Page 51 - The Dental Entrepreneur

The Dental Entrepreneur

Fixtures

Be certain that it is spelled out in the lease that all trade fixtures installed by the lessee shall
remain your property and may be removed by you at the expiration of the lease. You will
generally be responsible for any damage caused by such removal and you would need to
restore the leased premises to its original condition. An example of this would be any fixed
dental cabinetry. If you pulled them off the wall, you would be responsible for repairing and
painting the drywall.

Signs and Advertising

There is often a clause in your lease in reference to signs and advertising. It generally states
that signage and advertisement will require written consent from the landlord. Be sure that you
and your landlord are on the same page when you are negotiating your lease as to what type
of signage and get approved before you sign your lease.

Indemnity against Damage and Injury

Most leases have a clause where the Lessee agrees to indemnify (protect against and hold
harmless the lessor against any liability legal claims. What is usually required here is that the
Lessee carry third party liability insurance by reason Lessee’s occupancy of the leased

premises and with limits of liability that are acceptable to the lessor.

Final Inspection, Ceilings, Ceilings, Ceilings

Nothing is more overlooked in a dental office facility than the ceilings. Where do you think your
patients are looking when they are in your treatment room. You have heard the adage” a floor
so clean you could eat off of it” In the dental office,your ceiling must be equally pristine. One of

the first things I look at when I visit an office is the ceiling. Nothing in your office will reflect your
overall cleanliness from the patients perspective. Rotting wasp carcasses in your light fixtures
and brown water spots on ceiling tiles simply gross people out. Can you imagine staring at that
for 30 minutes. Its all about the details and this one is overlooked on too many occasions.
When you are inspecting a potential lease space, check the ceiling carefully for water spots.
Any leaks should lead to a complete roof inspection and some sort of landlord warranty before
any leases are signed.

Use Of A Buyer’s Representative

One of the most valuable things that I have included in my updated version of this manual is
the concept of exclusive buyers representation in commercial real estate. I have held a

Page 45