The Buying Timeline — LOI to Keys

Find the practice → sign an NDA to see financials → tour after hours → submit a Letter of Intent (expect ~10 days of negotiation — and know that terms you don't get into the LOI are nearly impossible to win back later) → 4–8 weeks of due diligence → financing approval (conventional 30–45 days, SBA 60–90) → lease assignment → escrow → closing day. Total from accepted offer: commonly ~60 days; from starting your search: 6–12 months.

1) PPO CREDENTIALING — 60–90 days typical, 120+ for some payers. If you wait until closing, you'll own a practice you can't bill insurance from for months. Start the paperwork the day the LOI is signed.

2) LEASE ASSIGNMENT — 6–10 weeks end-to-end; the landlord's response window alone can be 15–30 days, and your lender will require 5+ years of term (including options). One caveat from the pros: don't contact the landlord until your loan is approved.

3) LIFE & DISABILITY INSURANCE — your lender will require a policy with a collateral assignment, and underwriting it 'has delayed many closings.' Apply the week your offer is accepted.

A neutral escrow holds your deposit, runs lien (UCC) searches so you don't inherit the seller's debts, obtains tax clearances (in California: EDD payroll, FTB, sales tax, county property tax — without clearances the sale can't legally close), prepares the settlement statement, and disburses funds. In California, bulk-sale notice rules add a mandatory ~2.5-week public-notice window before close. This is why 'we'll close in 3 weeks' almost never survives contact with reality.

7–10 days out: transition plan, utility/vendor transfers queued, malpractice + liability + workers' comp bound effective 12:01 AM closing day. 1–3 days out: sign loan docs, verify wire instructions BY PHONE (wire fraud is real), transfer licenses (DEA, radiology). Closing day: purchase agreement, bill of sale, security agreements — then keys, alarm codes, passwords, and a walkthrough. Day one as an owner: change nothing visible, learn everything.