Preparing to purchase a dental office? Interested in learning from a Dental Practice Sales veteran? Your Southern California Dental Practice transitions experts at First Choice Practice Sales have developed a 20 step dental practice buying guide! With these 20 steps, our brokers are confident you will have the right tools to evaluate, make and offer, and close on your new dental practice. Even if its not through us!
Still haven’t found your ideal dental office? Take a look at First Choice’s exclusive Southern California Dental Practices for Sale!
1. Commitment
It starts with your personal commitment to purchase a practice at a price and with terms consistent with what the marketplace will bear.
2. Confidentiality
The next step involves signing a registration and confidentially Agreement. This is your agreement to keep all information about practices that are for sale confidential and not to contact the seller, employees, vendors, or landlord of any practice we show you without going through your First Choice Practice Sales Agent.
3. Buyer Profile—Background Information
You provide your First Choice Practice Sales Agent with background information about yourself, such as a resume, financial statement, and our buyer purchasing profile. The Confidential Buyer Purchase Profile and your background information are used to guide your associate toward the right business for you to consider. The information in the profile is not shown to sellers and remains confidential unless you choose to disclose it as part of an offer, which is generally the case.
4. Search for Prospective Practices
Together, you and your First Choice Practice Sales Agent discuss and review various practices available and select a few that you are interested in. The search is a team effort with you and your First Choice Practice Sales Agent using our available resources, such as www.firstchoicedds.com, to locate prospective practices and then discussing them together.
5. Practice Tour/Visit
Your First Choice Practice Sales Agent or Broker will arrange a confidential visit or tour of the practice and discuss it with you. It is critical to remember when visiting any practice that the fact it is for sale is highly confidential and you must be careful to maintain this confidentiality during the visit. Very often, a Seller may have not informed their staff as to their plans to sell and only a First Choice Practice Sales Agent or Broker should be contacted to see a practice.
6. Meeting with the Seller
If you are interested in obtaining more information about the practice and seriously consider it to be a candidate for purchase, your First Choice Practice Sales Agent will arrange a meeting with the seller. This meeting gives you the opportunity to ask questions about the practice, as well as describe your qualifications to the seller.
7. Offer to Purchase
Once a practice is selected, your First Choice Practice Sales Agent or Broker will prepare an offer on your behalf. Your offer will include an earnest money check for deposit made out to escrow and contingencies such as the ability to review books and records, verifying income and patient chart review. Your earnest money check is not deposited unless the offer is accepted and escrow is opened.
8. Present Offer
Your First Choice Practice Sales Agent presents your offer to the seller.
9. Background
With your approval, your First Choice Practice Sales Agent provides the seller with your background information, financial qualifications, and experience. Favorable background information eases the seller’s concerns about your credit worthiness.
10. Explanation of Offer
Your First Choice Practice Sales Agent explains the terms and conditions of your offer to the seller and their decision makers.
11. Acceptance of Counter Offer
The seller either accepts the offer as it is written or writes a counter offer.
12. Mutual Acceptance
When buyer and seller agree to all terms and conditions of the sale, sign all counteroffers and amendments, this becomes a contingent Dental Practice Purchase Agreement and Joint Escrow Instructions.
13. Due Diligence & Inspection
You meet with the seller to examine the financial records and conduct other reviews that are part of the due diligence process. This is a critical step where you, the buyer, examine the practice to ensure that it is what the seller claimed it to be and it meets the conditions of your offer.
14. Contingency Removal
You remove the contingencies, as each is resolved or met.
15. Lease Assignment
Your First Choice Practice Sales Agent will assist you in working with the landlord to get the lease assigned or obtain a new one.
16. Escrow
Your First Choice Practice Sales Agent works with the Escrow officer to ensure escrow is opened and proceeds smoothly.
17. Lien Search
Escrow checks for liens against the practice and gets approvals from secured lien holders before the sale takes place.
18. Note & Lease Assumptions
Your First Choice Practice Sales Agent works with you, the seller, and the Escrow officer to have any seller notes or equipment leases assigned.
19. Inventory
We meet with you and the seller to take inventory (if it applies to your business). If it is a large complex inventory it may be necessary to use an inventory service.
20. Closing
Each party communicates with the Escrow Officer to execute the final escrow instructions or amendments, prorate any rent or other items; sign final funds disbursements, execute any applicable security agreements, installment notes and any other documents necessary to close the transaction.