Silver Tsunami: Investing in a Booming Market

Freedom meets impact

Want to learn the secrets of savvy investors who generate $10,000+ net monthly profit like clockwork with a simple yet groundbreaking strategy? Dive into the world of Residential Assisted Living (RAL) investing, where financial freedom meets impactful ventures. 

The RAL model isn’t another fad amid another bull market; it’s a burgeoning niche market set to flourish for the coming decades as more Americans age (regardless of economic conditions). For investors, there’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a difference while building wealth and leaving a legacy.

RAL Academy has emerged as the top source for senior care home investment and business education, and the average residential assisted living investor from their course is earning about $10,000/month take-home after expenses. 

“Some people are taking home up to $40,000 monthly on one home,” says Isabelle Guarino, COO of Residential Assisted Living Academy (RAL Academy). “Some students are as low as $7,000/month. We can’t make any promises, but no students are earning less than that. For some people, this is a nice supplement to their 9-to-5 job. For others, it replaces their job, and then they can go live their lives and enjoy themselves.”

In this interview, we discuss this growing market, the need for better-quality care for older Americans, and how families build wealth through this trend. Our interview below with Guarino has been edited lightly for brevity and clarity.

How did you get into real estate?

My dad had been a real estate investor my whole life. We’d spend weekends driving by homes or checking things out. I was always seeing what he was investing in and what he was purchasing. 

Sometimes, I’d start sneaking into his office to hear what he was doing, but he was suddenly only doing assisted living. I wondered: Why are you hanging out with older adults all day? Then I told him, look, you could use an assistant. I’d love to help you and be your right-hand gal. I told him I'd leave my job and work for him if he could pay me a certain amount. 

He took me up on the offer. He owned and operated three care homes. About 10 years later, we have a team of over 50. We’ve built a whole system. I loved working by his side. He was a fountain of ideas, and I’d run around with a bucket trying to catch them. 

We understand you interned at Disney. Tell us some lessons from one of the world’s most recognizable brands.

Disney was an amazing internship in college. They show you how to treat customers exceptionally well. You have to fall in line with how to look, how to act, how to speak to people. I loved it from a business perspective. I fell in love with respect for their company. It’s a meticulously run company — there’s a reason it’s existed for so long. 

They also told us that the average family will spend about four days at Disney. The average spend was around $7,000 a decade ago. But what they said stuck with me: Treat every customer who walks in your door like they just handed you a check for $7,000. That helps you treat customers with enormous respect. 

When did you realize the critical need for residential assisted living?

About 14 years ago, my grandmother broke her hip. The doctor said she needed assisted living, but we didn’t know where to go. Do you go to big facilities with long hallways? She lived in New York state, and we were displeased by most of the places we walked into. They smelled bad. The care was bad. They were either ridiculously expensive or had waiting lists, and it was just not a pretty situation. 

My grandmother was a mother to seven and a grandmother to 40 of us, and she took great care of her husband and own mother until her dying days. She deserved a nice situation toward the end of her life. We didn’t want to just throw her into some big facility. 

While we looked for long-term options, one of my aunts had her get at-home care, which is about $27/hour on average. Most people can’t afford that. If you need 24/7 care, that’s about $19,000/month. We couldn’t pay for that, so my aunt took care of her part-time. That comes out to less, around $5,000, but my aunt’s giving up most of her life to take care of her. We needed another option. 

And that’s where residential assisted living comes in?

Yes. My dad stumbled into residential assisted living and found a home and was like, wait, why pay $5,000 for her to live here when I could buy the business and the real estate? It’s $10,000/month cash-flowing, and she’d be living there for free. And we’d have a solution for anyone in the family needing assistance. My grandmother unfortunately passed away before we could move her in, but my dad fell in love with the concept and introduced our whole family to it. 

What’s the monthly cost for care today?

The U.S. average is about $5,300/month, including people on government assistance. Some people pay up to $10,000/month. 

And this is different from nursing homes, correct?

Yes. We call those big-box facilities. What we offer is education around single-family residential homes in suburban neighborhoods. A big plus with owning these is taking full responsibility for the environment, such as the lighting, food, cleanliness, and quality of care. You can make it a place where you’d want to spend time. You want to walk in the door and say, wow, I’d live here when I’m older. They’re like luxury homes. And the food is prepared by a private chef. The caregivers are friendly, and the house is spotless and decorated beautifully. 

