Case Studies

Start-Up Oral Surgery Building Purchase in Trenton, Wayne County

The Situation

Dr. Hadi Khazaal has been practicing oral surgery for several years as Dr. Bilal Ibrahim was finishing up school and already planning the practice he’d walk into.

When the two doctors found us, they were considering a building in Taylor and wanted our opinion.

This was a good instinct. The building would have cost them a fortune.

• The Taylor property was a former flex building with multiple floors. The owner spent real money on the interior, and it photographed beautifully – clean lines, bright white finishes, and upgraded materials. 
• Walking in, it felt high-end, but there were hidden costs underneath. The building was not ADA compliant, and bringing a building into compliance is not just a punch list. It’s an elevator, restroom reconstruction, and expanding door widths and clearances. It’s a real concern for a practice where patients arrive for oral surgery and leave sedated. On a multi-story building, just the elevator alone can cost the low six figures before anyone talks about the surgical buildout. 
• We see the pattern often. The seller puts money into the parts of a building you can see – the lobby, flooring, nice lighting, and a feature wall. It’s the rational move for them, but those are also the cheapest improvements per dollar of perceived value, and they work. 
• Luckily, the doctors listened to us. We took a step back, acknowledged this property was a money pit, and we went out to find something better suited for an oral surgery practice.

The Solution

• We toured several properties and landed on one in Trenton. It had a couple existing tenants generating income and good bones for a purpose-built oral surgery practice. It was less impressive on the walkthrough, but a dramatically better business decision. 
• The building was right, but getting it closed was another matter. The seller lived in a very remote area and preferred to sign every document in-person. There was no bad faith here. He was not stalling or playing games. He just operated on a completely different clock than commercial transactions run on.
• We planned around it. We extended the purchase agreement. Then we extended it again. And again. Every extension was a moment where the deal could have quietly died, where a reasonable buyer would get tired, a lender gets nervous, or somebody decides the deal isn’t worth it anymore. 
• But nobody blinked. We kept the doctors informed, the financing intact, and the agreement alive until the signatures were where they needed to be.

Now in 2026, Dr. Khazaal and Dr. Ibrahim are preparing for their grand opening of their practice in a building that:

• Was purchased with existing tenants for rental income at the start,
• Is purpose-built for an oral surgery practice without the price tag of bringing the space up to ADA compliance, and
• Closed before Dr. Ibrahim even finished school. That’s not reckless – that’s someone who knew what he wanted and planned for it years earlier than most.

Congratulations, Dr. Khazaal and Dr. Ibrahim!

Both doctors are terrific, and it was a pleasure working with them. And we’re very grateful we got their call before they signed onto a costly mistake.

Their experience is an example of why you should be more skeptical of a building that shows well and look into the building’s history. Former flex, industrial, and retail buildings can carry problems for medical users.

Additionally, their story proves that sometimes all you need is trust in the process and a whole lot of patience to get you to the closing table.