How to Buy an Existing Veterinary Clinic
Becoming a vet is as demanding as becoming a doctor. Even after you graduate from veterinary school, establishing a practice and building a client base may be challenging. Buying an existing veterinary clinic can provide you with a ready-made practice if you do it right.
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Instructions
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Work out the financing. If buying the practice means taking out a loan, talk to your bank and find out the terms and amount they'll support so you know the price range you have to work with.
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Ask the vet exactly what he's offering to sell you. If the practice includes both farm animals and pets, the vet may want to retain one side of that, or he might sell you the practice but hang on to the actual clinic site.
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Establish the value of the physical assets: the building, the equipment and supplies, any business vehicles, cash on hand and any accounts receivable.
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Figure out how much the goodwill--the reputation of the clinic--and the annual cash flow are worth. If the practice is new and growing, the owner may want to set a value on that, too.
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Ask the seller about her future plans. If she intends to set up another clinic or work for an established practice, that would sharply reduce the value of your purchase. Consider asking for a noncompete agreement.
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Bring in professionals. Buying both the clinic building and the business assets will have an effect on your taxes, so make sure you figure out how to structure the deal for the best possible advantage.
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Comments
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crtag
May 19, 2009
The first thing you will need to do is fill out a general application. Prepare yourself to have your credit pulled, meaning take care of any issues that might hurt your chances. A Vet practice information report is then needed, such questions are types of services provided. Depending on your practice it could be small, large animal or farm / livestock. What does your practice make-up constitute such as receipts from owner, associate or specialist. If the amount being requested is over $500,000 than 3 years of tax returns are required. If less than $500K than 2 years. Loans can go up to $10MM with 100% financing. Terms are from 7 to 15 years with additional working capital of up to $75K being requested at the most. This is typically a quick approval process with no cosigners required. There are more details here as this is a major process for any veterinarian.
