Leasing medical office space has the potential to grow your practice, but also some pitfalls. Although it is difficult to define “right” since each business has different needs, there is a common thread that points to success as well as failure. Do you know how to avoid mistakes when leasing medical office space for your practice? Do you know what the five most common mistakes are?
- Out-of-the-way location. You may find the office space advertised as a “gem in the rough” or “situated in an up-and-coming neighborhood.” If your office is located in a place where consumers would not usually go, you miss the walk-in business. Depending on your kind of practice, this can be problematic.
- Too many competitors nearby. The other side of the coin is a space in a medical office complex or building where you have plenty of competition that consists of professionals practicing your specialty. The trick here is to find complementary disciplines, not identical ones.
- Extensive build-outs. The building management company expects that you need to do some work on your space so it suits your specialized needs. You, too, understand that some changes to the space need to be made. Negotiating a build-out allowance therefore makes sense. Problems arise when the scope of the build-outs is far more extensive than you had anticipated. When the work eclipses your budget and your schedule, you lose money before even opening your practice.
- Signage restrictions. You need building signage to let patients know where you are. When a management company has restrictive rules on the types of signs that you are allowed to use, it may hamper your ability to position your brand at the new location.
- Biting off more than you can chew. Although you and your office manager are good at what you do, remember that adding the load of negotiating the treacherous waters of finding the right new office space might be more than both of you can handle. Enlisting the help of a professional tenant representative is a good idea.
To avoid these mistakes when leasing your next medical office space, contact us today to learn more about the difference that a seasoned office-leasing broker makes during this time.