Building a Medical Facility

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Building a healthcare facility from scratch, similar to modeling a custom home, offers an opportunity to control the entire design to fit the particular needs of the medical provider. While the list of preparatory items is long and requires adequate time allotment and abundant resources to carry out, the opportunity, as part of a rebranding strategy is tremendous.

First, we suggest engaging a firm that is focused on relationships within the healthcare real estate sector. No, this does not entitle a medical professional to utilize a proprietary database to forge relationships independently for purposes of pitting one qualified real estate service provider against another. Rather, it allows for the opportunity to streamline the development process for the purposes of time expediency and future financial gain.

For small to mid-size healthcare providers that are initiating contact with real estate developers, it is vital to seek a real estate group that is knowledgeable in land management. Issues such as utility needs, zoning restrictions, detention requirements, along with developer demands and building or regulatory stipulations can quickly overwhelm these providers, especially if exhaustive planning was not prerequisite. Other items such as locale, comparable developments, leases or sales should be documented, and client, whether specialist group or primary care, should be made aware.

For most specialist physician groups, geographic awareness is an integral part of the entire value equation. The need to be within close proximity to a hospital or medical center is routinely the highest priority. Certain specialties will seek companionship with the hospital for benefits that are simply too costly for stand alone facilities that do not experience a high volume of patient care. Thus, seeking land or redevelopment opportunities that are well situated near hospital system is imperative.

As for primary care, locating within, or contiguous to, a hospital is not as important, especially if access is provided to hospitalists. Family practice organizations, which are now in highest demand by patients, specialists and large healthcare systems, are realigning themselves within medical centers for physician growth, referral and patient demand. This, especially as the financial incentives are too lucrative to ignore. To remain independent, some family practice physicians are seeking space in alternative uses such as retail centers or condominiums.

A unique development opportunity for healthcare providers is that of medical condominiums. This assemblage, or community, of buildings offers healthcare providers an opportunity to realize the equity and tax benefits of real estate ownership. The demand by physicians seeking such opportunities outweigh those pursuing traditional medical office space 2 to 1 these days; convenience taking precedence over compartment.

While this style gained favor in the medical community throughout the last decade, several medical providers have engaged our firm to assist in expansionary endeavors. As condos are built a certain size, the shape typically cannot be reconfigured. Also, condominiums are commonly built with unique features that are non standard. Any proforma sale analysis will have to include a longer sale schedule or reduction in price relative to added, exclusive amenities.

As specialized consultants that are unique to the commercial real estate industry, our assignment is to help chart the course for smooth sailing. We will assist healthcare providers through our unparalleled database of contacts and relationships. By streamlining the development process and assisting with routine financial and market surveys, we will minimize the risk of the provider while adding significant contributory support and value to the final product.

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Overlooked Items in a Medical Office Lease

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As tenants of medical office buildings, medical users create unique leasing issues. They handle hazardous materials, produce biomedical waste, require confidentiality in patient recording, and are in the watchful eye of safety/regulatory bodies. While medical professionals are familiar with these inevitabilities, most of what makes their business unique are rarely found on a medical office lease.

After location identification, the majority of our time is spent negotiating the lease. It has been our observation that many physicians will negotiate and sign lease agreements without the benefit of educated real estate advisory or legal counsel. Commonly, this medical tenant is simply concerned with the general business terms (including the term of lease, rental rate and commencement date) and rarely gives the lengthy document  a second look.

While it is tempting to sign the lease to reduce the amount of time spent towards negotiating or communicating real estate interests, a few select studies have documented that tenants who solicit real estate advisors for their business negotiations tend to have greater business longevity. Because a medical office lease is an expense that often requires a multi-year commitment, tenants should not want to be party to any agreement that is not reflective of their own interests. Below are a few examples of where real estate advisors or legal counsel may be requested:

