I am puzzled by this piece. In the very first sentence it says "... three of its communities", referring to Erickson. However, later in this piece it says "... all are separate, independent 501(c)(3) organizations, unaffiliated with Erickson", referring to the same 3 communities. So, are they affiliated with Erickson, or not - and if "not", why are they even being mentioned? Thanks!

Hi Curious: The notion that the communities are "independent" is kind of a crock. As nonprofits with ostensibly independent boards the communities are legally separate from Erickson corporate. But they buy management services from Erickson corporate. They market the Erickson name. And in several cases they have borrowed money on the tax-exempt muni market to buy the communities' real estate from Erickson -- for presumably a very nice price. No "independent" Erickson community has ever bought management services from anybody besides Erickson.

As you correctly intuited, the very fact that Fitch felt compelled to issue a report on the nonprofit communiities in light of Erickson's bankruptcy proceeding casts doubt on assertions of independence. Nevertheless, the communities' setup as nonprofits does insulate them somewhat from Erickson corporate's problems. Hope this helps. JH

I am not an accomplished emailer/blogger so do not always know what is being requested e.g.URL,HTML.

My viewpoint is that of a senior citizen who has admired the Erickson model. I hear and read real support from Erickson community residents. Their model seems successful even if expansion caught them in a downturn.

The aging boomers should and still could find a way to self fund the community of their choice if the bankruptcy can devise a way to tap those funds 'retirement bonds'?

Hello again, Jay.

I just wanted to say "thanks" for the reply to my earlier posting - it does clear things up a bit. IMHO, the communities most certainly ARE affiliated with Erickson.

I do hope that the residents make out OK once the sale goes through early next year. Perhaps some of them might want to get together and hire an attorney with specific expertise in real estate and tenant law, just to put their minds at ease a bit. I think that Erickson, as well as the purchaser, would be more inclined to deal with a single "spokesperson" (i.e., a group attorney) rather than field phone calls from hundreds of concerned residents acting individually.

What can residents of Erickson communities and their families do to make sure that their legal and financial interests are represented in the restructuring? I have a family member who has lived at Riderwood for more than eight years. At the meetings over the past week and a half at Riderwood, members of management, representatives of Corporate, John Erickson himself, and representatives of the Board of Directors all expressed the opinion that all the problems at Erickson are financial issues involving community development during difficult economic times and have nothing to do with leadership issues or problems with the community management portion of the corporation. They insist that what’s best for Riderwood is to change nothing about present management even under new ownership. Our personal experiences and the experiences of others we know indicate otherwise. Certain members of management, especially the director of resident services as well as some individuals in the central corporate office, are prone to making seriously incompetent decisions that cause harm to other people and waste lots of money. Anyone who disagrees with these people or their opinions is dealt with vindictively, including employees being fired or driven out and residents and their families being dealt with very unprofessionally. The Board of Directors should be representing the interests of residents over management but, like many Boards of Directors of publically traded companies, they appear to be too closely tied to management to even be aware of the problems. A new owner providing serious oversight independent of the Erickson family and their friends would be very useful.

I SEE THE LIGHTS IN THE DISTANCE OF ANN'E CHOICE EVERY NIGHT AND WONDER. WONDER WHAT THEY ARE WONDERING IN THERE.
NOT A GOOD SITUATION. LET US CROSS OUR FINGERS, MANY OF MY NEIGHBORS ARE THERE.. EVERYONE LOVES IT, BUT.....