WHO IS EMMANUEL GUARINO
Emmanuel Guarino is a topnotch real estate agent who also trains entrepreneurs and investors at Residential Assisted Living Academy.
RAL Academy teaches individuals various ways to get involved in the residential assisted living industry as owners, operators, and investors.
The academy teaches students how to create and run a residential assisted living business. Guarino says, his father started the business 8 years ago.
According to a recent podcast interview, the interest was sparked when his grandmother started to decline in health and could no longer stay in her home alone.
After his dad forged a path, others wanted to learn how to start a home also.
“People started coming up to us asking, ‘Hey, you’re doing this,’” Guarino said. “We want to learn how to do this too.” It wasn’t long before they assembled a team of professional investors and senior care advisors and started teaching how to start RAL homes across the nation.
WHY RESIDENTIAL LIVING FACILITIES ARE ON THE RISE
Some people would rather not stay in a larger facility, because the level of care is not up to their standard.
He said, one caregiver may be assisting 10-20 people in a larger facility – these large senior living homes are often referred to as big-box facilities.
Guarino referred to other routes of providing care for elderly parents.
“There’s the idea of bringing a stranger into the home to take care of our mother, our grandmother,” he said. “That’s a little dicey situation on its own.”
This is when the Guarino family decided to get started in the residential assisted living industry.
TWO MISTAKES WE MADE SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO
Purchased a $50,000 Van
Some may ask the question, don’t you need a van for all the residents in the home? Don’t they want to go to the movies, and restaurants, and the opera, and this and that? ‘
Once you’re in the industry, you realize that a van is simply not needed. There’s really not a daily thing that’s going on.
When seniors are living in a residence, it becomes their home. It’s the place they desire to relax. Chances are, most seniors in RAL homes do not request routine outings. Plus even when those occasions arise, it’s just simpler and cheaper to rent a van for a day.
Purchasing Too Small
Instead of maximizing our work and efforts we decided to start small. “Well, let’s start small and then let’s move bigger,” Guarino explained.
During the podcast, Guarino said, instead of starting small, owners, operators and investors need to start thinking bigger.
Starting too small is a key mistake for people wanting to get involved in the industry.
THE SWEET SPOT
As owners of residential assisted living facilities, we have three homes, they’re in three very different locations; we have a scale that we use – level one through five.
Five is a high-end home and one is low-end.
Our level four and our level five – those are our favorite homes. These homes allow us to maximize our efforts to provide the best level of care.
“One home, after all that is said and done, could net 10k, 15k, 20k a month, with that one single-family home. The best real estate investing advice, I would have to say “Buy low, sell high.”
This is what we call the sweet spot, landing somewhere in the middle, yet providing the best level of care.
TWO MOST EXPENSIVE CATEGORIES
Staffing
Staffing cost starts at a minimum wage plus a couple of dollars.
Long-time employees usually qualify for incremental raises as time goes on. This is an industry-standard.
If they’re a caregiver, taking on extra duties being the manager, we might give them $500 or $1,000 additionally to do that job.
Food Cost
Every resident needs to eat in the home. Owners and operators must make sure to get the best deals at the grocery store, buy in bulk, and do the things that keep costs down.
“Usually, what we see is about $5 to $8 per day, per person,” Guarino said.
They’re eating in the RAL home, and it’s not pre-made food – we’re making food from scratch.
The other thing is we’re buying in bulk, and we’re preparing food in bulk, so that brings down the prices as well.
LEARN EVERYTHING FROM A-Z ABOUT OWNING AND OPERATING A RAL HOME
Visit www.RALAcademy.com to learn more about RAL investment opportunities. The academy teaches students how to succeed as new RAL homeowners and operators.
During the 3-day course, instructors teach using an interactive live training approach. Participants learn everything from A to Z about how to run a RAL business.
Contact the academy today to learn strategic skill sets and support structures needed to launch your RAL business to the next level.
