Sale-leaseback · dentists who own the practice and the building
Dental Practice Sale-Leaseback: the part of your exit the DSO won't pay for.
For dentists who own both the practice and the building. A DSO will pay for production. It will not pay net-lease prices for the dirt. Write the lease, sell the box at investor pricing, and decide whether the proceeds retire education debt, fund a partner, or 1031 into diversified net lease.
Written by Dwaine Clarke , Founder & Principal Broker, American Net Lease, LLC Reviewed
On this page: What you're solving · What it trades for · The lease · Objections · Example · FAQ
What you're really solving
Three problems the building can pay for
Production multiples do not include a net-lease price for the box. Selling the real estate separately — on a lease you write — is how owner-dentists stop leaving that check on the table.
Practice cash flow is already servicing education debt, equipment, and associates. The building is often the only asset large enough to change that picture without adding another personal guarantee.
Keeping the building as 'the retirement plan' only works if you are willing to be a landlord to whoever buys the practice — and to accept operator pricing, not investor pricing, when that day comes.
Lease engineering
The lease investors expect for a dental box — and what each term costs you
| Term | What the buyer wants | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Primary term | Long — supports a tighter cap and higher proceeds | Occupancy cost locked longer; renewals are your protection if you keep practicing |
| Structure | Absolute NNN | Purpose-built improvements stay with the tenant; operations do not move |
| Escalations | Annual or periodic bumps | Cap them; model rent against a normal production dip, not a peak hygiene month |
| Rent coverage | Practice EBITDA comfortably above rent | The honest test of how much rent the chairs can carry — we model it before pricing |
The objection
"The building is my retirement."
Then sell it at investor pricing and decide what the proceeds do. A 1031 into diversified net lease is one path; cash to retire practice debt is another. Holding the box until a DSO or a junior partner prices it as leftover real estate is how dentists become accidental landlords at operator multiples.
A dental deal dies when chair-level earnings cannot carry the rent after an associate walks, or when the remaining term is a vacancy story. We model both before anyone sees the building.
Worked example
An owner-dentist, one building, a DSO conversation in progress
Illustrative — not a closed transactionQuestions
Dental sale-leaseback FAQ
Why won't the DSO pay for the building?
Because they are buying production, not a net-lease residual. Some will lease from you; few will pay investor pricing for the fee. Separating the trades is how you stop mixing those two bids.
If the building is my retirement, why sell it now?
Because the buyer who pays net-lease prices is a net-lease investor, not the associate or the DSO. Sell at that pricing, then 1031 into diversified net lease if you still want to be a landlord — just not to a single practice you no longer control.
What about education debt still attached to the practice?
It is a use of proceeds, not a cap-rate input. We will not invent a payoff figure. The analysis can show whether a sale-leaseback leaves enough after tax and rent to change that balance-sheet picture. Your CPA owns the tax math.
Can I 1031 the proceeds?
Often yes, if the sale is of real property and you follow the clocks. The 1031 clocks start when the real estate closes, not when you first talk to a broker. That is a tax-advisor question we will not answer in a FAQ.
How do I start?
Request a confidential Portfolio Capital Analysis. Location, current debt, and last year's practice earnings are enough to start. American Net Lease offers delivery within 48 hours of a complete submission.
Get a confidential read on your building in 48 hours.
Location, current debt, and last year's practice earnings are enough to start.