah at the senior housing conference in Nashville. Were you and Austin two at that one? Two. Yeah. So it’s I in both of them. That’s right.

00:09:14:13 – 00:09:32:22
Rod Khleif
So you know, probably ten warriors, they’re doing senior housing, tons of student housing, self-storage, mobile home parks, industrial, flex space, all of it. And so if you’re interested in applying to my warrior program, text the word crush to seven, two, three, four, or five. That’s how you apply your text crush to seven, two, three, four, or five.

00:09:32:22 – 00:09:35:12
Rod Khleif
I’d get in trouble if I didn’t say that anyway.

00:09:35:14 – 00:09:53:07
Debora Randall
So can I add to that? So just my own value. Like to be in a room with people and you connect with them and inspires you, but also you go out and partner with them, but you know, you got to choose wisely. You always say, right, you know, you want to date before you get married, right? You try, you connect.

00:09:53:07 – 00:10:02:07
Debora Randall
You want people with the same heart, the same vision as you, but they’re there. And I have found beautiful people that I love partnering with there. So it’s exciting.

00:10:02:07 – 00:10:20:07
Rod Khleif
It’s it’s it’s extraordinary. I don’t know how it all fell together like that. I get goosebumps when I think about it. And, you know, we do warrior Only events. We’ve got one coming up at the end of May here in Sarasota to be hundreds of warriors here. And that’s just, you know, because we’ve discovered that our most successful warriors, by far, the ones that were the most connected in that group.

00:10:20:07 – 00:10:43:14
Rod Khleif
So we do things to help facilitate those connections. And out of those 300,000 units, I’m pretty sure about 94. I’m not pretty sure I’m positive 95% of them were done between warriors because we we we studied it. So yeah, it’s it’s it’s really cool. So listen, regardless of whether you’re interested in the warrior program or not, get around people that are doing this, get around people that want more out of life because a rising tide lifts all ships.

00:10:43:14 – 00:10:58:08
Rod Khleif
You want to be in a room where people think what you think is hard is easy. Okay, so you know, most people default to a peer group they went to school with, or they work with. No. Get around people that are doing what you want to do and success is inevitable. That’s just how it works. You agree with me?

00:10:58:10 – 00:11:21:18
Debora Randall
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, it’s you know, don’t they say that you are the some of the five people around you? But the thing is you got to focus. You got to know what you want. Right. And every person is unique in this world, right. And has their different thing that gets them excited. Right? Whether for you, it’s bringing people together and inspiring them or building schools.

00:11:21:18 – 00:11:43:20
Debora Randall
Like for me, you know, you know, it was living in Africa and working with businesses to impact, you know, thousands of people in like, I don’t know, ten different countries across the that continent. Right. So and then now it’s senior housing. So whatever kind of gets you excited, I really believe that we’re each kind of designed to do something purposeful in this world.

00:11:43:20 – 00:11:46:13
Debora Randall
It’s not just about stuff, it’s right.

00:11:46:13 – 00:12:03:08
Rod Khleif
Well, for those for those that are listening, they’re like, Will you please get on with the real estate stuff? Let’s let’s humor them for a minute. Talk about what you’ve done in the senior housing space. Talk about of a facility or a purchase that you made or a portfolio or whatever. So please take it away. What what’s what’s your most recent acquisition?

00:12:03:08 – 00:12:04:15
Rod Khleif
Let’s put it that way.

00:12:04:17 – 00:12:25:13
Debora Randall
So I’m I’m actually in the facility now. It’s a 50 unit just north of Dallas tertiary market. Right. So this is this whole middle market play that we’re seeing in senior housing. So you got kind of these a class kind of like multifamily A-Class. And then you’ve got kind of your C class, which is more than Medicaid I guess.

00:12:25:13 – 00:12:48:09
Debora Randall
And then you’ve got this middle market. And I think the stats I was reading yesterday are saying that by 2035, there’ll be 16 million Americans in that middle market who can’t afford the higher end stuff and who actually don’t qualify for the Medicaid. So you’ve got that gap. And that’s where it gets exciting, right? Because and that’s kind of what your facilities are doing.

