On Sat, 24 Jul 2004 03:39:24 GMT, "Tony" wrote:
||Typically you don't buy the corporation, you set up your own corp and ||purchase the customer list & name in a bulk sale transaction. You are buying ||the assets, not the liabilties of the former corporation. The state usually ||has a few week waiting period and they issue an ok on the tax clearance for ||the bulk sale. They are the only ones that can put a lien on the assets ||after the fact, so you need a certification from them. || ||Tony
This is a good point. Make sure you comply with the provisions of your state with regard to "Bulk Sale" of assets of a business. You do NOT want to buy the "business" per se. That way you can say you just bought the equipment and leased the building. Be sure to change the name of the business. That way any old debts he may have incurred cannot be collected from you.
||"Kirk Gordon" wrote in message ||news: snipped-for-privacy@gordon-eng2.com... ||> I can't tell for sure from your post; but it sounds like you might ||> be buying the whole business, and not just the equipment. The price is ||> certainly too high for just the assets you've mentioned, so I'm guessing ||> that the work-in-progress, contracts, contacts, etc., are part of the ||deal. ||>
||> If that's the case, then you've got a LOT of homework to do. When ||> you buy the business, you could also be buying debts, judgements, tax ||> liens, a job that was screwed up last month that the customer now ||> expects redone for free, and more. If there are employees, you might ||> have issues there, as well. ||>
||> You need to look in every drawer and corner, and make an inventory ||> list, so you can actually evaluate the assets, and know how much of the ||> $50K price is NOT justified by hard metal, and is instead for other ||> stuff. Then you need to know exactly what that other stuff is. You ||> need to see the books - years worth of them - and the tax returns, and ||more. ||>
||> Perhaps most important in your post was the statement that "I know ||> zilch about finding work and pricing it." That's sorta like saying ||> you've been offered a good deal on a nice car; but don't know how to ||> drive. Finding work and pricing it is exactly half of the business - ||> unless you can't find any work, or don't price it properly. In that ||> case, it won't matter what machines you have; and the finding and ||> pricing will become ALL of what makes or breaks you. ||>
||> I don't mean to sound totally negative. Good things happen every ||> day, even from humble beginnings. But be careful. Be thorough. And ||> DON'T spend $50K of your money on wishful thinking. If it's gonna work, ||> then you ought to be able to see HOW it's gonna work, and where the work ||> will come from, and how you'll get it done, and how much money you'll ||> spend/make/lose on everything you can see or envision during the first ||> year, at least. ||>
||> If the owner is serious, and honest, then he'll answer every ||> question you ask without hesitation. If there's ANYTHING that's out of ||> bounds when you talk with him, it'll probably be best to quit talking ||> and take a walk. ||>
||> Good luck! ||>
||> KG ||>
||> Gunner wrote: ||> > Cross posted to the shop owners on alt.machines.cnc ||> >
||> >
||> > On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 21:30:06 GMT, Ron Thompson ||> > wrote: ||> >
||> >
||> >>Hi everyone, ||> >>I am in Florida and have come across a small machine shop for sale. ||> >>I have an associates degree in Machine Tool Technology and would like ||> >>to try my hand at my own commercial shop. ||> >>This shop is advertised as having a "following." ||> >>I got to look at it and talk to the owner for about 10 minutes, but he ||> >>had somewhere to be, so I didn't get in depth with him, yet. ||> >>It is clean and spacious (I only saw today's chips laying around), ||> >>with room to move my few machines in to supplement what is already ||> >>there. The building is concrete block with a concrete floor and a ||> >>shingled roof. Rent is $530 a month. Three phase electric is said to ||> >>be about $60 a month. There is an air conditioned office, but the shop ||> >>has fans. There is a toilet and sink, but no shower. He said code ||> >>wouldn't allow a shower. There are two large overhead doors on ||> >>opposite ends of the building and a pedestrian door. ||> >>There are 3 Enco vertical mills that look like Bridgeport clones, 2 ||> >>have DROs. ||> >>There are 2 medium sized Grizzly lathes, a couple of small drill ||> >>presses, a medium sized MSC horizontal band saw, a tool tower (looks ||> >>like black Craftsman tool boxes) said to be full of tools including ||> >>measuring tools. None of the machines look very old, but neither are ||> >>they top of the line American iron. ||> >>There is some other stuff I don't recall. There was some mention of ||> >>welders, but I don't know what kind. ||> >>He showed me some parts he makes for two different customers. Real ||> >>simple stuff I know I can handle. Mostly aluminum. ||> >>He claimed in 7 years here, his worst year was part time and he made ||> >>$65,000. ||> >>Everything is subject to verification. ||> >>What kinds of questions do I need to be asking? ||> >>I'd like to verify ongoing work and see if it's under contract. ||> >>I also intend to make an equipment list and get some real world prices ||> >>to judge the value of what I am buying. ||> >>I know zilch about finding work and pricing it. ||> >>On the plus side, he will stay for a month's transition. ||> >>I am living in my wife's parents house (her mother has Alzheimer's and ||> >>we moved it to keep her out of a home) so my living expenses are ||> >>slight. ||> >>His asking price is $50,000. ||> >>Help! ||> >>Thanks in advance for all comments. ||> >>
||> >>
||> >>Ron Thompson ||> >>On the Beautiful Florida Space Coast, right beside the Kennedy Space ||Center, USA ||> >>
||> >>
formatting link
||> >>
||> >>The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is ||> >>to fill the world with fools. ||> >>--Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903) ||> >
||> >
||> >
||> > "This device is provided without warranty of any kind as to reliability, ||> > accuracy, existence or otherwise or fitness for any particular purpose ||> > and Bioalchemic Products specifically does not warrant, guarantee, ||> > imply or make any representations as to its merchantability for any ||> > particular purpose and furthermore shall have no liability for or ||> > responsibility to you or any other person, entity or deity with respect ||> > to any loss or damage whatsoever caused by this device or object or by ||> > any attempts to destroy it by hammering it against a wall or dropping it ||> > into a deep well or any other means whatsoever and moreover asserts ||> > that you indicate your acceptance of this agreement or any other ||> > agreement that may he substituted at any time by coming within ||> > five miles of the product or observing it through large telescopes or ||> > by any other means because you are such an easily cowed moron ||> > who will happily accept arrogant and unilateral conditions on a piece ||> > of highly priced garbage that you would not dream of accepting on a ||> > bag of dog biscuits and is used solely at your own risk.' ||>
|| ||
Texas Parts Guy