Situations
When one fact about your file changes the answer
Direct answer
Practition Finance writes 15 pages for files that are not clean. Each one starts from the fact you already know is awkward, says plainly what still fits, and names the underwriting questions that fact triggers. Each links to the programs built for that profile.
As of October 2026
A single fact rarely closes the market. It changes which structures are realistic, which documents carry the weight, and which questions an underwriter asks first.
Each page below names who it fits, who it does not, and what a funder will want to see, so the conversation starts from the file you actually have.
Situations covered
New graduate
A new graduate buying or building a practice has no track record, so the file leans on practice collections plus graduate licensure and student debt
First-time owner
A first-time owner has clinical experience but no ownership history, so lenders read the practice's numbers first and weigh the owner's file second
Startup under 2 years
A practice open less than two years has thin history, so financing leans on ramp data, the original projections, and how closely results tracked them so far
650 credit score
A 650 score sits near the floor some practice lenders publish, which narrows the lender list and shifts pricing rather than closing a file outright
No collateral
A file with no real estate or collateral is financed against cash flow and collections, with a personal guarantee, which changes which lenders look at it
Declined by an SBA lender
A prior SBA decline is a data point, not a verdict, since a different lender, a different structure, or a corrected file can read the same practice differently
Multi-location group
How a lender reads a group with more than one location: consolidated cash flow, per-site performance, management depth, and which programs fit the next site
Franchise or DSO-affiliated
How a franchise agreement or a DSO support relationship changes underwriting, what a lender reads in the franchisor documents, and which programs still apply
Rural practice
How a rural location changes underwriting: smaller patient population, payer mix, real estate value, and which financing programs still fit a rural practice
Second location
How opening or buying a second location is underwritten against the first site cash flow, the staffing plan, and whether that site can absorb the ramp
Relocation
How relocating an existing practice is underwritten: patient retention risk, lease timing overlap, moving and build-out costs, and which programs apply
Partner buy-in
How a partner buy-in is underwritten against practice collections and the terms in the buy-in agreement, and which financing programs apply to a purchase
Non-physician owner (MSO structure)
An MSO structure changes who signs the note and who a lender underwrites, since the license holder and the capital owner are not the same person
Medicaid-heavy payer mix
A Medicaid-heavy payer mix changes reimbursement lag and which receivables a funder treats as eligible collateral for financing a practice or clinic
Medicare payment hold or audit
A Medicare payment hold or audit changes what a funder can advance against and what documentation resolves the hold before financing moves forward again
Reference figures behind these pages
| Figure | Current | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dental acquisition credit floor | 650 floor, 680 and above for premium pricing, 640 at Live Oak for new graduates1 | DirectionalAugust 2026 | dentalpracticeloanguide.com |
| Liquidity expected behind 100% financing | Roughly 5% of the loan amount in liquid cash2 | DirectionalAugust 2026 | toothandcoin.com, Wells Fargo practice finance interview |
| Graduated or interest-only window | 6 months at US Bank, 12 to 24 months in some startup programs3 | DirectionalAugust 2026 | usbank.com, startup lender program pages |
| WSJ prime rate | 6.75%4 | VerifiedAugust 2026 | Lendio, sbaloanindex.com |
Questions people ask
01Does one weak fact disqualify a file?
Rarely on its own. Underwriting reads the file as a whole, so a thin credit score behind strong collections reads differently from the same score behind falling collections. What one awkward fact changes is which structures stay realistic and how much documentation the request has to carry.
02What if more than one of these describes my situation?
Read both pages. The overlap usually narrows the list of realistic structures rather than closing it, and the underwriting questions compound: each fact adds a document or a condition rather than replacing the previous one. Our team reviews the request and looks for a funding partner that fits.
03Are these pages specific to healthcare practices?
Yes. The profiles, the benchmarks, and the programs referenced are drawn from healthcare practice lending, where goodwill carries most of the value and collections history carries most of the underwriting weight. General small business guidance often reads the same facts differently.
04Does Practition Finance decide whether I qualify?
No. Practition Finance is an independent business financing referral service. It explains what the market does with a given profile and, depending on the state, refers the request to funding partners, who make every credit decision and present any offer directly.
05Will a declined file be treated differently?
It is treated as information. A decline usually names a specific reason, and that reason tells you which structure to try next and which document to strengthen. What does not help is submitting the same file repeatedly to lenders using the same criteria.
06How current are the benchmarks on these pages?
Each figure carries the publisher that produced it and the date it was current, and figures are rechecked on a published cadence. Credit floors and liquidity expectations move with the market, so the date beside a benchmark matters as much as the number.
Other places to start
Sources
- 1dentalpracticeloanguide.com
- 2toothandcoin.com, Wells Fargo practice finance interview
- 3usbank.com, startup lender program pages
- 4Lendio, sbaloanindex.com
Send the team the facts about your request, including the part you think is a problem. Our team reviews them for a funding partner match.