00:12:48:09 – 00:13:10:06
Debora Randall
That’s what this facility is doing. Right. And you know, you there’s a woman here. She’s hilarious. Right. So this is an these are buildings. This is a building built in 1996, never been refreshed. So she tells me this woman lived, you know, live in two doors down here. You know, this building was built in 96. My grandma came here in 1998.

00:13:10:07 – 00:13:14:05
Debora Randall
She looks down on her feet and says, it’s the same carpet.

00:13:14:07 – 00:13:15:07
Rod Khleif
Oh well.

00:13:15:09 – 00:13:29:20
Debora Randall
It’s no, it’s it’s older. It’s it’s not kind of got that modern look and were refreshing because it’s not so old. You don’t have to put so much in, you know, 20,000 a unit. Ten, 15.

00:13:29:23 – 00:13:44:15
Rod Khleif
You don’t have to do that. No. You put in flooring, you maybe, maybe change some of the fixtures you paint, you dress it up and and you modernize it. So so when did you when did you guys close on it? It just recently. Or is this. Yeah.

00:13:44:15 – 00:13:58:17
Debora Randall
February, early February. But and so but because we when you can buy these things at a low enough price, then you don’t have to overcharge. So you’re actually providing that middle market but still making money doing it. Right. So that just.

00:13:58:17 – 00:14:24:16
Rod Khleif
It just so you guys know the bottom would be the Medicaid where it’s government funded. And I’ve been in those facilities. I honestly I’ve not seen one. I’ve like to use this. They smell like urine. I mean they’re they’re it’s not great. And you know, it’s like a, like a D class apartment complex sometimes, I mean, and so, you know, and then the middle market, what she’s talking about is private pay, but it’s not 10,000 a month or 12,000 a month.

00:14:24:16 – 00:14:43:12
Rod Khleif
It’s it’s about half of that. And, you know, and the good thing about, one of the good things about this asset class is, you know, these people have money. They they have a home, they can sell their home, or they can do a reverse mortgage on their home to help pay for their, you know, their care when they need the help.

00:14:43:14 – 00:15:03:00
Rod Khleif
And so, and, and again, I believe you need to love the elderly to do this business because, you know, I, I really believe that strongly. And I happen to and I can tell you do as well, just based on talking with just what I know about you actually. But so you know but but but the this they call it the silver tsunami.

00:15:03:00 – 00:15:25:07
Rod Khleif
It’s a tidal wave of people getting old and and and to I will tell you the I don’t know the stats off the top of my head. I’m actually presenting them tonight. I wish I had the slides so I could say this, but to to keep up with the demand, they literally have to double the production or maybe even quadruple the production of the biggest year production they’ve ever had consistently every single year.

00:15:25:12 – 00:15:46:11
Rod Khleif
And so and then the other issue there is the is the pricing because because they cost 250,000 about a unit to build one of these things, I had somebody call me wanting me to help raise money for a facility they’re building in Orlando, and it was 350,000 a unit. I’m like, are you crazy? And we’re, you know, in my case, we’re paying 40.

00:15:46:11 – 00:15:56:01
Rod Khleif
But so so your game plan with your facility is to freshen it up, maybe get the how was the occupancy when you bought it?

00:15:56:03 – 00:15:58:04
Debora Randall
38%. Wow.

00:15:58:04 – 00:15:59:13
Rod Khleif
Very low. Okay.

00:15:59:13 – 00:16:03:03
Debora Randall
So you’ve got to get financing. So financing was.

00:16:03:05 – 00:16:21:23
Rod Khleif
Oh I’m sure. Yeah. Do you banks don’t like it when you’re less than 50% occupied. Banks don’t like that. And so yeah, we had some struggles to this, this this, package was 62% occupied. But we’ve now up to 70. So while we were under contract to jump to, which is really exciting, but but we we’re the same issues.

00:16:21:23 – 00:16:23:10
Rod Khleif
Getting the financing was a challenge.

00:16:23:10 – 00:16:48:03
Debora Randall
Yeah, yeah. So we did some creative financing the bank. It was local bank. But the bank wanted us to pay for the building. Okay. And then they would pay the down payment and then closing costs because it mitigated their risk. And then what they did is then they had a like a another the loan for cash back. So then we’re drawing down on the loan.

00:16:48:03 – 00:17:05:07
Debora Randall
So it that it was less risky for them because they’re like we’re going to if we if you were reverse that and they bought the building and we paid the closing costs, then what happens if we never renovated the building? They’re left with a non rent renovated building. So that was kind of an interesting find.

