We are happy to talk to you on the phone about the process of buying anytime but all questions about specific practices must be made by email, after you have registered as a buyer. There are two reasons for this:

• Because we have an obligation to our vendors to track whom we are disseminating information out to.
• We need to keep track of all enquiries and information we have provided so that we cannot be accused of disseminating false information.

The financials of a practice represent the innermost workings of a practice and are generally the most confidential part of a practice sale. We don’t send these out to everyone that enquires. Initial enquiries generally get an IM/summary of the practice and premises. If the prospective purchaser is still interested after viewing the summary we are happy to discuss sending through financials.

The ability to get information like this varies from practice to practice with the software they have and how well they use it . When it is available it is limited – please don’t ask about statistics on ethnicity of patient base – this is never available.

A good indication of a serious buyer is someone who has arranged their:
1. LEGAL REPRESENTATION:
A buyer who decides to shop around for a lawyer once they have a deal at hand is deemed less serious than one who has already done this legwork.
A buyer who has engaged a commercial lawyer to act on their behalf is deemed more serious than a buyer who, for whatever reason (often in order to save money or because they are a family friend or acquaintance), engages a lawyer who specialises in other areas of law (immigration, conveyancing, family, property law, etc.).
We are happy to provide you with a list of commercial lawyers who are experienced in handling dental practice purchases and sales.
2. BUYING ENTITY:
Few people will own a practice in their own name. For tax and liability reasons, they will set up a trust/company/business, which will own the practice. Deciding on the right structure involves consultation with a lawyer and an accountant. Setting up your buying entity takes time (1-2 weeks).
To be deemed serious, the buyer should either:
At a minimum, have consulted with lawyers and accountants to decide what the appropriate structure for them might be, and have the paperwork at hand, ready to go.
More preferably have already set up their buying entity. Showing that you have a buying entity set up means that a transaction will move faster for both the broker and vendor.
Set up costs: If you know that you will be buying or setting up a practice, the set up costs are inevitable, and are not wasted by setting up your entity too early
Ongoing costs: If you have one set up and don’t use it one year, the cost to you is the ASIC filing fee and a nil tax return.
We are happy to provide you with a list of accountants who are experienced in handling dentist tax affairs.
3. FINANCE:
Dentists are inundated with people wanting to help them borrow money. Chasing minimal improvements in an interest rate can come at a high cost, in terms of the time taken and the ease of the transaction.
It is for these reasons that we highly recommend using a specialist lender that regularly deals with dental practice purchases. A buyer who is represented by a dental practice specialist lender is usually seen as more serious about getting the deal done, with less headaches.
A buyer having:
Met with a specialist lender
Provided them with the information they need to get ready (payslips, ID, etc.)
Chosen a specialist lender
Will be seen as more serious than one that has not.
We are happy to provide you with a list of specialist lender/banks who are experienced in handling dental practice purchases and sales.
Do you need to be a dentist to own a dental practice?
No, you don’t need to be a dentist to own a dental practice. We have sold dental practices to and for owners that had no professional affiliation with the dental profession.
Once an offer has been accepted on a practice, does it show as “sold” on the website?
This differs from practice to practice. Generally, once an offer is accepted, the lawyers need to finalise a sale contract and a vendor post-sale work contract, applications need to be submitted for premises lease to be transferred, etc. This legal process can take several weeks. Once contracts are signed, there is often a three week period between exchange (signing) and settlement (completion of the deal). This period is used for transfers of HICAPS, radiation licences, phone number, etc.
Whether a practice stays on the website during this period, where an offer is accepted but the deal isn’t completed, varies from deal to deal. It is best to ask about a practice, and we can let you know the status on a case-by-case basis.