  • Medical office leases typically offer one of two approaches in which a physician can make improvements or alterations to the rented space. Either the tenant is required to remove all improvements installed during the lease term or all improvements simply become part of the property. While the lease may variably contain language that references one of these two approaches, the fact is, knowing additional expenses are tucked within the lease is unsettling to our clients.
  • Too often, physicians assume that a landlord will provide certain basic services for their tenancy. It should be known that landlords only provide the services that are expressly stipulated within the lease. Often, for example, landlords turn off a building’s air conditioning “after hours”, designated as evenings and weekends. If a medical tenant requires extended evening or weekend hours, advisors may assist, in the very least, by educating the tenant on what can be done to facilitate this request. Similarly, medical practices rely on certain types of equipment that consume significant electrical resources. In this case, an advisor should be able to make certain whether the landlord will furnish the necessary amount of electricity or will charge separately for such extensive use.
  • As a tenant, you want clarity for all financial obligations. Some medical office leases require you to simply pay the established monthly rental rate. Others require pro rata payments of some, or all, of the landlord’s operating expenses and real estate taxes associated with the property, in addition to the monthly base rent. In the past, we have noticed where operating expenses have been interpreted loosely by landlords, which may come as a shock to some. Overall, though, the majority of medical office landlords will adhere to the strict guidelines as set forth by educational bodies that attempt govern building use metrics. But, without proper advisory payment, especially the fluctuated amount, may easily become misrepresented. In order to minimize the financial responsibility for operating expenses, tenants should verify that the landlord’s operating expense calculations are correct and not being overcharged. If the operating expenses include real estate taxes, tenants should request an annual copy of the tax bill. In addition, within the lease, tenants may have the opportunity to verify that the operating expense charges have been accurately calculated.
  • Lastly, while you may think you will never default on your lease, it is hard to ignore default provisions. Remember, defaults may not necessarily be the result of bad faith or bad action. A non-monetary default may include failing to maintain the premises or violation of one specific clause within the complete document as written by the landlord’s counsel. Some leases provide a certain time period to “cure” the default, but some do not. It is necessary to identify the potential for violations or default and discuss each one.

It is of great importance to seek the guidance of experienced healthcare real estate advisors or counselors to negotiate the lease in an effort to meet the tenant’s professional needs and insure the continued health of their medical business.

Lease Renewals for Medical Professionals

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An important clause not to be overlooked within a lease contract is the renewal option. Renewal options pertain to the potential extension(s) of the lease upon the date of lease completion. Renewal options will contain language regarding lease rates going forward, concessions such as free rent and tenant improvement allowances and operating expenses. All of these terms are negotiable and will play an important role in the complete structure of a lease renewal. Renewal options are meant to provide flexibility for the tenant in the future. So, being aware of how to strike the right balance, within the lease as well as the renewal, will grant medical professionals the greatest flexibility and financial outcome for their real estate interests. 

One of the most common errors healthcare providers make is negotiating lease renewals without the help of a commercial real estate professional, specifically those who specialize in healthcare lease and renewal transactions. Most healthcare groups tend to be self-reliant and entertain lease interactions from within their office. The reasoning is fairly simple, which real estate investors are aware; the majority of medical providers will rely on referrals by way of other medical providers. So, if location (even space) can be identified by referral patterns, then the use of real estate counsel is unnecessary. Or, if location will remain the same, then negotiations of a renewal may be handled in-house.

But, rather, successful medical groups, large and small, understand that in order to achieve growth, they need leverage. Landlords, especially those that are in the real estate business, negotiate with professional guidance from real estate professionals. For healthcare providers, selecting their own representation, one that has performed the same real estate surgery with multiple instruments time and time over, to advocate their position will assist in influencing the outcome favorably. Furthermore, because landlords authorize a split of the commission between the landlord’s broker AND tenant/buyer broker, providers have the opportunity to receive representation from a healthcare real estate professional at no out-of-pocket cost.

MREA is a full service, healthcare real estate firm headquartered in Houston, TX. MREA provides commercial real estate services to healthcare providers and commercial real estate investors throughout the State of Texas.

3 Development Strategies for Healthcare Providers

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Hospitals and physician groups are embracing third party ownership, management and development of real estate because it has the ability to preserve capital resources for acute care needs, eliminate the conflicts that arise in the landlord/tenant relationship and minimize the potential legal and regulatory challenges associated with leasing space to referring physicians.

Many partnership synergies and dispositions have been publicized through our organization’s newsletter, but a new trend is occurring in which small providers up to large systems are utilizing third parties to develop and own new medical real estate projects. This trend has the potential to have a significant impact on capital structure decisions for going forward.

