By Jessica Solomon, Founder, Next Best Home
The Code of Ethics: A Foundation Worth Revisiting
For more than a century, real estate professionals have followed a clear moral compass — the National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics.
It’s not just a rulebook. It’s a promise:
- Put the client’s interests first.
- Disclose all conflicts of interest.
- Respect competitors and protect public trust.
- Uphold honesty and transparency in every transaction.
This framework builds accountability into every sale and safeguards the integrity of an entire profession.
But in another booming corner of the housing and care industry — senior placement and referral services — that same ethical backbone simply doesn’t exist.
The Unregulated Rise of a Billion-Dollar Industry
The senior placement industry — those “free” referral services that connect families with assisted living and memory care — has quietly grown into a multi-billion-dollar business.
Yet unlike real estate, this world is largely unregulated, unmonitored, and unknown to most consumers. Families assume these advisors work for them — but many are paid by the facilities they recommend.
As NBC News reported, the U.S. Senate has launched a probe into A Place for Mom, one of the nation’s largest referral companies. The investigation centers on complaints that families were steered toward communities based on referral payments, not on care quality or fit.
These so-called free services come at a price — some facilities pay up to 150% of a new resident’s first month’s rent as a referral fee. That cost is passed right back to families through higher monthly rates.
In other words: Families don’t see the bill, but they pay it every month.
The “Pay-to-Play” Reality
The referral marketplace now operates like a digital bidding war.
Care homes that can afford to pay for visibility rise to the top of aggregator sites. Smaller, family-run homes — often the most compassionate, community-based options — are buried under pages of “sponsored” listings.
The result is a pay-to-play economy that rewards spending over service.
Consumers assume they’re browsing an objective directory. In truth, they’re viewing paid advertisements, with no required disclosure — a practice that would never fly in the real-estate world under REALTOR® standards.
The First Crack in the Wall: Missouri’s Transparency Bill
Change is coming, slowly but surely.
In April 2025, The Missouri Independent reported on new legislation that would require referral companies to disclose financial relationships with the facilities they promote.
It’s a modest but meaningful step — echoing the disclosure principles embedded in the REALTOR® Code of Ethics.
Full transparency. Full accountability. Full stop.
The Great Convergence: REALTORS® Become Placement Agents
As the lines blur, a new phenomenon is emerging:
- Placement agents are getting real-estate licenses.
- Real-estate agents are pivoting into senior placement.
It’s diversification by necessity — but also a warning sign of an industry in flux.
The system is cannibalizing itself. Everyone’s chasing the same shrinking pie, while the families — the very people this industry was meant to serve — are left confused, overcharged, and underserved.
Who’s Paying the Price? Families and Small Operators
Families face the emotional and financial strain of navigating care for loved ones — without realizing that every “recommendation” might be influenced by a backend payment.
Meanwhile, small residential care homes, already running on thin margins, must pay thousands of dollars in referral fees just to compete for visibility.
They’re forced to “pay to play” simply to keep the lights on and beds filled.
This isn’t care navigation — it’s care brokering.
And it’s quietly eroding trust across the entire senior-care ecosystem.
What’s Missing: A Community Coalition
What the senior-care market truly needs isn’t another lead-generation platform — it’s a coalition of community-based professionals grounded in ethics, transparency, and collaboration.
Real estate has thrived because of shared standards. The care industry can do the same.
Imagine if fiduciaries, REALTORS®, care managers, and advocates worked under a unified Code of Conduct — one modeled after real-estate ethics and focused on the family’s best interest.
That’s exactly what we’re building at Next Best Home:
A transparent, MLS-style hub that connects families to verified local experts and ethical solutions:
- Care Concierge — personalized guidance for families navigating housing and care.
- Trusted Advisors — vetted professionals who uphold ethics, not commissions.
- Financial Solutions — education on bridge loans, home equity, and alternatives to reverse mortgages.
Together, we’re re-building transparency, one family at a time.
Integrity Is the New Competitive Edge
This industry is at a tipping point. The players who survive won’t be the biggest; they’ll be the most trustworthy.
The shift is already happening:
Transparency is the new trust. Trust is the new currency.
Families deserve honesty.
Care homes deserve fair access.
And communities deserve an ethical standard that puts people before profit.
It’s time to bring ethics, transparency, and humanity back into the business of care.
Jessica Solomon
Founder, Next Best Home
Helping families find clarity, not commissions.
