Dentists looking to sell their practice can use DMC LLP for 10 very good reasons, which we have summarized for you below. Just keep in mind that, if you’re thinking about transitioning, it may take up to 2 years to prepare your practice for sale. If you’d like to talk with us and get an idea of the process and costs of having us represent you in preparing, marketing, and selling your practice, please contact us at any time.
1. You Save $$$
As of today, we’re saving dentists close to $500k in NOT PAYING COMMISSIONS to a real estate agent (based on not having to pay 10% of the sale price to a real estate agent). If you engage DMC to represent you in the sale of your dental practice, you don’t have to pay commissions to a real estate salesperson AND lawyer fees on top. Instead, we will give you a fixed-fee quote in advance, based on the specific elements of your deal. That’s right: NO MORE COMMISSIONS! You will still need to cover the cost of an appraisal. We believe our model will be 25%-50% less expensive than the traditional route of using a real estate salesperson AND a lawyer to sell your practice. If for whatever reason, your transaction doesn’t go through, we only charge you for the elements of the transaction that we completed up to the time that we were notified that the transaction was not going to go through. If you’d like to know more about how you can save money with us, contact us, we’ll assess your requirements, and give you a quote.
2. You Make The Most $$$
In and around the Greater Toronto Area, practices are selling for more than appraised value. It’s never been a better time to be a Seller. If you are located in a great area, are able to maintain your production in your last few years, and have a good team and a good lease, then the chances are that you’ll be able to sell your practice for more than the appraised value. How much more? It depends, but we’ve seen practices go for as high as 150% and up in the GTA. But we’ve also seen practices go for as low as 54% of appraised value – largely because of the presence of a demolition clause. If you want to maximize the value of your practice before selling, just make sure you’ve got a good lease (low rent + long term + no unfavourable landlord clauses + favourable clauses for you), you’ve put your team (i.e. staff and associates) on contract, and that you’re incorporated to take personal advantage of the lifetime capital gains exemption. We can also recommend other professionals – such as accountants, marketers, consultants, and coaches – who will help make your practice run more efficiently and effectively. And when the time is ready, you can then get an appraisal (the average cost is $6,000, which we will reimburse you for if you sell through us). The purchaser’s bank will require an appraisal as part of financing the transaction.
3. You Avoid Future Legal Problems
Dentists engage DMC a few years PRIOR TO selling their dental practice so that they can incorporate a professional corporation (to take advantage of the lifetime capital gains exemption), put their staff on contract, or renew/amend their lease. Dentists who DO NOT take these and perhaps other legal steps may find that they don’t qualify for the lifetime capital gains exemption at the time they want to sell. They may also have to negotiate (and waste time and money doing it) with the purchaser about what to do with employee-related liabilities that were never previously dealt with; had the employees been on contract and had that contract limited the amount of notice the employee would be entitled to in the event of a termination, then it would be a much smaller issue for the seller/purchaser to deal with. Finally, the purchaser may find that the vendor has signed the world’s worst lease (full of demolition/relocation / early termination rights in favour of the landlord). We’ve seen this happen and the landlord is being uncooperative in amending the lease (and perhaps this kills the transaction as a result), the vendor only has themselves to blame.
4. Your Privacy is Respected
You may not want your patients, staff or peers to know that you’re selling your dental practice. It’s your business and you want to protect yourself, your team, and your patients during this delicate transition. At the same time, however, you want to get the best value for your business. So you’ll need to reach out and see who could be interested in buying your practice. We help facilitate your transition by enticing prospective purchasers with some BASIC/GENERAL information about your dental practice, WITHOUT immediately disclosing who is selling or the address of the practice. Only after the prospective purchaser has registered with DentalPlace.ca, submitted a confidentiality agreement, and we have verified all the information, will that prospective purchaser be given your name and the practice address. If they don’t intend on purchasing your practice, we will require them to return/destroy any confidential information that we provided to them. They will also need to specifically request an appraisal from us in order to receive it. Our website is safe and secure and we take your privacy very seriously.
