In Healthcare Real Estate, Losing Time Equates to Losing Profitability
“Time is money.” The basic idea behind the phrase is that we have a limited amount of both, and we should spend them efficiently—wasted time can mean wasted money. But for healthcare professionals wearing multiple hats, it also means a minute spent doing one thing is a minute that’s not spent doing something else. It’s why you guard your own time for your best work. It’s why you hire experts—an expert landscaper, accountant, lawyer, and when negotiating the second-highest expense in your practice, a healthcare commercial real estate agent.
Healthcare professionals are becoming increasingly more aware of the importance of a real estate strategy to increase profitability and save time. Commercial real estate agent’s services are vital to maximizing profitability.
Here’s a look into the value of time during healthcare real estate transactions—and how agents can save you both precious minutes and money.
Timing Discussions With Landlords
For every negotiation and transaction, there’s an ideal timeframe to follow. Identifying top lease and purchase options or negotiating a mutually agreeable deal can take several months. Add on to that, a few more months for legal reviews of contracts, finalizing important details with architects, contractors, lenders and equipment providers. Then follow that up with any necessary build-out needs or renovations—space design, permitting, engineering plans, construction, and more. All that to say, the real estate process takes time. Starting it too late can set into motion costly issues, including holdover penalties if you’re not able to vacate your previous space or potentially losing the ability to negotiate multiple spaces at once.
If negotiations—and their timing—are not handled properly, the results can mean decreased profitability. That’s where healthcare real estate agents come in. While the timing may vary whether you’re renewing a lease, purchasing your first space, looking to relocate or expanding your office, our rule of thumb is to begin the process 18-24 months in advance.
Negotiating Multiple Spaces at One Time
A great real estate agent will not only help you avoid costly delays, they’ll also save you dozens of hours of valuable time during the market evaluation process.
Each transaction begins with a detailed game plan aimed at maximizing opportunity, time, and costs. If timing the real estate process is step number one, then step number two is creating a strong posture. By leveraging a local real estate professional’s expertise and then dictating favorable terms to a landlord, tenants and buyers yield consistently more favorable terms.
That’s because the foundation of a successful negotiation starts with understanding market availability and area comps. Whether you’re planning to renew your lease, looking to buy, or considering relocation, you must understand the viable options available in your area. How do they compare to each other? How can you leverage those spaces at the negotiation table?
Healthcare real estate agents analyze all available properties that suit your healthcare business’s needs. They tour a significant number of spaces to determine which ones are best-suited for your workforce and patients. And they negotiate multiple options simultaneously. Why? So you don’t have to start at the beginning if a property falls through. Calling and touring one property at a time is never efficient. Just like you wouldn’t cook Thanksgiving dinner one dish at a time, expert agents aren’t negotiating one property at a time—it’ll all come out cold.
Doing this allows agents to efficiently deliver multiple, legitimate options and build a better posture. Having a credible willingness for buyers and tenants to choose another property creates an environment where landlords and sellers compete to attract and retain quality tenants and buyers. It also ensures the healthcare provider get the most competitive terms.
Time is Money, Let An Expert Take Care of the Real Estate
As a healthcare professional or manager, your practice’s success is dependent on time management. Spending unnecessary hours completing market analysis, analyzing properties, leases and offers to make sure your deal is competitive and handled properly is not the best use of your time.
While getting the best possible deal points or lease terms is vital, so is ensuring you don’t waste your own time—time that could have been spent on your business. Hiring commercial real estate professionals who specialize in healthcare will not only protect your valuable time, it’ll also allow you to identify the very top options, negotiate the most favorable terms, and save you a substantial amount of money in the long run.
Looking for a Healthcare Real Estate Agent?
CARR is here for you. Our exclusive focus on healthcare real estate means you can rest easy knowing you’re in good hands. For years, we’ve been the trusted name for healthcare providers looking for real estate assistance.
Wondering what we can do for you? Don’t hesitate to fill out our lease/purchase evaluation form. You can also find the agent available in your area.