How do ratios come into play?

Ratios are the main differentiator between a large facility and a residential assisted living home. In large homes, you might have 30 seniors to one caregiver. In our homes, it is 4-to-1 or 5-to-1. The level of care is high, which truly separates us from the pack. 

Another benefit: When you own these, you or a loved one can move in for free while you keep cash flowing. Then, you can pass the business to your kids, and they’ll have something cash-flowing. My dad died in 2021, leaving his three homes to me and my siblings. That’s $10,000 per month per home, seamlessly passed from generation to generation. It’s great returns, but it also gives you real-life solutions. 

On a high level, is this as simple as the fact that Baby Boomers will age and demand for these services will rise dramatically?

Yes. We’re going to be millions of beds short. Something must be said about a massive crisis where seniors can’t afford this. Who can afford that $10,000 per month cost? It’ll put a ton of people on government funding. This could be a crisis our country will face over the next 10-20 years. 

But it’s also a great opportunity. And look, we’re not nurses, doctors or caregivers. We are real estate investors. We own and operate the business from a hands-off perspective, meaning each home takes maybe five hours per week to run. But this isn’t an easy venture. It takes a lot more time and effort upfront to get going. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. 

What misconceptions do people have?

Lack of caregivers and liability. People think liability is gonna be through the roof. There aren’t nearly as many lawsuits as people think. In our 10 years of business, with thousands of students, we’ve had one threat of lawsuit to a student. One. 

We’ve never had a lawsuit happen because our homes are run meticulously. We have cameras. We have liability insurance, about $3 per day per resident. And with smoke detectors, fire suppression ramps, guardrails, cameras, and a great staff, you’re protected. That sets you up for success. 

With caregivers, people think none are willing to work, and they might think there’s such a high turnover. That’s true with the big facilities because they care for 30 people and do not earn much. But our caregivers stay. We’ve had some stay with us for seven-plus years. They don’t want to leave because they love their job. 

How do people get started? 

Sometimes, it’s private money. Syndications and different bank loans are all great ways to fund the project. It doesn’t have to be your own money. Prices vary widely depending on where you are in the country. You often have to add ramps, guardrails, bathrooms to the homes, and so on. 

What qualities make a great RAL student and investor in residential assisted living?

We’ve had students start at age 24, and some are 74. It doesn’t matter if you have a lot of real estate experience or not. The top trait is a willingness to think: How can I make this work? You need to be open and receptive to our ideas, the market, and the opportunities that arise. 

It also helps to have grit, a willingness to push through, not let “no” be the answer, and keep going. You can’t be all about having a good heart, and you can’t be all about money either. It’s got to be a balance. You can usually tell right away if all someone wants is money. 

And it would appear that this investment isn’t dependent on news events, the Federal Reserve, or a booming economy, right?

Exactly. We weren’t very impacted by the last recession, whereas other real estate investments were. Even if the economy suffers, people will still age. People will need home care and assistance regardless of economic conditions. 

And let’s face it: The cost of living is just going up and up. Most people can’t afford to rely on one income to support a family. Very few people can quit their jobs to care for a loved one. If you can, you’re very lucky. Plus, it can be emotionally draining to support an aging relative for hours every day. 

How do you find quality caretakers?

About 80% of the industry is run by immigrants, and that’s beautiful. We see a lot of Filipinos and Romanians, people with amazing hearts who want to help senior citizens. Most of our students get caregivers from the big box places. They’re very unhappy in those places, so other people in the industry are great resources. There are also caregiver and training schools where you can recruit students. Lastly, there are traditional places such as Craiglist and LinkedIn. Sometimes, we’ll run targeted ads in Romanian newspapers, for example.

How many homes do you have?

I own three passed down from my father. We’ve invested in over 50. We invest in other peoples’ projects. We’ve taught thousands of people how to do this, and it’s rewarding to see all these families support themselves while giving their elders high-quality care. 

Dive deeper

Ready to embark on your journey to RAL success? Join RAL’s complimentary RAL 101 Introduction Course and unlock the keys to operating your own thriving RAL business. 

Explore the industry landscape, uncover financial prospects, and pave the way for a sustainable legacy. Or read Isabelle’s book: Living Legacy. 

Enroll now and step into the realm of Residential Assisted Living triumph.