How to Prepare for Contacting Assisted Living Communities and Compare Written Proposals

Gather Your Basics Before the First Call

Before dialing, write down the location you need (city, state, or zip code), a rough budget ceiling you are comfortable discussing, and your general timeline. Most large networks, including Brookdale Senior Living and Sunrise Senior Living, let you search for communities by location on their official websites, so confirming which communities actually serve your address is something you can do yourself before anyone calls you back.

Also decide who joins the conversation. If a family member will be the resident, having them on the first call or tour, when possible, means questions about daily routines come from the person who will live with the answers.

Keep one notebook or document for every community. Record the date, the name of the person you spoke with, and exactly what they promised to send. Verbal quotes are hard to compare later; written ones are not.

• Which communities near my zip code currently have availability, and what is the waitlist process if none do?
• Can you email a written schedule of rates and fees before we tour?
• Who is my main contact for follow-up questions, and what is their direct email?

Use the Official Website to Confirm Location and Services

Provider websites are first-party sources for one thing: what the organization says about itself. Brookdale's site lists its service types, including independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, at-home care, and continuing care retirement communities. Sunrise's site describes assisted living, memory care, and independent living. Both offer location search tools and contact numbers (Brookdale at 1-877-384-8989 and Sunrise at 1-888-434-4648).

Use these pages to confirm the community exists, where it is, and which service categories it advertises. Do not treat marketing language on a website as a promise about staffing levels, care quality, or your family member's experience. Those are exactly the topics to raise directly with each community and to verify through the steps described later in this article.

For help finding resources beyond a specific company, the Eldercare Locator, a public service of the U.S. Administration for Community Living, connects older adults and families to local services through its website at eldercare.acl.gov and its phone line, 1-800-677-1116.

• Does this community currently offer assisted living specifically, and are any of its other care types housed on the same campus?
• Are there any planned changes to the services listed on your website that would affect a new resident?

Request a Written Breakdown of the Monthly Cost

Ask for a written fee schedule identifying the room or base charge and any proposed care or service charges. Ask separately about medication assistance, personal care, meals, transportation, laundry, and housekeeping, and have the community identify which items apply and which are included.

The critical question is what triggers a charge to change. A low base rent paired with a care-level structure that can increase is a different financial picture than a higher all-inclusive rate, and you cannot see that from a brochure.

Ask whether the written figure is a quote, an estimate, or a range, and what would make the actual bill differ. If a community will not put a cost breakdown in writing, note that refusal as part of your comparison; it is a legitimate observation about how each community communicates.

• What is included in base rent, and what is billed separately?
• How is the care level determined, who performs that assessment, and how much does each level add to the monthly amount?
• How often is the care level reassessed, and how much advance notice do we get before a care charge changes?
• Which services, such as meals, transport, laundry, and housekeeping, carry limits or extra fees?

Ask About Deposits, Community Fees, and Move-In Paperwork

Move-in costs frequently sit outside the monthly rate. Ask each community to itemize in writing any move-in deposit, community fee, or admission charge, and to state whether each one is refundable and under what conditions. Get the timeline in writing too: when money is due, when it becomes non-refundable, and what happens if the move-in is delayed or canceled.

Ask for copies of the residency agreement and any fee schedule before signing day, not at the signing table. Reading these documents at home, with time to generate questions, is one of the most practical steps a family can take, and there is no reason a community should object to sending them in advance.

• Which move-in fees are refundable, partially refundable, or non-refundable, and under what circumstances?
• Can you send the residency agreement and fee schedule now so we can review them before any decision?
• Is anything in the agreement negotiable, such as the fee amount or its payment timing?

Clarify Rate Changes, Absences, and Hospital Stays

Ask the community to explain the written terms for rate changes, temporary absences, and hospital stays. Request the relevant agreement sections and ask how notice of a change would be communicated.

Then ask about leave policy. If a resident is in the hospital or stays with family for an extended period, is the full monthly rate charged, a reduced rate, or something in between? Communities differ on this, and the difference can matter greatly over a long recovery.

Get the answers as written policy or contract language, not a reassuring verbal summary. If the representative says the policy depends on the contract, that is your cue to locate the specific clause in the agreement they have already sent you.

