
Six-figure student debt doesn't disqualify most physicians from practice ownership. Here's how lenders weigh cash flow after overhead, debt service coverage and your own production, and how to calculate each before you negotiate price.

Brian Hanks, MBA, CFP®, is the founder of Dental Buyer Advocates, a buyer-side practice acquisition advisory firm, and the author of "How to Buy a Dental Practice," now in its fifth edition. He has advised on more than 1,500 clinical practice acquisitions across 49 states and works exclusively on behalf of buyers.