Leasing medical rooms on a short-term, or sessional basis have a range of benefits particularly for those practitioners that are looking to build their business. While there are both pros and cons, depending on your needs, leasing on a sessional basis can make a lot of sense.
Flexibility
If you’re working for yourself or just starting out in the medical field, you will likely require a certain level of flexibility.
Whether you work in different locations, or even in both the private and public sectors, you might not need medical offices on a full-time basis. By leasing as required, you can maintain a lot of flexibility and work around your desired schedule.
If you decide to lease long-term, it is very hard to break the lease. While many people are familiar with flexible residential leases, commercial leases are far more stringent and there are a lot of costs involved in trying to break them.
Affordable
While many medical practitioners ultimately decide to purchase their own offices or lease down the track, this is not always practical.
Even if you lease a commercial premises, you’re normally required to not only pay the rent but all the overheads as well, such as strata fees/outgoings, rates and other costs that most people never consider. On top of that, if you buy or lease, you will be required to fit out the entire building which can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars for certain professions.
By leasing on a sessional basis, these types of costs will normally be included and it’s something you don’t have to factor in.
Test a Location
If you’re building a medical practice, one of the most important elements is the location. Given the nature of the industry and the fact that you are required to see people in person the location you choose is critical.
While many people go into a business with the ‘build it and she will come’ mentality, that’s not often the way it works in practice. By leasing on a sessional basis, you can test out an area and see if it might be practical to scale the business from that point.
Build Your Business
If you’re starting a new business, it’s likely that it will grow over time. If you sign a long commercial lease, you will likely have to increase the space at some point, if you continue to expand.
By leasing on a sessional basis, you can expand as the business grows far easier.
You will also be able to avoid some of the upfront costs that you might not truly need, such as reception and admin. Staff and Infrastructure can also be a significant expense but also one that takes a lot of your time. This can be avoided if you lease on a sessional basis.
Ultimately, the decision to buy, take a long term lease or lease on a sessional basis will depend on what your business goals are. It’s well worth exploring your options and by starting small you have room to grow. If you start too big, it’s very difficult to scale things back if things don’t go to plan.
