Why Majestic Residences’ Residential Assisted Living Model Is Attracting Franchise Investors

Majestic Residences is redefining senior living through a residential assisted living franchise model that combines compassionate care with a scalable business opportunity. Founded by franchise veteran Chuck Bongiovanni, the brand helps entrepreneurs own and operate residential care homes while building long-term real estate equity. Today, the system has 27 open locations and 12 more in development. 

“I stayed with [CarePatrol] for about two years, and then I decided to take the plunge on the other side of the desk and franchise assisted living facilities, specifically residential care homes, something I never thought I would do,” Bongiovanni said. “But the opportunity opened up, and I realized I'd seen enough of the industry to understand what families liked and didn't like. I thought we could build a model around my experience helping people find the right solution.” 

Unlike traditional senior housing investments, Majestic Residences gives franchisees the opportunity to own both an operating business and, in many cases, the underlying real estate. Bongiovanni believes that combination creates a unique path to long-term wealth while addressing growing demand for personalized senior care.

"What people don't realize is they're not just buying a business, they're buying real estate," Bongiovanni said. "Historically, real estate appreciates around 5% to 7.5% annually, and your business is helping pay the mortgage.”

As demand for senior care continues to grow, Bongiovanni sees Majestic Residences as an opportunity for investors who want to build a business while making a meaningful impact. Rather than providing day-to-day care themselves, franchisees focus on growing the business, hiring strong managers and expanding into multiple homes.

“It's an investment opportunity, but it's for investors who also care,” Bongiovanni said. “We don't want our franchisees providing hands-on care. We want them to hire a manager, who then hires the caregivers and oversees the home. The franchisee works on the business rather than in the business. They fill one home, then buy another home, then another after that.”

Bongiovanni joined 1851 Franchise Publisher Nick Powills on a recent episode of the “Meet the Franchise” podcast. A transcript of his interview with Powills has been provided below. It has been edited for brevity, clarity and style.

Nick Powills: All right, Chuck. One scripted question, and then we'll take it wherever the wind blows. How did you accidentally fall into franchising? What's your franchise backstory?

Chuck Bongiovanni: Wow. Okay. Eighteen years ago, I had a company that helped people find assisted living, and I decided to franchise it. That company is called CarePatrol. My wife and I grew it into 150 units, and then we sold it to the private equity firm Riverside Company. They brought it into a portfolio with several other senior care franchises.

I stayed with the company for about two years, and then I decided to take the plunge on the other side of the desk and franchise assisted living facilities, specifically residential care homes, something I never thought I would do. But the opportunity opened up, and I realized I'd seen enough of the industry to understand what families liked and didn't like. I thought we could build a model around my experience helping people find the right solution.

Powills: I hear more entrepreneur than franchisor, and I don't mean that as a negative. It seems like your superpower is finding a gap in the marketplace and creating a solution that business owners can invest in. Is that your superpower? Or is franchising your superpower?

Bongiovanni: That's interesting. No one's ever phrased it that way before. I'd have to say franchising because I love the model. I love helping people make a lot of money, change their lives and work together as partners to build something successful. So I'd say franchising, but you definitely made me think about that one.

Powills: You've built a tremendous career around assisted living from multiple angles. The first senior care brand I worked with was back in 2005, and it focused on care in the home. Since then, I've watched the respect for the senior community evolve, which I'm sure you've seen too. How has the industry changed? Where do you still see room for growth? Where are we still getting it wrong?

Bongiovanni: That's a great question, especially with residential senior care. It's been around forever, but it hasn't received as much attention as the large assisted living communities you see every day. There are more than 36,000 residential senior care homes across the United States, so I'd be willing to bet that almost every listener is within a mile or two of one.

COVID really helped the industry. While large assisted living facilities and nursing homes experienced significant challenges, including many deaths from COVID, smaller residential care homes generally didn't experience those same issues. I think that helped people recognize the model.

Families also appreciate that these homes are truly home-like environments. They're literally houses in neighborhoods. That makes the transition feel less dramatic than moving Mom from her house into a large apartment-style assisted living community.

Powills: If I oversimplify it, years ago the assumption was that you got older and moved into an old people's home. Today you see communities like Margaritaville or The Villages where people are still active and enjoying life, and you also see smaller residential facilities built around care, compassion and empathy for people who need more support.

We're making progress. But if I think about in-home senior care, what's amazing is that you could have a million providers in a market and demand would still exceed supply.

Bongiovanni: I definitely agree. A lot of that comes down to the number of caregivers needed to support in-home care compared with residential care homes.

Powills: On the caregiver front, I don't think we've mastered it yet. Sometimes we treat caregivers like they're flipping burgers, when in reality they're managing someone's life in a very delicate situation. I don't know that we've fully recognized the value and respect caregivers deserve.

