“Buyer Beware: Hollywood Special Effects Now Permeate Property Listings” is a headline in the Wall Street Journal’s March 5, 2019 edition. The gist of the article is sellers and their agents to doctor images of the house for sale. The article states, “The technology allows sellers to green browned out lawns, stage rooms with virtual furniture and even perform full-blown HGTV-style makeovers with the click of a mouse.”
Of course, this is a huge risk to buyers, especially when a Redfin study says up to 35% of buyers made an offer sight-unseen. I’m surprised this took so long! Home sellers are way behind business sellers when it comes to putting lipstick on the pig.
As in the video below and the article “Add-backs, Adjustments, and Assumptions” are prevalent in the buy-sell world. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised when a friend, who recently sold his business to the number one player in his industry (and the only truly strategic buyer) told me he handed his financials over to them with no adjustments, recasting, or anything else.
A big part of what made his business attractive was he paid attention to the details, which I espouse regularly:
- His business wasn’t an extension of his personal checkbook.
- He paid close attention to the numbers and their accuracy.
- There was (and still is) a strong management team, and highly paid, which is why his employee retention is so good.
- Because of the above point there’s no dependency on the owner.
- The company’s been steadily growing.
It’s not hard but too many owners focus solely on the short-term, as in, how can I reduce my taxes this year? If my friend had only concentrated on current taxes (write off personal expenses, buy things not really needed, or expense inventory) his price would have deflated like a tire hitting a nail. Or, the buyer would have passed on the deal.
“If something can corrupt you, you’re corrupted already.” Bob Marley