00:17:05:08 – 00:17:21:13
Rod Khleif
Okay I’m sorry I, I’m sorry I didn’t quite track that. He’s that’s I’ve never heard of that scenario before. So they had you by the building they loaned you. Just on the building. However the when you say when you say, the CapEx, you’re talking about.

00:17:21:15 – 00:17:22:17
Debora Randall
The renovation.

00:17:22:19 – 00:17:26:23
Rod Khleif
The renovation costs and they financed that separately.

00:17:27:00 – 00:17:44:17
Debora Randall
Was that so? Tiredly. So they paid the closing costs on the building. We paid for the building. They paid the closing costs and the down payment, which was smaller. So their risk was smaller. And then they’re paying now the all of the, the renovation costs. So then so.

00:17:44:18 – 00:17:47:10
Rod Khleif
When you say they’re paying it they find they.

00:17:47:13 – 00:17:48:07
Debora Randall
Financing.

00:17:48:07 – 00:18:04:20
Rod Khleif
It. Yeah. Financing it. Right. Okay. That’s I think that’s what threw me off okay. So they’re financing it separately. And then I’m sure you’ll have drawers and everything else so they can stay on top of it to make sure it actually happens. Got it. Now now I got it. So. Well what’s awesome is you’re able to finance those costs which is not common.

00:18:05:00 – 00:18:10:05
Rod Khleif
So that’s that’s really good. How much money did you what was the purchase price and how much did you have to race.

00:18:10:07 – 00:18:17:14
Debora Randall
So 1.85 was the purchase price. Wow. And so we bought it at 37 a unit.

00:18:17:16 – 00:18:21:13
Rod Khleif
And then that’s fantastic girl. That’s fantastic. Wow.

00:18:21:15 – 00:18:32:16
Debora Randall
And then we’re converting like 25% to memory care because there’s such a huge demand for memory care there. Like a memory care facility here is full. And this. Yeah.

00:18:32:16 – 00:18:51:10
Rod Khleif
Let me let me elaborate on that. So guys the natural progression in senior housing is you got independent living okay. Where they get some help and they’ve got people around them. And you know in some cases they provide meals things like that. Then you’ve got assisted living where they need help okay. They need help with, you know, basic functions.

00:18:51:10 – 00:19:08:06
Rod Khleif
And there are different levels of assisted living as well, as sometimes as well. And then you’ve got memory care, which of course, you understand with Alzheimer’s is horrible disease. And so, you know, obviously the memory care requires a lot more attention. And so it’s it’s more, you know, it’s more money. It can be, you know, an a middle market.

00:19:08:06 – 00:19:34:02
Rod Khleif
I would say 8000 is probably an average, cost for, for memory care. Yeah. And, and, you know, and there’s a huge need there sadly, as well. And so, you know, it’s, it’s that’s, that’s great that you’re doing that and, and there’s some nuances to memory care. You know, you have to there has to be some, the way the facility is laid out is relevant because typically it has to be what they call a runway where, where they can, you know, they can just walk one direction and not end up hitting a wall.

00:19:34:02 – 00:19:52:22
Rod Khleif
They can just continue to walk. And so that’s a piece. But, wow. Well, good for you. That sounds like a hell of a deal. You guys got, which is fantastic. And, and so, you’re actively looking for more, Oh. Talk about the operations. Like, what did you what are you doing as far as the operations?

00:19:52:22 – 00:19:57:02
Rod Khleif
Did you partner with an operator or are you going to operate yourself? What’s the plan there?

00:19:57:04 – 00:20:18:21
Debora Randall
So one of the things that I learned actually, in my work in Africa is you can have the smoking best business model. You can, underwrite it like to the nth degree. And you’re like, yeah, this thing is going to make money. And then you drop, you know, a business takes it and they screw it up. They have poor management, or they don’t take care of their staff or whatever.

00:20:18:21 – 00:20:30:04
Debora Randall
Right. And then you’re like, Holy crap, this thing doesn’t work. Well, no, it doesn’t work. It just wasn’t implement. It wasn’t executed well. So execution is so key in these things, right?