The use of outside capital to fund non-core real estate assets has been used with improved adoption in corporate America to facilitate growth and expansion. Retailers such as Wal-Mart, CVS and Walgreens, which are becoming stronger competitors in providing healthcare, have all increased liquidity and implemented cost efficiencies using third party capital and development expertise to fund billions of real estate expansion over the last few decades.

As for the development of medical facilities, healthcare providers may choose a few approaches that have been highly successful.

One. Providers may select to develop a project internally using an owner’s representative in place of the traditional developer. The owner’s rep determines the size and scope of the project and works with architects, engineers and the general contractor to build the facility. The provider is responsible for procuring entitlements and utility easements and covering the costs for the site preparation process. In this scenario, third party consultants may be employed to assist with these individual processes. The hospital is also responsible for the leasing and management of the building, although it may appoint a property management firm.

Two. Another approach is through the use of a third party to develop the medical facility for a fee. The third party will receive a fee for its services. In this case, the provider is contracting the developer’s expertise, which commonly includes feasibility analysis, project guidelines, pre-leasing, management of the entitlement process, value engineering for the project, negotiating the contract with the general contractor, as well as project management.

Three. A third party developer and owner both develops and owns the building through its completion. The developer/owner performs all the same functions as the fee-based developer. The main difference is that the developer assumes all of the risks and benefits of the development process and the ownership. A fee-based developer may have an incentive to reel the project in at a contracted cost and within a specified timeframe. The developer-owner has the same incentive, but is likely to strategize on ways that will lower costs of the long-term ownership, because this will ultimately determine the owner’s total cash flow and return on investment. Furthermore, a developer-owner has an incentive to minimize the size of the building to assure high occupancy rates, which has the ability to create conflict with the providers longing for vacant space to accommodate future needs.

If you should have any questions or require a proposal for a medical development under one of these three proven commercial real estate development strategies, please contact MREA at 713.701.7900.

The Leasing Process: Medical Office Building

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Of utmost importance to a medical building’s ultimate success is the recruitment of physicians. For medical office projects, our group will complement management, administration or business development to embrace and add value to the overall objectives of each project. Because we are acquainted with physicians, to which we have lent our professional lives, MREA maintains a vast working knowledge of how each medical business is positioned within Texas’ commercial real estate landscape.

Along with dedicated research, our leasing unit has developed a proprietary leasing program that connects physician specialties, their locations, potential hospital affiliations to assist in determining the size, location and ideal tenant mix within medical office buildings. Furthermore, our medical real estate leasing specialists are actively engaged in the process. We take note of the objectives for each MOB project and tailor marketing strategies, advertising, and public relations campaigns to champion physician prospects for each available space.

Our healthcare real estate group begins each assignment with purpose and direction which involves:

    • A thorough understanding of the medical office market which includes competing hospitals, physicians, medical services, rents, operating expenses, improvement allowance, concessions and limitations.
    • A firm comprehension of hospital healthcare delivery objectives such as use restrictions and tenant mix to determine how a medical office will meet the needs of the prospect with respect to the competitive landscape.
    • Developing a plan of action based on a set of facts, assumptions and the objectives of stakeholders and comparing those to present market conditions.

This exhaustive analysis is essential to the most successful medical office projects. Our healthcare leasing unit’s preliminary due diligence enables our organization to properly position any property in the market to meet client objectives, as well as physician needs, all while preparing for future negotiations that will exist.

Because there are several parties involved in a successful medical office leasing program, communication is of vital importance. Our communication process involves frequent gatherings with key management, administration or business development executives and a detailed format for briefing on the status of our progress. This proprietary medical office leasing and communications process enables us to track tenant leasing progress, summarize the status of each prospect, provide next steps and assign responsibility. Our reports will provide a snapshot of the available square feet and that which is leased at any given point in time.

MREA is very open and considerate to incoming calls regarding medical office lease projects and would certainly appreciate the opportunity to vie for your existing, future development or acquisition projects.

