Big Demand, Potential For Fast Money and No Regulations Make Sober Homes a Wild West

They charge anywhere from $450 a month to $10,000 or more, according to Recovery First, a web resource for people seeking sober living. So, other Sober Living Homes in the area should not be viewed as competition. Despite the appalling conditions, a bed here still costs as much as $500. Realtor Brian Wall says this kind of money is attracting people to the sober home business. Realtor Brian Wall says sober homes have become a lucrative business for him. He says the perfect sober house has lots of bedrooms, and is far away from nosy neighbors.

• Quality, sober-living homes are in demand to provide the addict, under supervision, a safe transition to independent living without substance abuse.
• Figure out what other facilities offer and try to find a point of differentiation – how your facility meets a unique and unmet need in the area.
• That’s what his nonprofit organization’s all about — getting sober home owners to agree to follow certain rules.

The second part of the perfect storm was that my wife and I were looking to downsize from our primary residence, mostly for lifestyle reasons, but the real estate market had already tanked. So, we both took some chances and decided we would open up our own recovery house with our primary residence, especially since there was a drastic shortage of facilities in our area. In addition, the nature of the program will also contribute to the overall cost of the home. Some sober living programs are less about being a program and more of providing structure to the residents’ individual lives, which would typically lower the cost.

Socially Conscious Investing: How to Start a Sober Living Home

If you’re ready to start a sober living home of your own, consider joining the exceptional Eudaimonia team. Our Sober Living Manager app is available on the Apple Store and Google Store. During our in-depth onboarding process, we will show you how to set it up in order to successfully run your sober living house. Contact us today to see how we can help you open your own sober living house.

Oftentimes these areas are residential in nature, and you might face backlash from the community when you try to start a sober living home in their neighborhood. However, with regard to community backlash, the federal Fair Housing laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act are on your side and protect people who need to live in sober living homes. You do not need a license or certification to open a sober living home, but some states require voluntary certification processes to be met first. Many owners of sober living homes find themselves in this industry after a personal experience.

Develop a business plan.

In addition, you may find the family of the addicts in the house challenging to manage. Their “enabler” could be a friend, parent, or spouse that gets in the way of an individual’s recovery. In your business plan, you’ll identify the sober living homes in the area that serve as your primary competitors. If a geographical area is over-saturated with these homes, it how does sober living work may not be the best location to open a new facility. In contrast, identifying locations in need of more recovery homes can result in better success for your new business. California, however, is leading the way in regulating these facilities, so they do not discriminate, are not discriminated against, and maintain good health and safety standards for residents.

Remember that drug and alcohol addiction can affect people from any walk of life, gender, or age. With this in mind, prepare that you may have a mix of residents at any given time. Ask yourself questions about the type of residents you want to attract and how you will vet applicants. It’s important to maintain a safe and comfortable environment that will attract new residents. Will you implement formal background checks, references, or application processes?

Create a welcoming and supportive environment.

Once we had the buy-in of me as owner and my son, who had lots of experience with recovery, as a manager, the rest was the easy part. Having a good property, location, and furnishing a place might not seem like the easy part to the typical real estate investor, but it is. The hardest part is having a good manager, culture, and reputation. “I’ve never heard of anything like that. I don’t know what model that is,” said Craig Koury, the membership manager of CCAPP, the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals.

There will be activities you’ll be encouraged to engage in, as well as other responsibilities you’ll be entrusted to uphold. For Miles, the search for a sober living in the South Bay continues. But Miles says he felt the sober home was more focused on raising money than helping residents stay sober. He says he and about a dozen other residents were loaded into a van and dropped off in neighborhoods across Santa Clara County to knock on doors six hours a day, six days a week, to ask for donations. Insiders tell NBC Bay Area that the sober living business is in desperate need of oversight.

The Quest for Quality House Managers: 3 Tactics for Sober Living Homes

This may include access to counseling and therapy, support groups, and other recovery resources. Some homes provide yoga, morning meditations, on-campus 12-step meetings, and a slew of other wellness-based practices. You may also hear of a sober living home called a recovery house or a group addiction residence. Often, sober living homes are privately owned, but non-profit organizations or businesses can also own or operate them.

Martin says she gave Miles multiple chances to return to the home after he relapsed and eventually asked him to leave. And, she says, unlike other sober homes, no one has to pay to stay. Residents are given 10 to 50 percent of what they raise, based on what they bring in.

That’s because these homes can turn into overcrowded boarding houses that no one wants to live next to. The state rules and regulations are becoming stricter related to licensing standards, trained and certified staff—most states require in-house professionals and structured programs for the clients. However, the rules and regulations are becoming tighter for the good of the clients living in any facility. If you decide to open a co-ed sober living home, know that special rules and considerations will need to be made to ensure a welcoming and comfortable environment for all. If you’re just getting started, here is a basic overview of the steps you will need to take to successfully start a sober living home in your community.