Selling Your Adult Family Home
Your buyer cannot take over your license; they apply for their own, and you keep operating until the change of ownership is approved. That makes timing the biggest part of the plan.
Buyers price an operating home on its records: census, contracts, inspection history and the house itself.
Your steps, in order
- Selling Your AFH Business at RetirementTiming, notice, and what a buyer will ask for.
- Buying or Selling an Adult Family HomeThe change-of-ownership process from both sides.
- Is It Really an Adult Family Home?How your home will be described to buyers.
- AFH Valuation EstimatorA starting range for the real estate and the business.
- Find a ProfessionalBrokers, business brokers, bookkeepers and insurance.
- List a Home on AFH ClubAdd your home to the AFH Club listings.
Watch out for
Give 60 days' written notice.
To DSHS and to each resident, before the proposed change of ownership.
The license does not transfer.
Every new owner applies for a new license, including when an LLC is formed around an existing home. ECS and SBS contracts do not transfer either.
Keep the license continuous if you can.
A home that stays licensed through the sale keeps the building rules it was licensed under; a lapse can force upgrades such as 27-inch doors.
Looking for a figure or a rule? See Rules & key figures or the AFH glossary. General information, not legal or tax advice.
See the whole flow chart
Once licensed → Running a home
Once licensed → Running a home