$1 Buyout Lease

Some practices have no intention of cycling out of their imaging equipment at lease end. They chose the room configuration, invested in shielding and room preparation, and plan to run the system through its full clinical life. For those facilities, paying a fair market value at the end just adds uncertainty to a decision that was already made when the equipment was selected. A dollar-buyout lease removes that uncertainty entirely.

Under a dollar-buyout lease, you pay through the full purchase price of the equipment over the term, and at the end you acquire title for one dollar. The structure looks and feels like a loan, but it carries the legal form of a lease for the term duration. Monthly payments are higher than an equivalent fair market value lease on the same equipment because there is no residual reducing the financed amount. What you get in return is a clean, predictable path to ownership with no appraisal, no negotiation, and no end-of-term decision to make.

We structure dollar-buyout leases on the full range of imaging equipment including fixed x-ray room systems, cone-beam CT units, and mammography systems. The minimum transaction is $50,000, and the structure works on both new equipment and certified refurbished systems. Most applications close in one to two weeks.

What Equipment Suits a Dollar-Buyout Structure

The stronger the case for long-term ownership, the better a dollar-buyout lease fits. Fixed room equipment is a natural match. A fully shielded x-ray room with ceiling-mounted or wall-mounted tube systems has a useful life that commonly exceeds ten years with appropriate tube replacements and software updates. Paying through ownership over five or six years and then running the system for another several years post-term is a straightforward economic case. The total cost of ownership over that extended life is often well below what multiple FMV lease cycles would cost on the same hardware.

Practices investing in radiographic and fluoroscopic combination rooms often choose dollar-buyout structures for the same reason. R&F rooms are complex, heavily sited, and not the kind of asset you return at term end. The room is customized to your patient workflow and your staff's operating habits, and the idea of returning it and leasing a replacement is more disruptive than it sounds on paper. Owning the system removes that complication.

Bone densitometry and DEXA systems are another strong fit. The technology in DEXA has been relatively stable, the systems have long service lives, and practices building women's health or osteoporosis management programs benefit from owning the asset outright rather than leasing it on a cycle that may not align with their clinical growth timeline.

Dental and oral surgery practices investing in panoramic imaging systems also tend toward dollar-buyout structures. Panoramic and CBCT units sit in specific operatory locations, integrate with practice management software, and accumulate patient study history tied to their installation. Ownership makes more practical sense than returning the unit at the end of a lease.

Documentation and Credit Requirements

A dollar-buyout lease is underwritten similarly to an equipment loan because functionally it is one. For transactions up to $400,000, we typically work on an application-only basis, meaning we do not require multi-year tax returns or audited financials. Three months of business bank statements, a completed application, and the equipment quote are the core documents. For larger transactions, we bring in business financials and, in some cases, a personal financial statement from the principal, particularly for practices that are newer or that carry significant existing debt.

Credit profile matters, but we look at the full picture. Time in business, deposit account behavior, and revenue consistency carry real weight alongside the formal score. Practices with B or C credit profiles have qualified for dollar-buyout structures with us, sometimes with a slightly adjusted rate or a shorter initial term. If the first term closes cleanly, refinancing or extending at better terms is a realistic path. We also offer dedicated B/C credit equipment financing programs for practices that are working through a recovery period.

New practices present a different underwriting conversation. If the practice has fewer than two years of operating history, we may look at startup-specific programs or at personal credit and assets alongside the business profile. The key is that a thin file does not automatically mean a declined application; it means the underwriting relies on different signals.

Timeline from Application to Funded

The typical path from a completed application to funded transaction runs one to two weeks for straightforward dollar-buyout leases. The process starts with the equipment quote from your vendor. You submit the application with bank statements, we run credit and structure the approval, and once you accept the terms we send documentation for signature. On signature, we fund the vendor directly and the equipment ships or delivery is scheduled.

The fastest transactions are those where the vendor quote is firm, the application is complete on submission, and the signing authority on the lease is the same person who signed the application. Delays most commonly come from missing documents, changes to the equipment configuration after the initial quote, or ownership structure questions that require additional verification. Having your practice's federal EIN, entity formation documents, and three months of bank statements ready when you apply takes the most common friction points off the table.

For practices coordinating a room build with a construction timeline, we can issue a commitment letter after credit approval so the vendor and contractor know funding is secured. Actual funding against that commitment happens when the equipment is ready to deliver or install, not at the time of approval. This protects you from carrying financing costs during a build-out period.

