Commercial Real Estate Background
Experience handling Fortune 500 commercial real estate transactions translates directly to dental office representation. We know how to negotiate with landlords and structure deals that protect your interests.
Get help with commercial leases, property purchases, lease assignments, and real estate deals integrated with practice transactions.
Schedule ConsultationYour real estate situation affects practice profitability, operational flexibility, and future sale value for years or decades. Whether negotiating a new lease, buying property, or coordinating a lease assignment with a practice sale, having experienced counsel makes a difference.
Experience handling Fortune 500 commercial real estate transactions translates directly to dental office representation. We know how to negotiate with landlords and structure deals that protect your interests.
When practice sales involve real estate components, you need someone who understands both sides. We handle the complete transaction without coordination headaches between separate attorneys.
We represent dentists in real estate matters across the country. You work directly with Connor from start to finish.
The main areas where having real estate counsel protects your interests
Landlord drafted leases are designed to protect property owners, not tenants. Base rent might look reasonable until you see the escalation clauses, CAM charges, and maintenance obligations buried in the fine print.
We review lease terms, compare them to market standards, and negotiate improvements. This includes rent reductions, escalation caps, longer lease terms with renewal options, better tenant improvement allowances, and assignment rights that don't block future practice sales.
When you sell your practice, the buyer needs to take over your lease. That requires landlord consent, which gives landlords leverage to demand rent increases or lease modifications.
We handle the assignment process professionally, present the buyer's qualifications effectively, and negotiate with landlords to get consent without giving away value. Early engagement prevents assignment issues from derailing your practice sale.
Buying dental office real estate gives you control and builds equity, but requires substantial capital and creates an illiquid investment. Purchase agreements, title issues, environmental concerns, and financing all need to be handled correctly.
We negotiate purchase contracts, coordinate due diligence including title review and environmental assessments, work with your lender on financing, and manage the closing process ensuring smooth ownership transition.
When selling your practice, you might also own the building. You can sell the property with the practice, keep it and lease back to the buyer, or handle it separately. Each option has different tax implications and requires coordination.
We structure the real estate component to work with your overall transaction and financial goals, whether that's a leaseback arrangement, simultaneous property sale, or keeping the building as an investment.
Schedule a consultation to discuss your lease, property purchase, or real estate issues related to your practice transaction.
Schedule ConsultationWhat to expect when working with us on real estate matters
We review your current lease or property situation, discuss market conditions, and figure out what needs to be negotiated or improved. If real estate is part of a practice transaction, we coordinate timing and strategy.
We research comparable rental rates, tenant improvement allowances, and lease terms for similar dental office space in your market. This gives you objective data for negotiations and helps establish realistic expectations.
We review lease documents or purchase agreements in detail, identifying provisions that need to be negotiated. Economic terms, operational restrictions, assignment rights, maintenance obligations, and default provisions all get analyzed.
We negotiate with landlords, property managers, or sellers to improve terms. This is done professionally to maintain good relationships while achieving favorable outcomes. Progress gets tracked against your priorities and timeline.
For property purchases, we coordinate title examination, environmental assessment, zoning verification, and building inspections. Final documents get reviewed to verify all negotiated terms are included correctly, and we manage the closing process.
It depends on your available capital, how long you plan to stay in that location, and whether you want real estate as an investment.
Buying gives you control, builds equity, and can provide rental income if you set up a separate entity that leases to your practice. Leasing preserves capital for equipment and operations, provides flexibility to relocate, and eliminates property management responsibilities.
Base rent compared to market rates. Annual escalation caps to prevent runaway rent growth. Lease term and renewal options ensuring at least 10 years total. Tenant improvement allowance adequate for dental build out. Assignment rights that don't block future practice sales.
Also important: maintenance responsibilities, CAM charges, use restrictions, signage rights, and what happens if you need to terminate early.
Start by reviewing your lease to understand what consent requirements exist. Then prepare a professional package showing the buyer's financial strength, credentials, and business plan.
Early engagement with the landlord prevents assignment from becoming a transaction bottleneck. Professional presentation and strategic negotiation improve your chances of getting consent without excessive rent increases or unfavorable modifications.
For leased space: review the lease documents, verify compliance with all terms, check landlord's financial stability, inspect building condition, and confirm zoning allows your dental operations.
For property purchases: title examination, survey review, environmental assessment, zoning verification, building inspection, and review of property taxes and assessments. Comprehensive investigation prevents costly surprises.
Deep dives into specific real estate issues
Landlords quote base rent that sounds market competitive, then add escalation clauses that compound at 3% to 5% annually regardless of market conditions. Over a 10 year lease, that turns moderate rent into excessive rent.
CAM charges add another 20% to 40% to your total occupancy cost. Those charges often include items that shouldn't be passed to tenants like capital improvements that benefit the landlord's property value.
Triple net leases push all building expenses to tenants including roof replacement, HVAC systems, parking lot repaving, and structural repairs. You're paying to maintain property you don't own.
Negotiation addresses these issues through escalation caps, CAM charge limitations, and shifting major capital expenses back to the landlord where they belong.
Dental practice goodwill depends on location continuity. Patients come to your office because it's convenient. If you're forced to relocate, you lose patients.
Leases with 5 year terms and no renewal options create serious problems when you try to sell. Buyers won't pay full value for a practice that might need to relocate in a few years. Some won't buy at all.
Even if you have renewal options, they're often contingent on landlord consent or subject to market rent resets. That gives landlords leverage to demand excessive increases when you're locked in.
Strategic lease negotiation establishes minimum 10 year total duration through initial term plus renewals, with renewal rent predetermined or capped to prevent extortion. Location security protects practice value.
Most dental office leases require landlord consent for assignment. That's fine in theory. In practice, it gives landlords leverage to demand rent increases to market rate as a condition of approving your buyer.
If your lease is 5 years into a 10 year term at below market rent, the landlord sees assignment as an opportunity to reset to current rates. They might demand the buyer sign a new lease at higher rent, or pay them a fee to approve assignment.
Worse, some leases give landlords the right to recapture the space instead of approving assignment. That kills your practice sale entirely.
Negotiation focuses on assignment provisions requiring landlord consent not to be unreasonably withheld, specific approval criteria that eliminate subjective discretion, and eliminating recapture rights. The goal is protecting your ability to sell without landlord interference.
Dental build out costs $50 to $150 per square foot depending on market and building condition. Plumbing for multiple operatories, electrical for equipment, HVAC for patient comfort, and specialized infrastructure all cost money.
Landlord offered tenant improvement allowances often fall short. They might offer $40 per square foot when actual costs are $100. The difference comes out of your pocket.
Some landlords amortize the allowance into your rent rather than providing upfront cash. That means you're paying for improvements over time through higher rent while the landlord gets the benefit of improved property.
Negotiation seeks adequate allowances reflecting actual build out costs, upfront payment or direct payment to contractors rather than amortization, and flexibility in how allowance gets used. Alternative structures include extended rent abatement periods that effectively reimburse your improvement investment.
When you own both the practice and the building, the practice sale can handle real estate in multiple ways. Sell everything together. Keep the building and lease it back to the buyer. Handle them as separate transactions.
Each option has different tax implications. Selling together is simpler but you lose ongoing rental income. Leaseback arrangements create income but tie your property's value to the buyer's success as a tenant. Separate transactions might get better value but require coordination.
The right answer depends on your financial situation, tax planning, and what you want to do with the proceeds. This should be part of overall deal strategy from the beginning, not figured out at the last minute.
Tell us about your dental office real estate situation and we'll set up a call to discuss how we can help.