Meet The Gormans

I want to introduce you to my parents Bud (92) and Louise (79). They have lived in a typical middle-class home for 45 years; living room, dining room, and kitchen on the first floor and three bedrooms and one bathroom on the second floor. 8 stairs to get in the house. 16 stairs to get to the second floor. While they were slowing down a bit, they were healthy and content in their home and weren’t excited about discussing retirement homes.

Everything was Good, Until It Wasn’t

Things took a turn when my dad fell and broke his hip. After a lengthy stay in the hospital and rehab, he finally came home. The stairs were impossible for him, so he was sleeping in the dining room. He still needed a lot of help, so my mom was cooking, cleaning, giving him meds and doing everything for him. Then a week after being home, she fell and hit her head, which resulted in a pretty serious craniotomy surgery. Don’t look that up if you have a weak stomach.

It was a rough surgery, but she pulled through and needed a couple of months of rehab before she could go home. It became clear that they both needed a lot of help and that their two-story home was no longer suitable for their needs.

Searching for the Right Community

I began the search for a 2 bedroom assisted senior living option that was close to family, affordable, and not depressing. The first place I visited was next to my mom’s rehab, so I just popped in after driving by a couple of times. It was nice, but pretty pricey.

Finding the right senior living community can be difficult to navigate, so my mom suggested I reach out to her friend’s friend who is a Senior Care Advisor. I was excited because I thought she would know the places that would be a great fit for my parents and hopefully she can help us get better pricing. The advisor was nice, but wasn’t able to answer a lot of the easy questions I had.

I visited two places she recommended. Turns out they didn't meet my first criteria, two-bedroom assisted. The advisor kept sending me to one-bedroom assisted/two-bedroom independent. She recommended the same places multiple times. It was super weird.

At this point, I just started visiting any place nearby that had decent reviews. After visiting 15 places, I discovered the first place I saw was the best option. While it was pricey, it was only slightly higher than other lower-rated options.

Learning about Referral Fees

This is where things got interesting. Apparently, the Senior Care Advisor called the assisted living home that I found on my own and told them she referred me. She was friends with my mom’s friend, so I went along with it, thinking she would get a $500 referral fee or something.

Come to find out, the Senior Care Advisor we worked with would receive the first month’s rent as a referral fee, which means she would receive $7,000 for sending me 3 emails to places that didn’t meet the minimum criteria I needed.

Researching the Referral Industry

When I started to research referral fees, I discovered these are pretty standard. They are all promoted as free, but they are actually telemarketers who receive payment for referrals, typically the first month's rent. Most of the big competitors operate this way. Unfortunately, these fees incentives advisors to recommend the more expensive option, not the best option. If you read the reviews, they sound predatory.

The Solution is Clear

Someone needs to do something about this, but not many people are aware this problem exists. I have an awesome team building a new site now, designed to offer an alternative to these referral fees. If you would like to learn more about Senior Clear (launching later this year), I would love to chat.

Thanks for your time.

Mike Gorman

Mike@TBDEstudios.com

216.375.8820

Senior Advisors + Referral Fees