Three mistakes experts see investors in surgery centers repeat time and again: Rushing into financing without learning about alternative ways to structure a deal, failing to research the different lending products available to them and focusing solely on finding the lowest interest rate they can.

Financing a concern for many
Thirteen percent of your colleagues who participated in our reader survey rated financing as the No. 1 obstacle they had to overcome to get their facilities built and operational (see "The Biggest Obstacle"). One reason financing is such a stumbling block in the new surgical construction industry might be because the cost of construction itself is going up. The $1 to $2 million it may have cost to build a small surgery center just a few years ago will run you $3 to $4 million today. Nearly half (48) of the respondents to our reader survey say it cost between $2 and $5 million to construct or expand their surgical facilities (see "The Total Tab"). Building a surgical hospital? You may need $10 million or more in financing.