Commercial office building landlords frequently find themselves leasing to healthcare provider tenants. A landlord may not consider doctor’s offices or diagnostic labs as specialty uses, but there are several lease provisions that may warrant special attention when a tenant is a medical service provider.
As outpatient care continues to grow, so will the need for healthcare providers to look for strategic clinic placement. What this means for providers is that they need to look for locations where they can provide convenient and quality healthcare to the communities they intend to serve.
Healthcare clinic placement strategy will continue to look more and more for smaller infill locations in dense areas that allow them to further penetrate markets and get closer to consumers. This represents an opportunity for healthcare providers to connect with their customers in environments they are familiar with, are comfortable with, and frequent for their daily needs.
Healthcare providers are strategic tenants for retail properties and represent great opportunities from a landlord perspective as they can stabilize a project by locking in a long-term, anchor lease. This approach is a value add to ownership as they have a user that can take on a second-generation space without needing to tear down the building.
After learning how beneficial the healthcare industry is, it is important to note how to position a medical building in order to attract tenants and for good leases as an investor.
TIPS ON POSITIONING A MEDICAL BUILDING
LOCATION
Location is a top priority in how to attract tenants. The main deciding factor that tenants are looking for in their rental property is a ‘good’ location. The good news is that the definition of “good” will vary between individuals with some or all of the following being important factors:
Factors that determine a good location are; 
- A safe and secure neighborhood
- Proximity to local nightlife or shops
- Within a good school’s catchment area
- Access to the main road
PROVISION OF FEATURES AND AMENITIES
The provision of amenities for healthcare professionals is important as this is an industry that requires a good space and desirable features. There are several desirable features that healthcare tenants are looking for and these include:
- An attractive and modern building
- Stylish touches, e.g. feature walls
- Storage facilities
- A garden or yard
- Plenty of natural light
- Parking space
- Open plan interiors
Advertising on Online Rental Listing Platforms
Gone are the days when advertising had to be done face-to-face, now online rental listing platforms are the new thing. 
A rental listing site populates its website with an inventory of properties for rent. You create the home’s online profile using the step-by-step process unique to each site. The rental listing site makes it easier for landlords to find a tenant because listings are sometimes syndicated across multiple sites. Rental listing sites help renters scan many properties from the comfort of their computer or phone, sorting by what features are most important to them.
Here’s why online rental listing platforms are better than general marketplaces:
- They’re free for landlords.
- They get tons of daily traffic and repeat visitors.
- They generate more leads than the alternative because tenants can screen by area, property type, and price.
- The platforms are optimized for user experience.
- They work on mobile devices (a large number of tenants do their apartment hunting during breaks and on their phones).
- They connect potential tenants directly to landlords.
Work With A Healthcare Specialist Commercial Broker
The average commercial medical real estate transaction for healthcare providers requires dozens of hours to complete, and that is when properly handled by an
expert. Since time is money for medical professionals, diverting attention from your practice becomes extremely expensive and distracting.
Most medical providers also find it challenging to learn a new real estate industry, obtain key market knowledge to leverage their options and ultimately, negotiate the most favorable terms possible.
Within all of the medical real estate industries, the ultimate goal of a healthcare-specific commercial broker is to position you in the optimal location with the most favorable terms. They help you know all you need to research, how best to grow your practice, as well as to dig more deeply into demographic data for your expansion, relocation, purchase, or new office.
As informed investors we should understand the risks associated with real estate investing and that there is no guarantee. Please do your due diligence.
