THE OFF MKT is a confidential listing platform for childcare centers and other specialized commercial properties. It allows owners to sell discreetly and verified buyers to find opportunities that aren’t publicly marketed. The platform combines structure, confidentiality, and a proven process that leads to smoother transitions for all parties.

Why sell a childcare center off-market?

Selling off-market gives owners privacy, control, and flexibility. It minimizes disruption to staff, families, and operations while still connecting with qualified buyers. THE OFF MKT adds structure and documentation so deals stay compliant and confidential throughout the process.

Who can list a property or business on THE OFF MKT?

Listings are managed through Aaron Kraft at Kidder Mathews for licensed childcare facilities in Washington State. As the platform grows, Aaron is developing a broker network throughout the country to manage listings in compliance with each State’s laws.

How do buyers gain access to listings?

Buyers register, schedule a short introductory call, and sign a confidentiality agreement (NDA). Once verified, they can view redacted listings in full detail—including financials, DCYF transfer notes, virtual tours, and property information—through a secure dashboard.

What types of listings are available?

THE OFF MKT currently focuses on licensed childcare centers, both operating businesses and real estate. Over time, it will expand to include preschools, schools, medical offices, and flex or industrial properties suited for learning environments.

Can I post my requirements if I’m looking for a property?

Yes. Verified operators can submit a requirement—a description of the type of facility they need. THE OFF MKT may post that need in redacted form so potential sellers can connect through the platform.

Is THE OFF MKT a real estate brokerage?

THE OFF MKT is a technology and marketing platform. Brokerage services for Washington State listings are provided by Aaron Kraft through Kidder Mathews. As the site expands, independent brokers and verified owners will be able to post listings directly.

What makes THE OFF MKT different from other listing sites?

Traditional listing sites are public and unfiltered, which often leads to unnecessary exposure or misalignment. THE OFF MKT is private and curated—it verifies every user, structures the process, and keeps deals on track with documentation, NDAs, and timelines designed for childcare transactions.

How does THE OFF MKT help lower the cost of childcare?

By improving how childcare centers change hands, the platform reduces transaction inefficiencies, wasted marketing, and mismatched buyers. Over time, that helps lower the real estate cost component of childcare, creating more sustainable operations and better affordability.

What does it cost to use THE OFF MKT?

Registration is free for verified users. Sellers currently work directly through Aaron Kraft at Kidder Mathews, and buyer access is included after verification. Future platform fees may apply for independent listings or success-based transactions.

How is my information protected?

All users agree to confidentiality terms. Private data and listing materials are watermarked, stored securely, and shared only with verified users who have signed an NDA. THE OFF MKT uses role-based access and revocable links to maintain control over who can view what.

Childcare Transactions Also Need an Adult in the Room

Dec 31

Written By TheOFFMKT

Childcare transactions are some of the most complex deals in commercial real estate and small business combined.

They involve an operating business, a regulated license, a workforce, families, public funding in many cases, and often real estate. Yet despite that complexity, these transactions are frequently handled without the structure, transparency, or discipline that other asset classes take for granted.

That gap creates real problems.

When childcare transactions lack oversight and market standards, the outcome is predictable. Confusion around value. Misaligned incentives. Distorted pricing. And in the worst cases, fraud that damages trust across the entire industry.

Fraud is bad. Full stop.

And the way to reduce it is not noise or finger pointing. It is better market infrastructure.

The Transaction Is Where Markets Break or Mature

Most public attention around childcare focuses on operations. Tuition. Staffing. Licensing. Subsidies.

But transactions are where long term outcomes are set.

Who owns the business?
Who controls the real estate?
How value is established?
What standards buyers and sellers are held to?

When transactions happen in fragmented, opaque environments, bad behavior is easier to hide and good operators are harder to reward. Markets without structure do not self correct.

They degrade.

Why Childcare Transactions Are Uniquely Vulnerable

Unlike other asset classes, childcare transactions often suffer from:

Blended business and real estate values
Limited or selective buyer exposure
Lack of relevant sales data
Minimal visibility into demand
Inconsistent underwriting standards

Deals frequently rely on anecdotes instead of data and relationships instead of markets. That creates an environment where outcomes depend more on who you know than on what something is actually worth.

That is not healthy for sellers, buyers, lenders, or families.

Transactions Need Structure Before They Need Opinions

When issues surface publicly, the instinct is often to debate motivations or backgrounds.

That misses the point.

The real issue is whether transactions are happening inside a system that enforces accountability.

Healthy markets have a few things in common:

Transparent exposure
Verified participants
Clear separation of roles
Consistent standards
Observable outcomes

Childcare transactions have historically lacked this infrastructure. Until that changes, problems will continue to surface regardless of who the operators are.

The Role of a Real Marketplace

A credible transaction environment does not pick winners. It sets rules.

It allows both local owner operators and institutional buyers to compete on equal footing. It creates pricing tension without chaos. It produces real data instead of rumors.

Most importantly, it makes behavior visible.

Transparency does not excuse bad actors. It exposes them.

Where The OFF MKT Fits

The OFF MKT exists to bring adult supervision to childcare transactions.

It is a technology platform, not a brokerage.

Its role is to create a verified, discreet marketplace where:

Buyers and sellers can engage responsibly.
Demand can be observed rather than assumed.
Competition can occur without public disruption.
Market data can accumulate over time.

Brokerage services and transaction execution are handled separately by experienced professionals when and if a deal makes sense. Roles are clear. Incentives are aligned.

That separation is intentional and necessary.

Why This Matters for Everyone

When childcare transactions are handled professionally:

Good operators gain credibility.
Bad behavior is harder to hide.
Buyers underwrite with confidence.
Lenders price risk appropriately.
Sellers get real market feedback.

Markets mature when structure replaces shortcuts.

The Long View

Every childcare operator will eventually face a transaction. Expansion. Partnership. Refinance. Sale.

Those moments should happen in a market that rewards quality and accountability, not opacity.

Childcare transactions need an adult in the room.

The OFF MKT is helping build that room.

The First Step

It is not selling. It is understanding the market.

By joining The OFF MKT, owners and buyers can engage quietly, observe real demand, and help create the data that leads to better transactions and better outcomes.

Learn the market first.

Decide from a position of clarity.

TheOFFMKT https://www.theoffmkt.com