AARP has joined the Pennsylvania Assisted Living Consumer Alliance (PALCA www.paassistedlivingconsumeralliance.org) as regulations for oversight of Pennsylvania’s Assisted Living industry are being finalized by the Department of Public Welfare.  AARP Pennsylvania, which has argued for state licensing rules for assisted living for more than a decade, adds a significant voice to the 31-member alliance. AARP has about 40 million members in the nation and 1.9 million in Pennsylvania.

“AARP has a been a leader nationally and in Pennsylvania for sound oversight of assisted living facilities,” said Alissa Halperin, Senior Attorney and Deputy Director of Policy Advocacy at the Pennsylvania Health Law Project, the organization leading PALCA’s effort. “AARP will be a significant contributor to the Alliance as our members continue to press for meaningful regulation of the industry.”

The Alliance has identified numerous ways the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare’s proposed rules could be improved before final regulations are issued. Changes to sections regarding consumer rights, minimum standards for living space, and appeal procedures, among other issues, would improve the regulations and give residents more security as they make their homes in assisted living facilities.  The Pennsylvania Health Law Project has drawn together a broad coalition of Pennsylvania organizations since January. The grassroots movement also has attracted support from numerous individuals and families. The Pennsylvania Health Law Project is primarily using operating support from The Pew Charitable Trusts to fund the campaign.

“We are now in the final stretch before the state releases its assisted living regulations,” Halperin said. “We have a formidable Alliance with members who believe Pennsylvanians deserve quality assisted living facilities. With AARP’s support, we will continue to make the case that strong rules are in the best interest of residents, their families and the Commonwealth.”

For more information about the Pennsylvania Assisted Living Consumer Alliance and to view the work of all of the Alliance members, click on www.paassistedlivingconsumeralliance.org.

Earlier this week, Emeritus Senior Living announced that it closed on the purchase of five communities from affiliates of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR). The five communities were formerly leased by the Company and were acquired for a purchase price of $62.5 million, plus transaction costs of approximately $3.3 million and are comprised of 432 units and are located in four states.  The full press release discusses the terms of the financing for the facilities that were purchased.

Mr. Granger Cobb, the Company’s President and Co-CEO, stated, “We are pleased that, despite the current turmoil in the financial markets, this transaction closed on time and with favorable financing. We continue to further our long-term strategy of buying leased assets in transactions that are, at a minimum, cash flow neutral, and that create value over time by eliminating rent escalators and capturing the full future upside potential of these properties.”

The National Association of Realtors^® announced today that existing home sales and declined 8.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.49 million units in November from a downwardly revised level of 4.91 million in October.  The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $181,300 in November, down 13.2 percent from November 2007 when the median was $208,800.  Even with mortgage rates trending lower, it appears that equity in senior’s home continues to be declining and the pace of existing housing sales is continuing to get slower. 

For the full press release, click here. 

Bailout nation gets another group asking for money, this time in the property developer segment.  Large commercial property developers are now standing on the steps of capitol hill asking lawmakers for a piece of the bailout pie as they are concerned that many commercial mortgages that are coming due will not be able to be refinanced during the next three years due to strained liquidity, tighter credit standards and most concerning, lenders reluctance to lend.  The Wall Street Journal article, Developers Ask U.S. for Bailout as Massive Debt Looms, mentions that commercial developers have met with the current administration, members of Congress and representatives of the incoming administration but state that those groups seem to be more focused on using funds for a consumer debt bailout rather than a commercial mortgage debt.  The article quotes Foresight Analytics and estimates that $160 billion of commercial mortgages will mature next year.  Assuming that refinancing are off more than 50% according to a Deutsche Bank report referenced in the article, that’s at least $100 billion for commercial developers in any stimulus or relief package.   Publicly traded senior housing developers will have a difficult time but even more concerning is for the small and medium sized developers as they try to refinance their traditional bank debt on their facilities.  For the full WSJ article, click here (subscription maybe required).

The Washington Post ran an article today entitled, Sunrise Hopes Dawn Is Near, on Sunrise Senior Living and talks about how the company got started and goes into an analysis of its debt position.  The company has stated that it has enough cash to operate through the end of January and some analysts think that Sunrise will work with its lenders to restructure its debts rather than file bankruptcy.  The article comments that Sunrise’s troubles extend from its rapid expansion and operational policies as well as its accounting scandals/probes that it has faced over the last two years.  It’s a well written article that discusses the challenges that Sunrise faces but provides a balance that shows that there is significant potential for profitability and growth once seniors are able to sell their homes to move into Sunrise facilities.

For the full article, click here.

Over the last 18 months, the ratings agencies have been criticized for the lack of transparency and more importantly, accuracy, in their ratings of mortgage backed securities.  Fitch Ratings last week released its ratings guidelines for CCRCs to explain their logic and criteria for rating individual projects that are associated with their bond offerings.  The ratings guidelines reflect solid principals of commercial loan underwriting standards with a focus on the retirement community operations and real estate.  The report, while dry, provides a more common understanding of how it rates its bonds and goes into the logic behind the upgrades and downgrades of the bonds associated with CCRCs. 

Fitch hosted a conference call to discuss the release of the report and provides an indepth explanation of the report.  A replay of the teleconference will be available starting two hours after the teleconference is completed and will be available until Jan. 18 close of business. To listen to the teleconference replay, participants should call +1-800-642-1687 (Domestic) or +1 706-645-9291 (International). The conference ID number for the replay is ‘77869404.’

For the full report, click here.