00:20:30:06 – 00:20:49:14
Rod Khleif
It’s the whole enchilada. Honestly. You can have a great facility ran into the ground with the wrong management company. And that’s goes goes for multifamily or senior housing. I’m suing, a multifamily property management company, which is really sad because I know the owners, they were in my mastermind, and I, I, they shit the beds. I mean, I have no choice.

00:20:49:14 – 00:21:09:00
Rod Khleif
I would be doing a disservice to my investors if I didn’t do that. And it was such a case that the guy, the attorney took it out of contingency. So, I mean, you you encounter that, but it’s the same thing in senior housing. You have operators that are basically management companies. And, you know, if they don’t, you know, and they don’t take care of their employees, they don’t have a great culture.

00:21:09:00 – 00:21:21:22
Rod Khleif
They don’t, you know, validate and praise and encourage their employees because they’re low, very often lower paid than you might think and their caregivers. And so, you know, that culture and these things matter. So so what did you guys decide.

00:21:21:24 – 00:21:43:20
Debora Randall
So we we partner with operators but we let them very carefully. And actually I created a little guide for people. If anyone’s interested in senior living we can we’ll drop the URL in seven. Because typically when you’re investing in multifamily you’re vetting the sponsor. Right. So with senior housing you vet the sponsor, but then you also need to vet the operator.

00:21:43:20 – 00:21:53:23
Debora Randall
And and what are the right questions to ask? And what are the answers that are going to make you pause if they give you the wrong answer? So I’ve got this little guide that we can send out some.

00:21:53:23 – 00:22:02:15
Rod Khleif
Fantastic. Sure. Sounds good. Yeah. Just let me know on that. So, so what’s next? You’re actively looking for more facilities?

00:22:02:17 – 00:22:18:03
Debora Randall
Yeah, yeah. So we’re getting, you know, obviously we’re here, we’re supporting the team here. And yeah, we’ve got another one. We’re about to get under contract in Iowa. It’s typically not an area where typically more focused on the southeast, but seniors are everywhere. Right.

00:22:18:03 – 00:22:31:10
Rod Khleif
And and they don’t like to move away from the kids. And so, you know, that’s that’s a real factor. I’ve got one in Pittsburgh, for God’s sakes. I would have never bought something in Pittsburgh. But the demographics are great for senior housing. And so I’ve got a a 50 unit there.

00:22:31:10 – 00:22:53:23
Debora Randall
So okay. And so this is like a 46 unit. And you know what thing I love about this property. So it’s a smaller town outside a major area. So tertiary markets are not bad. Like typically you know it depends on your business model. Right. But actually some of the stats that I was seeing that just came out, you know, the tertiary occupancy is higher than primary market occupancy.

00:22:54:03 – 00:22:54:23
Rod Khleif
That’s interesting.

00:22:55:02 – 00:23:03:15
Debora Randall
Yeah 90 points. It’s almost the same but it’s better 90.4%. Primary market occupancy on average 89%.

00:23:03:15 – 00:23:06:02
Rod Khleif
Interesting. Wow. Yeah that’s interesting I did not I mean you have.

00:23:06:02 – 00:23:18:23
Debora Randall
Less supply you because you can’t have like you were saying, you can’t have a guy come in or a group come in and build at 250,000 unit, because you can’t charge 8000 a month in some smaller market. So you’re, you’re.

00:23:19:00 – 00:23:24:18
Rod Khleif
You’ve got a barrier to entry. You’ve got a barrier to entry basically. Yeah. No, that’s a very valid point. That’s a very valid point.

00:23:24:22 – 00:23:41:16
Debora Randall
So we like tertiary markets. But obviously you have to dig deep. Like do you have enough. Is there enough income in that market. Like do seniors have enough income, etc.. You have to understand the supply and demand. So you don’t just randomly choose a market. You dig deep. But the thing I love about this building, which is really cool.

00:23:41:16 – 00:23:49:20
Debora Randall
So they have they have positioned themselves with the city as the senior center. Okay. So I.

00:23:49:20 – 00:24:18:01
Rod Khleif
Love that. Love that. So so they’re familiar with the facility. They can you can have adult daycare which is it. Which is a thing okay. Where you know, the kids will drop off mom because moms you know, doesn’t want to be her home. She can go and meet friends and, you know, do bingo and whatever. And and then it’s not foreign when she really needs to just move in because that’s a battle very often, you know, when there’s a battle with my mom, you know,

00:24:18:03 – 00:24:19:21
Rod Khleif
Oh, that’s. No, that’s brilliant, I love that.

