Introduction
Dr. Y wanted to explore opening up his dental clinic in the Houston area. However, he was finding the process of locating an office very stressful. He had started working with, not one, but two real estate agents who specialized in dental leasing, but, unfortunately, he had two poor experiences. The agents lacked general professionalism – neither had followed up when they said they would or picked up when he called. So when one of Dr. Y’s friends said she was working with Practice Real Estate Group (PRG), a dental leasing agency that was responsive and knowledgeable, Dr. Y reached out.
Dr. Y was connected with an agent who had built his dental leasing career on being thorough, knowing the Houston market inside and out, and communicating well with his clients. When Dr. Y reached out, he was excited to put those skills to work.
Challenge
The next step was to find a property within the search area. Simply because PRG had found the right pocket of town, didn’t mean there were properties on the market at that time. The challenge was finding a building on the market and in the search area that could be easily converted into the type of dental office Dr. Y needed.
Approach
When they first started talking, Dr. Y shared that he wanted to be in a location that would be primed for success – a place with a lot of potential patients and few dentists. PRG used its proprietary tools to assess the demographics of various areas and make heat maps for Dr. Y to explore his options. The results could not have been more clear – there was a property just north of the city 5 times the number of people per dentist than the industry standard.
“He was showing me this awesome, proprietary program. The ratios and the demographics reports showed me so much information – super detailed. Just looking at that report made me feel a lot more comfortable in choosing a location,” said Dr. Y.
Roadblock
The weight of the decision threatened to paralyze Dr. Y’s move forward. Though he had secured financing, partnered with a healthcare real estate agent he trusted, and found a pocket of town that was sure to be successful, he was nervous.
“Honestly, I was kind of a mess emotionally. It’s a lot of… a lot of stress. It’s a very stressful process,” he shared.
Dr. Y would drive up to the location night after night to walk through the space and weigh the decision.
Solution
Within 2 days, PRG’s internal property search team had found every property on the market.
That report, layered with extremely detailed demographics reports, gave Dr. Y the confidence to move forward.
PRG ultimately recommended a new space next to a gas station. Because Dr. Y’s agent specialized in dental leasing, he knew this was a trend increasingly being seen in the market. A partnership that might never have happened 10 years ago – a dentist next to a Shell station – is growing because gas stations have great visibility and are centered on busy intersections. The location PRG found fits that profile exactly.
Results
After negotiating significant free rent and a generous tenant improvement allowance, Dr. Y signed on to the space PRG found next to a gas station in an underserved pocket of North Houston. Less than 18 months after opening, Dr. Y has 346 five-star reviews.
“There’s no way I could have done any of that without PRG’s help,” said Dr. Y.
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