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dizposition

Sell your assisted living facility

Owner-operated, managed, or leased to an operator. Census, staffing, and a license that does not transfer on its own.

Assisted Living Facility at a glance

Typical deal size
$3M – $30M
Lease structure
Owner-operated, managed, or triple-net operator lease
Typical term
N/A, or 10–15 years if leased to an operator
Escalations
2–3% annually if leased
Brookdale Senior LivingSunrise Senior LivingAtria Senior LivingDiscovery Senior LivingRegional operatorsIndependent owner-operators

Overview

What assisted living facilities are really worth

Our read

An assisted living facility is a licensed operating business that happens to sit in a building. Revenue comes from residents' monthly fees, not from a lease, and the building is worth what the operation can sustainably earn. Owners who think of it as residential real estate are usually surprised by how much the value moves with occupancy, labor, and survey history.

The separation between operator and real estate is the central question. Some facilities are run by the owner, some by a management company on the owner's behalf, and some are leased to an operator under a triple-net lease. Each structure moves the risk to a different place, and a lease is only as strong as the facility's ability to cover the rent.

Licensing ties it together. The state license allows the building to operate and generally does not transfer on a sale, which means every buyer is also underwriting a change of ownership process — and the operator's track record with regulators.

Valuation

How we underwrite it

The method

We underwrite the operation first: monthly census, rates, payer mix, and a labor line restated to what the facility would actually cost to staff without the owner's sweat equity. Owner-operator statements often understate management and labor, and normalizing them is most of the work.

Where an operator leases the building, we look at rent coverage from the facility's own earnings before we look at the guarantor. A thinly covered lease tends to be renegotiated regardless of remaining term.

Survey history and the change of ownership path are treated as part of the asset. A facility with clean surveys transitions faster and loses fewer residents in the process.

The building gets priced on what it needs to compete: private rooms and baths, secured and licensed memory care, refreshed common areas, and life safety systems. Those costs go into the first number.

What moves the number

  1. 01Occupancy and the trend behind it, since a facility is an operating business and the building is only worth what the operation earns
  2. 02Payer mix — private pay versus Medicaid waiver — which sets both the rate ceiling and the margin
  3. 03Labor cost and agency staffing dependence, the largest expense line and the one most likely to be understated
  4. 04State survey history and any outstanding deficiencies, which affect admissions, reputation, and the license itself
  5. 05Unit mix and building vintage — private versus shared rooms, private baths, and whether memory care is licensed and secured
  6. 06Rent coverage where an operator leases the building, since a thinly covered lease is a renegotiation waiting to happen

Capital markets today

10-yr Treasury
5.24%
4.12% a year ago
SOFR
3.87%
4.2% a year ago
30-yr mortgage
7.28%
6.3% a year ago
CRE loan delinquency
1.53%
1.57% a year ago
CRE prices, YoY
6.58%
-2.7% a year ago

Sources: FRED DGS10, 2026-10-01 · FRED SOFR, 2026-10-01 · FRED MORTGAGE30US, 2026-10-01 · FRED DRCRELEXFACBS, 2026-04-01 · FRED COMREPUSQ159N, 2026-01-01

Diligence

What a buyer actually looks at in a assisted living facility

  1. Check 01

    State license, survey history, and plans of correction

    The license is what allows the building to operate, and it does not transfer automatically. A new operator usually has to obtain approval through a change of ownership process, and the survey history shapes how smooth that is.

  2. Check 02

    Trailing operating financials and census by month

    Occupancy and rates are the business. Monthly census shows whether a stable-looking year hides a decline, and owner-operator statements often omit management and market-rate labor.

  3. Check 03

    Payer mix and Medicaid waiver participation

    Private pay residents support higher rates; waiver residents provide occupancy at lower margins. The blend determines what the facility can actually earn.

  4. Check 04

    Staffing levels, wage rates, and agency use

    Labor is the largest expense and the hardest to fix. Heavy agency use signals a recruiting problem that will not disappear with a new owner.

  5. Check 05

    Life safety — sprinklers, fire alarm, and egress

    Residential care buildings are held to strict life safety standards. Older buildings can require significant upgrades at a change of ownership or a renovation.

  6. Check 06

    Operator lease coverage and default history, where leased

    If an operator leases the building, rent coverage from the facility's own earnings is the real credit. A parent guarantee helps only if the parent is stronger than the building.

Backfill risk

What happens if the tenant leaves

The tenant-goes-dark scenario

An assisted living facility does not really have a tenant to replace. It has an operation to replace, and that changes everything about the risk. When a facility fails, the building does not go dark the way a store does — residents still live there, the state is involved, and a replacement operator has to step in, obtain licensure, and stabilize the business.

That process is well established and replacement operators exist, but transitions are where value is lost. Occupancy drops when families lose confidence, staff leave during uncertainty, and the new operator often needs capital for deferred maintenance and refreshed units before it can rebuild census. A building that changed hands in distress typically takes a meaningful period to recover.

The building itself matters more at the margin than owners expect. Shared rooms, shared baths, and dated common areas compete poorly against newer product, and memory care that is properly licensed and secured is meaningfully more valuable than a wing that is not. Converting a dated facility to another use — multifamily, hospitality, or office — is possible but usually means significant renovation of unit layouts and kitchens.

The underlying demand is real. An aging population supports the need for care, but local supply matters just as much, and a market that saw heavy new construction can stay soft for years regardless of the demographics.

Why this matters to you

Every buyer prices the tenant-goes-dark scenario, whether or not they say so out loud. It is the largest hidden input into the cap rate you get offered.

Understanding it before you go to market is the difference between negotiating and being negotiated with.