• How much notice will we receive before a rate change, and how have rates changed in recent years?
• What is billed during a temporary absence or a hospital stay, and where is that written in the agreement?
• Does the resident or family need to notify anyone for an absence to be billed at the reduced rate, if one exists?

Ask for Transfer, Discharge, and Refund Terms Up Front

No one signs a residency agreement expecting to leave, but the exit terms belong in your comparison from the start. Ask each community to explain, in writing, the conditions under which a resident could be transferred to a different unit or care type, and the conditions under which a discharge could occur. Also ask what refunds apply to prepaid amounts or deposits if the resident moves out or passes away, and on what timeline those refunds are processed.

These questions are not signs of distrust; they are standard contract reading. A community's willingness to point to the specific sections of its agreement is itself a useful data point for your comparison.

• Under what circumstances would the community require a transfer or a discharge, and where is that stated in the agreement?
• What refunds of prepaid rent, deposits, or fees apply if a resident leaves, and how long does the refund take?
• If needs change and a different level of care is required, what happens to the current agreement and pricing?

Prepare Questions on Licensing, Inspections, Staffing, and Emergencies

Identify the government agency responsible for the type of community and the location you are considering. Ask the agency where to check the community’s authorization and any available inspection or complaint records. Bring questions about the records to the visit; do not assume every jurisdiction publishes the same information.

At the tour, ask direct questions about staffing and emergency planning: how staffing levels are set for each shift, how the community handles power outages and evacuations, and how families are notified in an emergency. Request documents where they exist, such as the emergency plan summary or the most recent inspection report. Comparing how each community answers, and what it can produce on request, is more informative than any single number.

Ask how the community assesses whether it can meet a prospective resident’s needs and who participates in that process. Discuss clinical questions with appropriately qualified health professionals. A fee comparison does not determine a suitable care setting.

• What is the staffing plan for each shift, and how is it determined?
• Can we see a summary of the emergency plan, including evacuation procedures?
• Can you provide your most recent state inspection report or tell us where to find it?
• What does your care-level assessment involve, when does it happen, and can we get the results and resulting charges in writing?

How to Ask for Missing Details Without Friction

Communities sometimes answer questions verbally and skip items in their written materials. The most effective follow-up is specific and dated. Instead of asking for more information generally, email your contact a short list: the exact fee items missing from the written schedule, the exact contract sections you could not locate, and a deadline that reflects your real timeline, such as a decision date a few weeks out.

If something remains unwritten, write the summary yourself and confirm it: Thank you for explaining today that X; please reply to confirm I understood correctly. A reply creates the written record you need for comparison. If a community repeatedly declines to put answers in writing, weigh that pattern alongside the fees and services.

Keep your follow-up questions in a dated record. Use the same categories for every community so you can compare what each written response says.

• Could you email the itemized fee schedule we discussed, including care-level charges and any move-in fees?
• Could you confirm in writing the notice period for rate changes and the billing policy during hospital stays?
• Can you point me to the specific section of the residency agreement that covers refunds if a resident moves out?

Your proposal comparison checklist

• Base rent and room: monthly amount, apartment size, and what base rent includes
• Care-level assessment: who performs it, when, how levels are assigned, and the charge for each level
• Medication management: whether it is included, billed separately, or tiered
• Personal-care fees: which daily tasks are covered and which trigger additional charges
• Meals, transportation, laundry, and housekeeping: what is included and any limits or extras
• Move-in deposit and community fee: amounts, due dates, and refund conditions
• Rate-change notice: how much advance notice is given and where it is stated in the agreement
• Temporary absence and hospital policy: what is billed and any required notification
• Transfer, discharge, and refund terms: stated conditions and refund timeline
• Licensing and inspections: state license status, latest inspection report, and whether the community will share it
• Staffing and emergency planning: shift staffing approach, emergency plan summary, family notification process
• Documents in hand: written fee schedule, residency agreement, and fee schedule received before signing
• Contact record: name and email of each community's point person and dates of every promise made

Provider sources and limitations

These first-party websites support the directory’s provider identities and published contact routes. The preparation questions above are editorial suggestions, not a diagnosis, repair specification, treatment recommendation, or professional review.

• Brookdale Senior Living official website — checked 2026-09-06
• Eldercare Locator official website — checked 2026-09-06
• Sunrise Senior Living official website — checked 2026-09-06