Most associates assume they need a down payment to buy a practice. They don't.

What they need is cash in the bank, and a lot less of it than they think. Matt Mulcock has spent his career advising dentists on exactly this question.

In this episode he gives Brian the number: roughly $50,000 to $75,000 in liquid savings, and retirement accounts don't count toward it.

That's the financial bar. The harder one is the other half of the conversation. Brian and Matt work through both. Whether the math actually supports buying now, whether you should clear student loans first, and why the feeling of readiness almost never arrives before the decision does.

In this episode:

What lenders actually want to see, and why it isn't a traditional down payment

The liquidity number Matt gives associates, and what doesn't count toward it

Why the 20 percent savings rule is good general advice and bad specific advice

Buying now with student loans outstanding versus waiting years to be debt free, and which one usually wins

Why uncertainty, not risk, is what actually stops people The traits Matt sees in dentists who do well as owners

What changes financially in the first year of ownership

This Friday, October 2: Brian is doing a free live session, How to Find a Dental Practice for Sale, including the ones that never get listed. Noon Mountain / 2pm Eastern.

The recording goes to everyone who registers.

Register here: https://info.dentalbuyeradvocates.com/free-webinar-how-to-find-a-practice.html

Thinking about owning someday? Get Brian's free Ready Kit for the steps leading up to buying a practice:

https://www.dentalbuyeradvocates.com/ready

More resources

Read How to Buy a Dental Practice Book

Schedule an introductory call with the Dental Buyer Advocates team

About the guest: Matt Mulcock, CFP®, leads Dentist Advisors and hosts The Dentist Money Show.

His firm works exclusively with dentists on financial planning, and he has spent years on the same question this episode asks: when do the numbers actually say yes.

https://dentistadvisors.com

dental practice acquisition, buying a dental practice, practice ownership, student loans, dental associate, practice financing, dental practice valuation, first practice purchase, financial planning for dentists, practice transition