Case Studies

Dentists Purchase Their Building In Northville, Wayne County

The Situation

Dr. Amanda Remer-Chang and Dr. Brian Chang had built their practice in downtown Northville, leasing 2,800 SF of a 6,000 SF building. But they wanted to own and liked their building, specifically.

There was one problem, and it was a significant one. The building belonged to First Merchants Bank, which had a branch on-site. A bank occupying its own real estate in a downtown location it wants to be in is not a motivated seller. It’s barely a seller at all.

But we called the broker representing the bank anyway. The answer was no – not a negotiation, not a number too high, not a check back later. The bank simply wasn’t in the market and wasn’t interested in the conversation.

That’s where most of these stories end.

• At that point, we made two decisions – and both mattered:
  • First, we accepted the answer without treating it as permanent. A bank not selling today is a bank that isn’t selling today. Ownership situations change constantly via growth, consolidation, a leasing coming due somewhere else, a strategy shift two levels up that nobody outside the organization can see. We had made the call, the broker knew who we were and what our clients wanted, and that was worth something even though it produced nothing immediately.
  • Second, we needed to run a genuine search – not a token effort while waiting for a long shot, but a real search.
• We visited dozens of properties in and around Northville that could have worked as a purchase and relocation. We evaluated each against what the practice actually needed and what the move would cost.
• This work served two purposes:
  • If the bank never came around, the doctors would need somewhere to go.
  • But if the bank did come around, we needed to know precisely what their building was worth compared to realistic alternatives. After all, you cannot negotiate well on a property if it’s the only one you’re considering.

The Solution

• That’s when the phone rang. The bank’s broker came back to us. The bank had been in growth mode the whole time. They had been building a new branch nearby, and now they were willing to consider selling the building.
• None of that was visible to the outside. There was no listing, no signal, nothing that would have told anyone watching the market that the situation had shifted. The only reason we heard about it early was because we made that first call that went nowhere months prior.

The doctors didn’t have to relocate. By Summer 2023, they bought the building they were already in and completed their expansion by 2024.

• They avoided the hidden costs of relocation that doesn’t appear in the purchase price:
  • Practice downtime
  • New visibility
  • Potential patient loss

• Instead, they were able to expand from 2,800 SF to 4,500 SF within their same building that they now own.
• And later in 2025, we helped them lease the remaining vacancy as passive income.

Congratulations, Dr. Remer-Chang and Dr. Chang!

We’re glad we got to work with them on their path to building ownership, as well as finding a tenant for their vacancy when they were ready.

There are many lessons to learn from their story.

First, start with the building you’re already in. Tenants who want to own, assume that means leaving. However, sometimes the best candidate is the property you already know. Plus, buying your current building often leads to the added benefit of turning your neighbors into revenue by leasing the extra space you don’t need. Be sure to consider that with the financing.

Second, make the call even if you expect a no. Without that initial call, the bank’s broker would have never called us back, and it’s a reminder that “not for sale now” is just a status, not a verdict. Circumstances change for reasons you’ll never see as an outsider.

Third, run a real search anyway. The alternatives you tour aren’t a consolation prize. They’re the only indicator of what your first choice is actually worth. In this case, dozens of properties produced a clear answer.