All Forum Posts by: Ryan Collins

@Scott Schuetz Hey that's awesome that y'all do meetups at Hells'n'blazes. Last night was my wife's first day back to work, so I was flying solo with our 3 month old. 

But, are you doing one in December? Too close to the holidays? Let me know when the next one will be, Thanks! 

I'd also be interested in multifamily. I grew up in Melbourne Beach and now live in Indian Harbor Beach. I know the area like the back of my hand. Seems like we could get enough for a 321 meetup 

I'll take the bait, to keep the discussion going. 

"So it is good to buy the practice and the building? There certainly could be if you can acquire both at the right price." 

I just went through this whole process. I spent almost two years trying to decide between: Starting a new dental practice vs buying an existing practice. For both of those, the real estate was always second fiddle. In my opinion, real estate in dentistry is not where the wealth comes from. Everyone knows dentistry can be very lucrative, but especially so when both time and energy are focused on making yourself (the provider) better in your clinical skills and also business skills, in order to generate more revenue while cutting overhead.

I bought an existing dental practice in a busy shopping plaza, and the national shopping chain is my landlord so I had no option to purchase. Of course I'd rather have my own real estate, but in no means was it a deal breaker. I bought my dental practice with no money down (banks love dentists), however, if I would've bought real estate as well, it muddies the waters, and I would have had to put money down and also take a SBA loan. I think you'd also be surprised how little the price matters in these transactions. What matters much more is the active patient count, collections, visibility, and fit of the doctor in the practice, among many other things. Basically, dental practices can be so lucrative that it's more advantageous to just get going at any cost. I even frequently hear consultants on podcasts suggesting NOT to negotiate with an older selling doctor, because it's not worth potentially upsetting the seller. You ideally want the seller to be your biggest supporter, telling his former patients that the new guy is in good hands, so to speak. 

I am interested in what you are proposing, @Scott Krone. Are you generally looking for pure investors, or do you also accept any input from actual dentists on the landscape? Do you develop "shell" dental condos? Or actually do the build out so it's turnkey for a dentist? I would rather generate the "wealth growth" as you put it, by aggressively investing in someone else's dental real estate or residential (why we are here) 

Last, I completely agree for the most part with:  "1. Dentists are flush with cash, 2. They are good at dentistry but not at business." However, it mainly applies to older docs. I would suggest:  "Younger docs are flush with debt, and are forced to learn business to compete with the new trend of corporate dental offices" also applies. 

But I've also found that business-savvy medical developers may not understand emerging trends in dentistry, both demographics and office layout. Dentists don't want to be buried in a professional building or plaza anymore, we prefer to be on busy streets or next to a Starbucks.   

@Travis Cripps It's funny you mentioned Podcasts. I could not find the "tactical dentist" podcast on any searches, maybe you meant something else? I listen to quite a few dental podcasts, and it's actually what led me to BiggerPockets. The 'Shared Practices' podcast is done by a guy who is in a military residency (right up your alley) and he has a mini-series with a guy named Justin Short, who was able to retire from dentistry at age 42 because of concurrent RE investing. He started at age 32 (where I am now) and I also set a goal to do the same by age 42. He recommends the BiggerPockets pod and I got hooked. 

@Chinmay J. I don't speak for the OP, but I DO NOT have a decent amount of money saved up for down payment (everything tied up in the new practice as either family emergency fund and practice emergency fund). I am doing exactly what Travis is planning on doing, and finding other Dentists or professionals that do have a lot of money available, but first learning the ins and outs of real estate, which is why I HAD to comment when I saw his initial post since I've been lurking up until now. Chinmay J., you're correct, as least for me, that I want to keep practicing for a while, until the passive income I generate through real estate and also the potential sale of my practice can get me out of the dental game, or at least make it optional. I'm loving this discussion, it is so helpful. Of course the general public thinks dentistry means swimming in a bathtub full of money, but there's so many costs and debts, it's a grind just like any other profession imo 

@Travis Cripps I bought a poorly performing practice from a retiring doc, and I'm 9 months into "flipping it". It's coming along, but in hindsight, it would've been much easier and more efficient to buy a better performing office. That's where dental offices and real estate differ, something "turn key" will be able to give you a ton more cash flow, whereas a "fixer upper" is more of a pain in the neck. But, to answer your other question, I am leasing, because the practice is in a super busy shopping plaza exactly where I want to be. I do plan on buying a stand alone building in a few years and moving the practice into it, once I get things cranking a little more and the lease is up. 

I’m also a younger dentist, I just bought a practice and still have a decent-sized student loan. So I’m a bit cash-strapped at the moment, but I’m following along with whatever you’re proposing here.