New vs. Used Equipment Under Dollar-Buyout

Dollar-buyout leases work on both new and certified refurbished equipment. The financing mechanics are the same; the underwriting adjusts for the starting value and expected useful life of the asset. A five-year-old refurbished DR system financed on a 48-month dollar-buyout lease will carry a higher payment per dollar financed than new equipment would, because the residual life the lender can rely on is shorter. That is not a reason to avoid the structure, but it is a factor to include in the total cost of ownership analysis when comparing new and used options side by side.

For practices considering used C-arms, a dollar-buyout structure combined with a thorough pre-purchase inspection and service contract can work well. Owning the system outright at term end is appealing when the refurbished unit still has meaningful residual life and you have established a service relationship with the vendor or an independent service organization. The alternative, leasing a used C-arm under an FMV structure and returning it at term end, often leaves the practice needing to re-enter the market for another used unit at unpredictable prices.

We can finance on a single invoice from a dealer or on a private-party sale between practices, as long as there is a clear bill of sale and documentation of the equipment's service history. Multi-practice systems or health systems sometimes sell retiring equipment to affiliated independent practices, and we handle those transactions regularly.

Get a Dollar-Buyout Lease Quote

If your practice is acquiring imaging equipment you plan to run for the long term, a dollar-buyout structure deserves a clear look alongside loan and FMV options. Share the equipment quote and a sense of your budget target, and we will build out a comparison so you can see exactly what ownership costs over the full term versus the alternatives.

Is a dollar-buyout lease treated as a capital lease for accounting purposes?

Under ASC 842, a dollar-buyout lease is almost always classified as a finance lease because you are certain to obtain ownership at term end. That means the right-of-use asset is typically amortized like owned equipment, and the interest portion of the payment flows through interest expense rather than operating expense. This is different from how an operating lease (often an FMV lease) is treated. Review the specific classification with your accountant before finalizing the structure, especially if your practice has borrowing covenants that are sensitive to balance sheet debt levels.

Can I pay off a dollar-buyout lease early and take ownership sooner?

Most dollar-buyout leases allow early termination or buyout, but the contract will specify either a prepayment schedule or a remaining-balance calculation. Some contracts include a prepayment fee for early payoff in the first half of the term. Read the early-termination clause before signing if early payoff is something you are likely to want. We structure our agreements to be transparent on this point, so you will know the early-payoff cost before you commit.

What if the equipment fails or becomes clinically obsolete before the term ends?

A dollar-buyout lease does not provide a built-in early-exit the way an FMV lease return option does. If the equipment fails, your service contract should cover repairs; if it is not covered, the equipment cost is yours as the beneficial owner. If the system becomes clinically obsolete, you are still obligated through the term unless you negotiate an early buyout. This is the main trade-off of the dollar-buyout structure against an FMV lease: you get ownership certainty, but you carry the full residual risk on the asset.

Can we finance a room build-out cost alongside the equipment under a dollar-buyout lease?

Soft costs like shielding, electrical, and room construction can sometimes be bundled into equipment financing, but this depends on the lender and the proportion of soft costs relative to hard equipment value. Generally, the equipment needs to represent the majority of the financed amount. For large room builds where construction costs are substantial, we sometimes structure the equipment and the build-out as separate facilities or recommend that the construction portion go through a different financing vehicle. Talk to us early in the planning process and we can map the right structure.

My practice has strong revenue but a personal credit issue from several years ago. Can I still get approved?

Personal credit history is part of the underwriting, but strong business revenue, stable deposit patterns, and time in business carry real weight. A past personal credit event, particularly one that is several years old and resolved, does not automatically block approval. We look at the complete profile. B and C credit applicants do get approved for dollar-buyout leases, sometimes with adjusted structures. Submit an application and let the underwriting speak to your actual situation rather than assuming the outcome.

Can I add a service contract to the dollar-buyout lease financing?

In many cases, yes. Manufacturer service contracts and third-party service agreements can be included in the financed amount, spreading the service cost over the lease term rather than requiring a lump-sum payment upfront. This is particularly useful for multi-year service contracts on higher-cost systems. The vendor needs to be willing to invoice the service contract separately or include it on the equipment invoice; we will coordinate with your vendor on the documentation.

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