If you’ve been searching for how to start a group home, you’ve probably already run into one
major roadblock: the assumption that you need a license.
You don’t. And that one distinction changes everything.
Here’s the complete guide to starting a group home business — the right way.
What Is a Group Home Business?
A group home is a residential housing business. You provide safe, affordable, all-inclusive
housing for people who need it — seniors, veterans, people in recovery, individuals on fixed
incomes or disability benefits.
As a group home operator, you are a housing provider. Not a caregiver. The care is handled
by home health professionals already working with your residents through government
programs, nonprofits, and healthcare organizations.
This distinction is everything. It’s why you don’t need a license, why you can open in 30–90
days, and why this model cash flows where traditional real estate doesn’t.
Do You Need a License to Start a Group Home?
No — and this is the most misunderstood part of the business.
There are two types of group homes:
Licensed care facilities are medical operations. You’re hiring clinical staff, getting state-
certified, and running what is essentially a small healthcare company. These require a license.
Housing provider group homes — which is what we teach — are residential housing
businesses. You provide the home, utilities, and environment. Care is outsourced to home
health professionals already serving your residents. Federal Fair Housing law protects this
model.
Group Home Riches has operated this way for over 20 years. Our students operate it across the
US. Only one of our students has ever been taken to court over this. She won — and walked
away with $30,000 in damages.
How Much Money Can You Make With a Group Home?
Here’s what one group home looks like financially:
- Home size: 4–5 bedrooms, 2 residents per room
- Revenue per bed: ~$600/month
- Gross revenue: ~$6,000/month
- Operating costs (rent, utilities, house manager): ~$3,000/month
- Your net: ~$2,500–$3,000/month per property
Three properties generates $7,500–$9,000/month — roughly $90,000 a year. Once your homes
are running, your house manager handles day-to-day operations. Your job is to review the
financials once a month.
How to Start a Group Home With No Money
Most of our students don’t buy a property to get started. They use the master lease model.
You find a landlord with a large home — 4, 5, or 6 bedrooms — that isn’t performing well as a
traditional rental. You offer to sign a long-term lease and take responsibility for the property. The
landlord gets a stable, reliable tenant. You get a property without a mortgage or down payment.
You keep the spread between what you collect from residents and what you pay in rent and
operating costs. That spread is your monthly profit.
Real Student Story: Jasmine Started From a Homeless Shelter
Jasmine found Group Home Riches while living in a homeless shelter with her three kids. No
savings. No real estate experience. No connections.
She found her first landlord partner with one Craigslist call. She furnished her first home with
furniture donated by a local church. She marketed with business cards and bus stop flyers.
Within a year she had her first three group homes running and was netting six figures.
“If you’re not living in a homeless shelter, you’re already ahead of where I started.”
— Jasmine, Detroit
How to Find Residents for Your Group Home
Before you have a property — before you even have a business license — you should be
building your referral source list.
Referral sources are the case managers, social workers, nonprofits, and placement agencies
that work with people who need housing. They have clients right now who need somewhere to
live.
When you introduce yourself as someone opening a group home in their area, you become a
resource they’ll remember. Operators who build these relationships first open their homes with a
waitlist — not an empty house.
How do you build the list? You call. You introduce yourself. That’s it. Smile and dial.
Real Student Story: Chad Converted a 30-Year Real Estate Portfolio
Chad had been a real estate investor for 30 years. He knew what cash flow was supposed to
look like — and traditional rentals were no longer delivering it.
When he found Group Home Riches, he converted his existing portfolio to the group home
model. Three homes running within three months. Five by September. He took Q4 completely
off.
“The need is there. The supply isn’t. I’m not even in the main county and I could take it
by storm.”
— Chad, Indianapolis
Your First Steps to Starting a Group Home
1. Learn the model — understand how the business works, the legal framework, and how
residents are placed
2. Build your referral source list — start making calls before you have a property
3. Find your first property — lease a property using the master lease model
4. Open your home — move in your first residents and collect your first checks
Most of our students go from starting the course to opening their first home in 30–90 days.
Ready to Get Started?
The Group Home Riches free 5-part course walks you through exactly how the business works
— the legal framework, the numbers, how to find a property with no money down, and how to
get your first residents.
→ Get the Free 5-Part Course HERE
Join 2,000+ group home operators in our free Skool community — post wins, get strategy from active coaches, find local partners, and connect with people doing exactly what you’re trying to do.
→ Skool link: https://grouphomeriches.
