An article from National Real Estate Investor discusses the new niche market of senior community housing projects which are gaining popularity in certain areas across the US.  Here in Chicago you are starting to see a large number of  these communities popping up in the surrounding suburbs for people 55 and older.  The biggest difference you find in these baby boomer focused communities are the services that they provide to the residents.  These services range from providing meals, housekeeping, assisted living care, as well as other services you might typically find at high end hotels.

Sunrise Senior Living Inc. (SRZ) is developing  a large number of these communities under the brand name “The Sterling” in major metro areas like California, Michigan, Virginia, Maryland, and Florida.   After the units are sold, Sunrise retains ownership of community space and the assisted living component. “Sunrise remains the operator of the building,” notes Phil Downey, senior vice president of strategy for Sunrise. He explains that the condo association is structured to make it difficult to remove Sunrise as the property manager. “People are buying the Sunrise name.”

Sunrise will have a great opportunity to capture the stream of income from the services they provide in the communities which can range anywhere from $5,00 to $4,000 per month.  Another seniors only condo project that I wrote about a few months ago is the St. Claire, which is a very high end senior community located downtown Chicago, IL overlooking Lake Shore Drive.  The monthly fees are expected to be at least $2,000 per month and can go much higher depending on the services you request. 

Currently, no one knows the exact number of seniors-only condo projects available because it hasn’t  been tracked.  However, the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing and Care Industry (NIC) has plans to do so, according to NIC research director Michael Hargrave.  

As these communities continue to spring up in different areas it wont be to long before you see companies like Sunrise partnering with reverse mortgage originators to ensure that their residents will still have the means to pay their monthly association fees.  To read a copy of the article from National Real Estate Investor click the link below.

Condos with Services: The Next Big Thing?

Technorati tags: Reverse Mortgage News, Reverse Mortgage, FHA, Senior Housing, Senior Condos

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