5. You Gain Access to Purchasers
We know lots of buyers. To get the word out that your dental practice is for sale, we would do extensive online and offline marketing. Online marketing includes: CONFIDENTIALLY listing your practice for sale on our website DentalPlace.ca (only dentists who have signed confidentiality agreements can know your name, address, and receive your appraisal), posting updates about your practice on this website (which gets thousands of unique visitors every month), and sending out regular eBlasts to hundreds of Ontario dentists with updates about your practice. In addition to online marketing, we also speak with our own clients (who have been looking to buy practices for a long time), and other professional advisors (e.g. bankers, accountants, dental suppliers, consultants, etc.). We set dates for open houses and when Letters of Intent are to be submitted by. We also conduct OPEN HOUSES and are present during chart audits and equipment inspections. All of our marketing efforts result in you getting the HIGHEST BID (sometimes a bidding war ensues) for your practice. And once again the best part is that you don’t have to pay commissions!
6. Your Rights Are Protected
We negotiate hard to make sure that your rights are protected and your interests are promoted. We want you to have a great experience selling your dental practice with us. We stake our reputation on your experience. That’s why we work hard to get you the best deal possible. That means minimizing your risks leading up to and after your transaction closes. Are you staying on afterwards as an associate? We’ll make sure that you’re happy with the terms of your associateship. Do you need to personally come off the lease? We’ll work hard to try making sure that happens (hopefully immediately). We are not just “paper pushers”. We don’t just want to get the deal done for the sake of getting it done. We want you to get the best deal possible. And if that means taking a bit longer to sell your practice, then so be it. We truly care about you. If you have any doubts, just read some of our client’s testimonials here.
7. You Get Educated (to Make Informed Decisions)
We offer you more information about selling a dental practice than you could have imagined existed. We’ve written a to about the nuance of selling a practice – including a number of steps you can and should be taking to maximize the value of your practice before advertising it for sale – both online and in dental trade magazines. We spend the time educating you because we care about you and want you to make a good decision. Our reputation depends on you having a great experience. And although we can explain the law and the risks involved in the issue that you face, you are the ultimate decision-maker (not us) and you need to be properly informed at all stages.
8. You Get a Team of Trusted Advisors
We are a growing team of dental lawyers who help dentists sell their practices. This is what we do. Each and every day, every week, every year. We know the players and the process. We’ve been doing it for years. And we believe that we’re good at what we do because we take pride in our work. We’re with you during this important part of your journey. And we don’t just come in at the end to push some paper and make your transaction happen. We want to work with you from the beginning to ensure you get the best deal possible (your rights are protected and your interests are promoted). We have been recognized by the National Post as the only law firm to cater exclusively to dentists and WE are the ones who can help solve your problems. Unfortunately, others who want to get involved in selling your practice are not lawyers and therefore cannot advise you or represent you on legal issues. They CANNOT incorporate your practice, advise you of the risks of accepting/rejecting an LOI, explain the ramifications of employee related liabilities, or deal with the landlord to remove detrimental clauses in your lease. Yup, that’s right: it all comes down to us lawyers. We’re the ones who work the transaction from the start to the end and who CLOSE the transaction for you. We deal with all third parties on your behalf to help ensure a smooth transition (to the extent it can be smooth).
9. Your Transaction Moves Quickly (Because We Do)
We pride ourselves on getting back to our clients very quickly. To the extent that we’re not waiting on third parties (e.g. other lawyers, accountants, bankers, landlords, etc.), we want to get your transaction moving as quickly as you do. Sometimes, dentists say that they want something taken care of yesterday. And the good news is that, because we’re a team of lawyers on every file, we can work at break-neck speed. If one lawyer is away/unavailable, at least one other lawyer can step in and take over. We copy each other on all important client matters.
From dentist testimonial“…They are fast and extremely efficient…”
From dentist testimonial“…These guys work fast and they know their stuff…”
From dentist testimonial “…They are also incredibly responsive to most any mode of communication and are able to accommodate tight deadlines. “
From dentist testimonial”…He answered my questions, phone calls and emails in more than a timely manner and it was comforting to know that he was available if I needed him….”
From dentist testimonial“…Anyway, thank you again for working so hard (and on so many weekends, stat holidays, evenings, etc…)…”
10. You Have Fun
We work hard, but we also like to relax and have fun with our dentist clients too. Yes, before or after your transaction is done, we will likely invite you to come and hang out with us socially. Past trips and events have included, for example, Palm Springs (California), Turks & Caicos, the ODA’s Annual Spring Meeting and Winter Clinic, Kenora (Ontario), Bermuda, 7 Day Caribbean Cruise, Disney Resort in Hawaii, Turks & Caicos, and organizing our very own dental outreach program in Jamaica). We have also organized client appreciation events, like a dance party, a rooftop patio party, and a Niagara Falls Winery Tour.
