Huntington Bank Review: Customized Loans for Dental and Veterinary Practices

Dentists and veterinarians need significant cash flow to open or expand their practice. The American Dental Association states most dental practices will need an initial $500,000 investment. Whereas the Independent Veterinary Practitioners Association estimates an average price tag of $1 million to open a small animal clinic.

Some lenders — such as Huntington Bank — offer customized practice finance solutions for every stage of owning a dental or veterinary practice.

Read on to learn about the Huntington practice loan.

Huntington Bank: The basics

Founded in 1866, Huntington Bank is headquartered in its original founding location: Columbus, Ohio. However, it now operates more than 1,100 full-service branches in 12 states.

Huntington serves consumers and businesses in Ohio, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

In addition to the Huntington business loan for opening a practice, it provides a variety of business banking services for start-ups, franchises and specialty practices.

You can get the preapproval process started by filling out the form below.

Huntington Bank practice loans for dentists and veterinarians

Huntington Bank offers practice financing for all stages of owning a veterinary or dental practice. It has flexible terms and competitive interest rates to help start, run or grow your practice.

Practice finance solutions are available to:

• Start or buy a practice. This includes start-up loans, practice acquisition financing and owner-occupied real estate loans.
• Fund equipment needs. This includes equipment loans, up to 100% of project financing and longer terms.
• Expand your practice. This includes debt refinancing and consolidation, funds to purchase or expand office space and construction financing.

Additionally, Huntington borrowers can take advantage of a third-party Financial Pulse tool. This benefit comes with 18 to 24 months of free practice performance review and guidance.

Related: Should You Use a Dental Broker When Buying a Practice?

Borrower requirements for a Huntington Bank practice loan

Veterinary and dental practice financing isn’t a straightforward lending product. The underwriting methodology varies by lender, with many personal and business financial factors affecting the ultimate lending criteria and offer.

This type of specialty financing is typically evaluated on a case-by-case basis. This can make it challenging to find transparent eligibility requirements and loan offers for comparison.

However, there are some general borrower requirements that can help make you a more appealing dental or veterinary practice loan candidate.

We’ve seen the most success when a prospective practice owner has:

• At least one year of employment history.
• $10,000 or more in cash savings.
• No adverse credit events (e.g. bankruptcy or short sale within the last seven years).
• A proven history of revenue production at your current employer that supports the requested loan amount.

Beyond that, the details of your business plan will impact your veterinary or dental practice loan offer. For example, there’s a big difference between building a practice from the ground up versus acquiring an existing practice with established patients and revenue.

You can expect a thorough discussion with Huntington Bank (or another practice financing lender) to determine the best terms for both parties.

How to learn more and apply

Since the Huntington practice loan is specifically designed for dentists and veterinarians looking to secure large six-figure financing, two-way relationship building is the name of the game.

Unlike with student loan financing, a Huntington practice loan won’t be a simple online application where you never really come into contact with the lender. Securing practice financing takes time and commitment to the process.

So, you’ll have one point of contact throughout the financing process with a Huntington practice loan.

Start by submitting your information online, and a practice specialist will reach out to discuss financing to start, run or grow your dental or veterinary business.

You can also contact Huntington Bank at (800) 480-2001. However, it’ll be a longer initial process since you’ll need to navigate the phone tree and wait to be transferred to the correct contact. Skip using its chat feature online altogether as it’s an automated assistant with little to no information presented for practice financing.

Find more practice loan options

If you need financing to start, upgrade or expand your practice, a customized practice loan might benefit you more than alternative funding sources.

Depending on the lender, you might have access to higher loan amounts, more flexible repayment terms, better interest rates or waived fees based on your profession.

It’s best to involve a practice loan lender as early as possible to build your lending relationship and figure out any gaps in your business plan. This will also give you time to address any personal financial concerns the bank might bring up in initial discussions. Additionally, it can allow you to gain preapproval early in the process if you already have your eyes set on a target practice.

Similar to other financial products, we recommend reaching out to at least two lenders to increase your chances of getting the best veterinary or dental practice loan. However, the details of most specialty financing lenders won’t be explicitly placed on their website. So, you’ll need to do the legwork and reach out directly to gain a better understanding of what they have to offer.

Start by exploring some of the top practice loan options broken down by state.