Who sells to us

Situations we see most often

  • Owner-operator retiring after running the facility for decades
  • Real estate owner whose operator is underperforming or wants to renegotiate rent
  • Family owner tired of staffing crises and survey cycles
  • Owner of a dated building with shared rooms competing against newer product
  • Operator wanting to sell the real estate and keep running the business under a lease

Buy box

What we buy

  1. 01Assisted living and memory care facilities, $3M to $30M
  2. 02Owner-operated, managed, and operator-leased
  3. 03Underperforming census and operator transitions
  4. 04Dated buildings with shared rooms or deferred capital

Process

How selling to Dizposition works

The full process
  1. Day 0

    01

    Send us the property

    Address, asset type, and the lease if there is one. That is enough for us to start.

  2. 02

    We underwrite it

    Our underwriting runs the income against current market pricing and the cost of capital. No lowball anchor.

  3. 10 minutes

    03

    You get a firm offer

    In 10 minutes, with the math shown. You will know exactly how we got there.

  4. As fast as 30 days

    04

    Close on your timeline

    As fast as 30 days, or as slow as you need. We are the principal, so the date is yours.

FAQ

Selling an assisted living facility

I own the building and run the facility. Can I sell one without the other?

Yes. You can sell the real estate and keep operating under a lease, or sell both and step away. The lease route only works if the facility earns enough to cover rent comfortably, so we start with the operating numbers either way.

Does the license transfer when I sell?

Generally not automatically. Most states require the new operator to go through a change of ownership review, and the timing of that approval drives the closing schedule. Clean survey history makes it considerably smoother.

Our occupancy has dropped. Is this a bad time to sell?

It reduces what a buyer pays for current income, but it is also when a sale often makes the most sense. We underwrite what the facility can realistically stabilize at, and why census fell — local competition, staffing, or reputation — matters more than the number itself.

Our building has shared rooms and is older. Does that limit buyers?

It narrows the field and it changes the plan. Buyers will price in conversion of shared rooms to private ones, unit refreshes, and life safety work. We put those costs in the offer rather than leaving them for a renegotiation after inspection.

How long does it take to sell a commercial property to Dizposition?

You get a firm written offer within 10 minutes of sending us the property. If you accept, you can close in as little as 30 days — most of that is title work and your own timeline. There is no listing period, no marketing, and no waiting on a buyer's financing contingency.

Can I sell my property as-is?

Yes. We are the buyer, so there is no lender requiring repairs and no inspection contingency to renegotiate against you. Deferred maintenance, a failing roof, an aging tank system — we price it into the offer rather than asking you to fix it first.

Can I sell with a tenant in place?

Yes, and in most cases a tenant makes the property more valuable to us, not less. We will ask for the lease, a rent roll, and any estoppel certificates. You do not need to deliver the property vacant.

What if my lease is short-term or about to expire?

Short remaining term is one of the main reasons owners come to us. A conventional buyer needs lease term to get financing, which is why short-dated assets sit on the market. We underwrite the real estate and the backfill prospects rather than the remaining term alone.

What if the property is vacant?

We buy vacant assets. Pricing shifts from an income approach to what the building and land are worth to the next user, which is a different calculation — but it is one we do routinely rather than one that disqualifies the property.

Do I need a broker to sell to you?

No. We buy directly, and there is no commission because there is nothing to market. If you already have a broker, we will pay them. Selling without one saves the commission, but you should understand you are also giving up price discovery — a broker's job is to find out whether someone will pay more than we will.

What documents do I need to get an offer?

The address and the lease are enough to start. To finalize, we will want the rent roll, the last two years of operating statements, the title commitment, any existing survey, and any environmental reports you already have. You do not need an appraisal or a broker package.

How do you determine your offer?

We underwrite in-place income against what the space would re-lease for, adjust for capital needs and any environmental tail, and apply a cap rate supported by comparable transactions. We show you the inputs. If you disagree with an assumption, we would rather argue about the assumption than about the number.

What are typical seller closing costs?

Title and escrow fees, any transfer or recording tax owed in your state, prorated property taxes, and payoff of any existing debt. Because we are the buyer, there is no commission and no marketing cost. Transfer tax varies significantly by state and is often the largest single line.

Will I owe capital gains tax when I sell?

Usually yes, on the gain above your adjusted basis, and depreciation recapture is taxed separately from appreciation. State treatment varies. This is a question for your CPA before you sign, not after — the structure of the sale can change the answer.

Can I do a 1031 exchange?

Yes. A 1031 exchange lets you defer federal capital gains by reinvesting in like-kind property, subject to a 45-day identification window and a 180-day closing window from the date you sell. You must have a qualified intermediary in place before closing — it cannot be arranged afterward. Most states conform to federal treatment, but a few do not.

Can I sell if I am behind on payments or facing foreclosure?

Yes, and speed is the reason to move early rather than late. We can close on a defined date, which is what a lender or a receiver generally needs to see. Send us the payoff figure and any notices you have received.

Can I sell a property I inherited or that is in probate?

Yes. Probate sales take longer because the court timeline governs, not ours, and multiple heirs need to agree on the price before anything can close. We are used to working around both. Inherited property also generally receives a stepped-up basis, which can change the tax math substantially.

What if there is environmental contamination?

Send it anyway. Environmental history is one of the most common reasons a conventional sale falls apart, and it is one of the reasons owners call us. We price the remediation and the residual liability into the offer rather than walking away at the Phase II.

Is there any cost or obligation to get an offer?

None. There is no fee, no listing agreement, and no obligation to accept. If our number does not work for you, you keep the underwriting we showed you and we part ways.

Markets

Top markets we buy assisted living facilities in

10-minute offer

Ready to sell your assisted living facility?

Send us the property and the lease. You'll have a firm offer, with the math shown, in 10 minutes.