Leasing space for a dental practice

An important component in the success of a dental practice is the lease agreement for the office space. Occupancy costs can be one of the largest expenses in a dental practice. More importantly, selection of a good location is critical to patient flow and income. Therefore, dentists should consider the lease of an office location not just as a necessary expense, but as an investment. If the location is poorly chosen or if the terms of the lease are overly slanted in the landlord’s favor, it can affect your finances as well as reduce the ability to transfer or sell the practice. A new dental practice buyer is unlikely to assume a highly unfavorable lease and purchase a challenging or unsuitable location.

Running and growing a dental practice is hard enough, and an above-market lease payment can be a drag on growth. New dentists sometimes fall into the trap of associating high-end, high-cost office space with high earning potential. These are not necessarily associated with one another. Be sure to conduct a feasibility study and formulate a detailed business plan before making the site selection.

Also, with the amount of extensive build out and lease-hold improvements done in a dental office, a dental practice cannot be easily moved. Once the build out has started, consider yourself committed to the location. It is important to remember that the property owner’s broker or attorney likely drafted the lease agreement. You should always seek the advice of your own broker or counsel before engaging in such an agreement. Failing to do your due diligence can be a costly mistake!

Charles Kim is a dental practice broker at Transition Consultants, a practice merger and acquisition firm. Mr. Kim provides transaction advisory and dental practice valuation services to dentists and dental groups nationwide. He can be contacted at 800-416-2055 (x224).

Dental Practice Valuations

Dental practice valuations can be a challenging task with many complexities. A professional valuation company can charge thousands of dollars to determine the fair market value of a practice. Before spending that money, it is important to do your homework and choose an appropriate valuation expert, and to properly understand the benefits and limitations of the valuation report.

Unfortunately, there is no standardized universally accepted formula or “rule of thumb” that a valuation company may use to establish the value of a dental practice. There are many objective factors that should be considered to determine the value, and there are as many subjective factors unique to the dental industry (and to each specialty within the dental industry) that are just as important.

In reality, a valuation of a dental practice is closer to providing a subjective opinion rather than using complex formulas or “industry standards”. Be sure to work with someone that understands the dental industry to develop a reasonable and useful dental practice valuation. This valuation should be discussed in further detail with your financial advisors to prepare for the transition process.

Naturally, the valuation will incorporate much of the financial data to analyze the “numbers” of the dental practice. Perhaps more helpful, will be analysis of the key factors of profitability and growth that are unique to the specific practice being evaluated. Each dental specialty has its own attributes that must be considered, such as different standards for reimbursements, payor mix, percentage of patients by referrals, etc.

Charles Kim is a dental practice broker at Transition Consultants, a practice merger and acquisition firm. Mr. Kim provides transaction advisory and dental practice valuation services to dentists and dental groups nationwide. He can be contacted at 800-416-2055 (x224).

Hammer Museum Forum on Health Care Reform

It will be interesting to see the effect of health care reform on the valuation of medical practices and the sale of medical practices. Reform touches on numerous areas which can impact practice valuation and ultimately affect the purchase, sale, and merger of these healthcare business entities. I will be attending a forum on Wednesday at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles entitled: Health Care Reform - Government Takeover or Corporate Welfare? I've attended some of these events at the Hammer Museum in the past and they've been very informative. The speakers are usually very accessible, which is great for getting your questions answered.

Dedicated practice valuation service: Medical Practice Appraisers

We've launched a dedicated service for practice valuation: Medical Practice Appraisers. Click the picture below to arrive at our landing page.