Medical practice loans in Kerrville, TX are written both ways. An equipment loan is secured by the machine it buys. A term or working capital loan can carry a lien on the practice's business assets, or be unsecured and backed by the owner's personal guarantee. The collateral changes the term, the monthly payment and what has to be cleared before the practice is sold.
Collateral explained for a physician office: equipment liens, blanket liens and owner backing, an invented ultrasound priced both ways, and a document list for a Kerrville, TX clinic.
Are medical practice loans secured or unsecured?
Both, depending on the product. Secured means a specific asset stands behind the loan and the lender records a claim on it; unsecured means no asset is pledged, so the lender relies on the practice's cash flow and, in small practice lending, on the owner signing personally. A clinic can hold one of each at the same time.
| Product | What secures it | Typical use at a clinic |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment financing | The unit bought, by serial number | Ultrasound, digital X-ray, exam tables |
| Term loan with a blanket lien | Business assets: equipment, receivables, cash accounts | Movable exam-suite equipment, a partner buy-in |
| Unsecured term or working capital loan | No pledged asset; the owner's personal guarantee | A billing gap, a new hire, software |
| Business line of credit | Either: a lien on assets or owner backing alone | Supplies, payroll timing |
The claim on business assets is a UCC-1 financing statement, which for a Texas business is filed with the Texas Secretary of State and shows up in a public search. A second lender looking at the practice later will see it.
Physician offices in Kerr County, TX are a mix of sizes: 52 offices of physicians had paid employees in 2023, 20 of them with fewer than five, and their annual payroll came to $54.3 million (CBP, NAICS 6211). The ZBP counted 51 offices of physicians with a ZIP 78028 address that year.
Equipment-backed loans for clinic gear
Clinic equipment makes good collateral because it has a serial number, a resale market and a useful life a lender can price. The unit secures its own loan, so the rest of the practice stays unpledged. A lender can also take software or installation as part of the amount, though soft costs with no resale value are the part a partner may trim.
| Line | Equipment loan, secured by the unit | Unsecured loan, owner-backed |
|---|---|---|
| Months | 60 | 24 |
| Rate per year (invented) | 9.25% | 15.5% |
| Monthly payment | $1,211.03 | $2,826.02 |
| Total of payments | $72,661.80 | $67,824.48 |
Read the table carefully. The unsecured loan costs $4,837.32 less in total here, only because it runs 36 months shorter; it also asks $1,614.99 more every month. For a machine that will scan patients for years, the secured schedule matches the useful life better, and it leaves the owner's personal guarantee off the table for this purchase.
Owner backing in practice lending
Owner backing is a personal guarantee: a signed promise that the doctor or practice owner repays the loan if the practice cannot. On an unsecured practice loan it is the main support, and it can appear on secured loans too. A guarantee can be unlimited, covering the full balance plus collection costs, or limited to a dollar amount or a share of the debt.
In a group practice, a partner can ask each owner above a set ownership share to sign. A medical license is not collateral, but the owner's personal credit and other debts become part of the review once a guarantee is in play.
- Ask whether the guarantee is limited or unlimited, and to what amount.
- Check whether a spouse or a holding company is asked to sign as well.
- Find out whether the guarantee ends when the loan is paid, or covers future borrowing too.
- Before a buy-in or a sale, ask how a departing owner is released from it.
What a Kerrville, TX clinic prepares before applying
A clinic that knows which kind of loan it wants can gather the papers that kind of loan needs. Bellshire Business Funding sends the request to funding partners, and a partner decides the structure; the list below covers what a partner can ask for at the start.
- The equipment quote, with model, serial or build number and the vendor's installation line.
- Twelve months of business bank statements, so deposits from payers show the real timing of revenue.
- An accounts receivable aging report split by 30, 60, 90 and over 90 days.
- This year's profit and loss statement next to the last two tax returns.
- A schedule of current loans and equipment agreements, with balances and the collateral each one holds.
- The ownership chart, showing every owner and the share each holds.
On the request form a clinic fills in a name, a phone number and an email, then the company name, its time in business, its annual revenue and the sum it is after; nothing else is asked there. That form opens a conversation rather than a credit application, though a partner weighing the clinic may run a credit check of its own.
Cash-gap and hiring examples for a physician office are on the medical practices page; other questions are answered in the Bellshire blog.
By Bellshire Business Funding · Updated
