“All realtors are not alike.”  Believe it.

I hear horror stories all the time.  Here are some tips to help you work with realtors to find the office you want for a reasonable price.

1. Be certain of your specifications.  What is the minimum square footage you want?  What is the maximum?  Will you need an x-ray room?  What kinds of rooms will you need for patient exam and adjustment?  Will you be doing open bay adjusting?  Will you have a massage therapist?  Will you be doing acupuncture?  Will you be selling products
 

2. Having determined your specifications, then be prepared to be flexible.  You can start out thinking you MUST have something, only to find out it doesn’t exist in your area.  Be ready to consider other alternatives.  Whatever you decide you will have for a long time (up to 5-7 years), so be sure.
 

3. Sit down with your realtor before you go shopping and be sure he/she understands what you want.  You will probably have to explain how chiropractors work, and how chiropractors are similar to other health care professionals (dental offices, for example, work well for many chiropractors).  One DC told me his realtor said, “Well, there are no former chiropractic offices in your area, so I can’t show you any.”
 

4. Your realtor should listen to and abide by your specifications.  If he/she persists in showing you unacceptable offices, feel free to change.  For example, if the realtor keeps showing you very large offices, this is a tip-off to the realtor’s not getting your message.
 

5. Don’t take more space than you need unless you have a specific profit-making use for that extra space that legitimately fits with your business. For example, if you want a 1200 square foot space, and the realtor shows you an 1800 square foot space, be very clear on how that additional 600 square feet is going to make you money (NOT just to be used as a place for new patient orientation lectures or to be “donated” as a community room).  Figure the extra per-month cost of that extra space to see what you’ll have to generate in revenues to make it at least break-even.
 

6. Realize that the realtor is not working for you, but he/she is working for the landlord, and to get the biggest commission possible.  Be prepared to deal directly with the landlord to make your deal, if you don’t feel the realtor is working in your best interest.
 

7. Finally, recognize that EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE.  That includes leasing terms.  I talked with a DC who said the landlord presented a pretty good deal, but should he (the DC) try to get a better one.  Absolutely!  He wrote a few days later to tell me he got free rent for 3 months during build-out.  You don’t know until you ask.

For more information on Leasing an Office, buy Planning for Practice Success.  We guarantee your satisfaction or we’ll refund your purchase price.