Bongiovanni: I like where you're going with that. I think COVID changed people's perspective because it showed owners that caregivers are truly the lifeblood of the business. Whether you're sending caregivers into clients' homes or bringing them into a residential home to care for multiple residents, owners realized they had to protect their greatest asset, and that's their caregivers.

Powills: Exactly. If you treat your caregivers poorly, they're going to treat your clients poorly. If your clients have a bad experience, referrals go down.

Bongiovanni: Or the caregiver simply quits. If a caregiver doesn't show up for an in-home client, that's a huge problem. One advantage of residential care is that we may have two or three caregivers working in the home. If one calls in sick, operations can continue while we find someone to fill in.

Powills: Give me the lay of the land. How many locations and franchisees do you have today?

Bongiovanni: We have 27 open locations and another 12 in development. A few months ago, we purchased our largest competitor, Avendelle, out of North Carolina. That acquisition was really refreshing for us. In many ways, it felt like starting over. We added 17 new franchisees who are brand new to our system. It's exciting getting them onto our processes and systems, which are different from what they used before.

You don't often get a reset in franchising. I experienced this with CarePatrol when we acquired our largest competitor and brought over 23 or 24 franchisees. I love that opportunity because your existing franchisees benefit too. They can essentially be retrained while you're onboarding the new owners. It's been an invigorating environment for us.

Powills: What's the investment structure?

Bongiovanni: The franchise fee is $49,500. There's a 6% royalty and a $300 technology fee. Beyond that, franchisees need a house, whether they buy or lease one. They also need to renovate it, furnish it and get it ready for residents. Depending on whether you purchase or lease the property, the initial investment varies widely, from about $150,000 to well over $1 million.

Powills: That gives someone who isn't as financially equipped a way into the business. But going back to supply and demand, if someone already has capital to invest, the $1 million-plus model seems especially attractive because of the demand.

Bongiovanni: Exactly. What people don't realize is they're not just buying a business, they're buying real estate. Let's say you buy a $750,000 house and put $150,000 down. Historically, real estate appreciates around 5% to 7.5% annually, and your business is helping pay the mortgage. After 10 years, you could easily have more than $1 million in equity, and that's before considering the revenue from the business itself.

Powills: I think that's one of the most compelling parts of the opportunity. You're not just talking to franchisees, you're talking to business investors. If you've already built wealth, buying a business that also includes appreciating real estate is incredibly attractive. Eventually the business pays off the property, and then you can decide whether to sell it or keep it as generational wealth.

Bongiovanni: Exactly. Someone could buy a five-bedroom home with an attached garage, convert the garage into three additional bedrooms and have an eight-bedroom home that can comfortably accommodate 10 residents.

Powills: I love that positioning. If it were me, I'd feature that prominently on your franchise website. What's also interesting is that because of your CarePatrol background, you're an advocate for first-time franchisees. You're teaching them the systems and processes to build wealth. So you really have multiple paths: the experienced investor and the first-time entrepreneur.

Bongiovanni: There's actually a third option. Someone can simply buy the house and lease it to one of our operators.

Powills: Now you've got my attention. Before we started recording, I noticed on LinkedIn that you're running for office. Tell me about that.

Bongiovanni: I'm currently the vice mayor of Gilbert, Arizona, a town of about 300,000 people, the largest town in the world by population. We had an election last night, and the numbers are extremely close right now. We'll see what happens. If I win, great. If I don't, that's okay too.

Powills: What made you want to do that?

Bongiovanni:  I always have to be doing something. At the time there were four seats available, and I heard there were six or seven people running. I thought, "I'm a very good marketer.” Once I won the seat, I really fell in love with it. In many ways, serving on a town council is similar to franchising. Your constituents are like your franchisees. You have to keep them satisfied and make sure things are operating well.

The mindset wasn't that different. And honestly, if I lose this election, that's okay because I still have this franchise system to run.

Powills: Knowing your story, I'd imagine you approached politics the same way you approach business. You identified a gap you thought you could help solve. Whether voters agree is up to them, but that seems to be your superpower, identifying problems and building solutions.

Bongiovanni: Franchising is all about solving problems. Whether you're solving a consumer problem or helping a franchisee overcome a challenge, it's all about solving problems.

Powills: If someone is watching and thinking, "I'm intrigued," what else do you want them to know about the opportunity?

Bongiovanni: It's an investment opportunity, but it's for investors who also care. We don't want our franchisees providing hands-on care. We want them to hire a manager, who then hires the caregivers and oversees the home. The franchisee works on the business rather than in the business. They fill one home, then buy another home, then another after that.

Powills: I love the category. I think your experience on the customer acquisition side is part of the magic, and today your role is really about coaching business owners. It's a great business and a great story.

Chuck, I appreciate you taking the time to share it with me today.

Bongiovanni: Thanks. I appreciate it.

Watch the full episode above or on YouTube.