00:24:19:21 – 00:24:21:01
Debora Randall
Yeah, I love that.

00:24:21:03 – 00:24:24:24
Rod Khleif
They use their, their dining room or their community room and do activities and whatnot.

00:24:24:24 – 00:24:27:17
Debora Randall
And you’re making money that gets another. You can charge.

00:24:27:17 – 00:24:29:12
Rod Khleif
A little bit for that. Sure, sure.

00:24:29:14 – 00:24:33:00
Debora Randall
And then but it also it creates that kind of normalizing.

00:24:33:00 – 00:24:39:22
Rod Khleif
It’s it’s it’s a feeder. It’s a feeder for that. Yeah. It’s a feeder for that facility I love it if you’ve got the room for it. That’s a no brainer, right?

00:24:39:24 – 00:24:56:02
Debora Randall
I love that about that. So that’s another one. And then we’ve got quite a healthy pipeline. You know I think the interesting thing is we’re sort of in that market that 50 to 100, 120 that a lot of people don’t hit, you know, you’re the same. Oh sure. And yeah. And so there’s there’s still stuff you can get on auction.

00:24:56:04 – 00:25:18:14
Debora Randall
You can still get kind of the stuff that Freddie and Fannie have been holding, apparently, that they’re kind of waiting. Now the market’s improving. They’re waiting to release that. But I actually just there’s a report that just came out actually from NEC, which does all the senior housing stuff. Errantly in 2025, prices jumped 43% last year, like the price to purchase.

00:25:18:16 – 00:25:22:13
Debora Randall
So we are on the upswing like things went down.

00:25:22:15 – 00:25:23:21
Rod Khleif
It’s a hockey stick.

00:25:23:23 – 00:25:29:05
Debora Randall
Yeah. Now we’re starting on the upswing. So the time is now 100% right.

00:25:29:06 – 00:25:51:11
Rod Khleif
No no kidding. So you know a lot of facilities got destroyed by Covid. Obviously it was horrific. You know the deaths that happened because of Covid and and so you know, you’re still seeing empty facilities, 38% occupied facilities. And that’s, that’s typically still the lingering effects of Covid in many cases. You know, and so, you know, it is on the upswing.

00:25:51:11 – 00:26:08:12
Rod Khleif
And there’s a there’s a window of opportunity right now to get these, you know, smaller facilities, you know, that the big boys aren’t interested in I mean, the ones we’re buying we’re buying from Brookdale. It’s the largest operator in the world, and they just don’t want to mess with these smaller facilities. They’re building these A-Class facilities. That’s their market.

00:26:08:16 – 00:26:29:02
Rod Khleif
They they don’t do well with the small stuff anymore. So, you know, there’s a lot of opportunity, still a lot of opportunity in multifamily as well. I mean, there’s, there’s, I mean, you know, our our syndication attorney, Merrill, he told me he had six apartment complex foreclosure clients come to him in one day. I mean, yeah, there’s a lot, a lot of distress in the market.

00:26:29:04 – 00:26:46:19
Rod Khleif
Yeah. And with crisis comes opportunity. So there’s that, too. Well, listen, Deborah, I really appreciate you coming on the show. This has been a treat to see you. You know, say hi to, you know, who for me. And, and, you know, keep, keep it going. And, you know, we’ll see about getting you back on in about a year.

00:26:46:19 – 00:26:52:19
Rod Khleif
And I’m just going to be dying to see how many thousands of, senior housing units you’re in at that point. So. Yeah.

00:26:52:19 – 00:27:13:22
Debora Randall
Awesome. And thank you, Ron, for all you do for your love and your heart to all of us and and just everyone out there like the your desire to share kind of creates opportunities for everyone, right. And then that kind of just grows and spills over into so many people’s lives. And that’s, Yeah, we we appreciate that so much.

00:27:13:23 – 00:27:19:01
Rod Khleif
Very, very kind of you. Thank you. Well, listen, you take care, and, we’ll talk soon, okay?

00:27:19:02 – 00:27:19:21
Debora Randall
Thank you.

00:27:19:23 – 00:27:20:18
Rod Khleif
All right. See you.