Determining A Suitable Medical Location

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Determination of the ideal, long-term real estate location in the current healthcare environment is challenging because the foundation, where healthcare business and real estate decisions once accumulated, is now shifting. With numerous economic uncertainties on the horizon and questions regarding Medicare and Medicaid coverage and its model of distribution, physician real estate demand is suffering at what is perceived to be a fiscal and legislative bottleneck with a limited few finding fresh strategies for improved long term growth.

With quality, rather than quantity, slowly championing the minds of providers and their  patients, increase to a wider range of access and patient referral options are being explored. MREA is at the forefront of these discussions.

For instance, one area that is of key importance to review is the enterprise’s existing referral base. Our brokerage unit tends to visually distribute these referral sources via location map with tiered monetary importance to highlight relocation opportunities that are optimal for existing, as well as future growth. MREA has identified multiple other methods to best suit a referral-based expansion.

Another alternative for consideration is that of weighing leasing and purchasing. If purchasing real estate to locate multiple businesses, MREA provides an income-to-cost analysis, as well as upfront cash commitments, which are transferred into our firm’ proprietary investment proforma model. We work with several models to forecast future years of income, costs and return on investment which compliments a cost and comparable market analysis for each property.

Leasing may be a better option than purchasing, though. The competition for healthcare tenants from owners/landlords translates into better incentives to lease. It is often that a build-out allowance, deferred rent and aggressive long-term package will exist. The management responsibility and liability concerns are also reduced or eliminated in any tenancy.

Besides these two ideas, the third would pertain to the competition of the organization. Establishing goodwill is no longer merely important; it’s vital. The industry is now plugged in and race for market share is fierce. Whether the competition is from a hospital system, a well-established brand, or independent, understanding what they are (or are not) doing in this environment will help to determine where your organization needs to be focused. Our firm maintains a unique database that highlights the top 5-20 competitors within each specialty in a geographical area and performs routine evaluations on their business and real estate modalities.

These select few location reminders highlight the need for quality healthcare real estate representation. Please contact MREA at 713-701-7900 for all of your medical real estate needs.

Leasing Vs. Owning a Medical Facility

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While opinions widely differ among the ranks of healthcare providers, most would agree that the financial ramifications of long term commitments for medical real estate space will continue to weigh heavily on growth in people or technology. Some see real estate as a cost of doing business, yet, we attempt to dispute this notion and advise that it can be a tremendous avenue for personal wealth if performed with diligence and comprehension. The leasing vs. ownership model for a medical building still significantly benefits the providers seeking to purchase or development. That said, is the advantage of real estate ownership appropriate for you and your organization?

Providers, especially small to mid-size physician practices, need to answer several questions in order to determine if ownership is the right strategy going forward.

  • Will the provider own the building alone or should a joint venture with other practices be considered?
  • Will partnering with a hospital be considered?
  • Will a third-party developer or investment partner be considered to help guide the practice through the development process?
  • What are the front-end cash requirements?
  • What is the tolerance for debt guarantees?
  • How does ownership align with long-term practice strategies or goals?
  • What is a viable exit strategy?

The answers to these questions will help guide the physician group (and broker/developer/investor) to the right decision regarding equity participation in a medical office project. In today’s tight lending environment, the more cash invested, the better the borrowing terms available. Although borrowing for commercial real estate today has become increasing more challenging, especially compared to residential, we routinely take calls from lenders who will fund medical single and multi-tenant buildings by qualified buyers that will use the space.

How will the provider’s occupancy help to determine the cost of the building? Follow me here, as this is difficult for medical tenants to grasp. Rents are based on the cost of the entire project and cost of borrowed funds along with the return on cash investment desired, rather than the availability of space. In today’s medical real estate investment climate, the typical cash on annual return ranges from 9% to 15% per year based on a fully occupied building. As time lapses and rents improve, two favorable investment events happen: The cash return increases on an annual basis, and the market value of the property increases. Both of these events create increased value and wealth for their owners.

The inherent risk is the inability to maintain building occupancy with a practice group or medical rent-paying tenants. Empty buildings are extremely volatile and difficult to price. Prices parallel the availability of space coupled with the absorption of space in the regional and local marketplace. Rarely do vacant buildings increase in value unless the land underneath appreciates in value.

If you have a question regarding leasing, ownership, or simple investment into a medical building, please contact MREA at 713.701.7900.