At the Becker's ASC 21st Annual Meeting — The Business and Operations of ASCs, Oct. 23 to 25, in Chicago, Jon Vick, president, ASCs Inc.; and Jason Winokur, vice president, J. H. Winokur, discussed selling ambulatory surgery center and medical office building real estate.
So why should ASC owners consider selling their building or real estate now?
According to Mr. Vick, some reasons are:
• There is currently a high demand for income-producing properties and ASCs are considered among the safest type of tenants.
• There is a low inventory of quality properties.
• There are high buyers seeking properties, including family foundations, wealthy individuals and real estate investment trusts.
• When you sell and lease back, there is no change to the overhead.
Buyers typically look for ASCs with a proven track record of success. "The key is the stability," said Mr. Winokur. "They want a passive income flow and ASCs are just that because the people who run the centers know how to run it, and they can sit back and enjoy the income."
Mr. Vick noted that ASC owners should ensure that they are charging themselves market-rate rent before entering into a transaction.
Value is also usually determined by rent, said Mr. Winokur. The higher the rent, the higher the sales price, and that is what buyers want.
"Try and maximize the sales price and then try to shelter some of the taxes by doing a 1031 exchange, which is a like-kind exchange," added Mr. Winokur.