Oh boy...
I just got an email from the prospective buyer for my pizza shop. He needs a notarized letter of intent for his bank loan. Now I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to selling a business... but my gut feeling just hit the holy smokes... this deal is gonna happen level.
I’ve been a broker for a while and I’ve closed a deal or two.... My 2 cents:
(1) be very wary of last minute deals before Holidays because of the “bank.” Banks don’t press deadlines late in the day before holidays. It’s like selling a collector car after 5 on a Friday night for a cashiers check: make sure it’s on soft paper! Watch out for a scam, don’t sign anything under pressure. If it’s a fair, real good deal, it’ll still be there on Monday.
(2) Lawyers work for themselves. Helping you (or not) is simply a necessary evil in their development of richs. Consider this: are you great at what you do? We all are at something. How many folks in your profession don’t have a clue, total screw ups? What makes you think it’s different with lawyers.
(3) there is no such thing as a “boiler plate” commercial contract. Form contracts protect the lawyers and the folks who sell form contracts. A good contract spells out all the pros and cons and details and escrow and payments in PLAIN ENGLISH. If you personally don’t understand anything, have it RE-written to where YOU personally understand what is written down. Never sign because your guy or their guy says “that means this.” If that’s what it means, write it that way.
(4) as you might imagine I could go on for 100 pages. Let me offer this, without any strings attached, obviously I have no dog in the hunt, and I’m not looking for a penny. If you would like to email me the documents, I’ll be happy to chat with you about everything and what it means. I am really not looking for anything. My business is a referral business, and if I can help you, you’ll tell someone else... & all confidential.
Pray for His guidance, andGood luck!