Big decision, to buy or not to buy salon?

[Cjd]

Hi all

I will try and keep this brief
I viewed a salon for sale 6 months ago and they eventually accepted my offer after 3 months of negotiating.
We agreed on what would actually be included in the sale and the staff .

Through my own research I found out they had another salon in the next village and , that the staff work between the 2 .
We are at the stage very close to completion ....however there are a couple of issues which are making me think this will not be a good investment and should I pull out.

1.items which were originally included in the sale ,I am now being told are not included
2. The staff , I am told will be given the choice to stay with me or go with the seller to there other salon
3.i am being asked by the seller to pay for maintenance which has already been carried out on the property.
4.Feel like I will be paying a lot of money for nothing more than 2nd hand salon equipment...don't think there will be much good .

I am going to make the phone all to my solicitor in the morning to see how everything is progressing ......or should I just pull out and save my hard earned cash for a better opportunity.

Advise PLEASE XX

 

[Geminikelli]

Sounds complicated and obv we are only reading a very brief insight to the sale.

But based on what you have wrote I would not be signing anything at this stage, I assume your paying your solicitor a hefty wack so make him earn his money.. What is he saying to you? What is he advising etc..

The original price for sale I assume would have been lowered if the stock is now no longer included?

My concern would be the staff and salon in next town.

Could the owner be selling up for cash and throwing that cash into the other salon , you may be left n a situation where all staff leav and go join her in her new expanded salon.

It does not sound good to be fair.

Strip it all down ..

Stock . Is t good quality? What is its value? Do you have any f your own?

Clientele .. Do you ave your own to follow you? I'd be very concerned that staff currently work between the two because if they do up and leave there clients will follow to the next town because they are loyal clients and used to that therapist.

What is the salon like etc

Strip it all back to basics are you buying a very profitable business if so why is it being sold? Is the other salon up for sale too? If not then I'd not go ahead.

For what your buying and for the amount could you set up from scratch for that price?


But you really need to speak to solicitor x

 

[stephanie_87]

I looked into many many salons for sale before I decided to just start from scratch and rent an empty property. I came very close to making offers on salons but always felt a little uneasy. In the end I thought 'what am I actually paying for?' like you said second hand furniture and equipment and someone else's reputation ( that may or may not be good), stock that you probably don't need and a client base that is not guaranteed to stay loyal to a new owner. It really depends how much you are paying for it and how long it will take to make money out of the business. Brand new salons attract a lot of attention and if the service is good it will not take long to build a good client base. You don't necessarily have to pay someone for theirs. That may not have been exactly what you wanted to hear but after reading your post I thought best to give my honest opinion. I hope whatever you decide it works out really well for you

 

[Macoroni]

I will be looking at a new salon next year and I will look at every option but I do think an existing salon is better because it can cost so much to renovate one to what you want however it sounds like the owner wants to go so I Wd look at what's offered now compared to what was offered then and make decision. The reality is if she is in an adjacent town some clients will go there but some will stay with you and also my first salon was valued at 45k which after the owner trying to sell for 6 months eventually took 5k from me plus equipment I wanted she was desperate to go then my salon was valued at 35k and I took 20k I was desperate to go so if you are the only buyer in the frame she does want to sell you are in a great position.

 

[beautyJen]

I am selling one of my salons, can I ask where you think is a good place to advertise the sale?x

 

[Cjd]

Thanks for all your replies, think my mind is made up and I will be making a very important call tomorrow

Beautyjen I have PM you

X

 

[ssuk]

Im with kelli and the others. Clarly you have doubts. On that basis alone i would say dont sign yet


Sent from my GT-S5830i using SalonGeek

 

[Carlalouise]

Unless you're getting it for a song I wouldn't go there, it sounds like the staff will probably go and so will your client base. If it was a case of the owner didn't want to run the business any more or had other commitments then you know you have a chance of keeping the clients however the way this is set up I feel it's a massive gamble!!

 

[ADiva1]

If they want to sell to you, and they are desperate, then let it be mainly on your terms.

Don't sign until you feel happy with ALMOST everything. Obviously, not everything will be the way you want it to be; nothing is perfect.

Don't be afraid to ask questions or say when you are unhappy. If not, let it go and something else better will come along.

Don't let anyone twist your arm, it's a big investment.

Goodluck.

DO let us know what the outcome is. :biggrin:

 

[jacquelineanna]

Hi all

I will try and keep this brief
I viewed a salon for sale 6 months ago and they eventually accepted my offer after 3 months of negotiating.
We agreed on what would actually be included in the sale and the staff .

Through my own research I found out they had another salon in the next village and , that the staff work between the 2 .
We are at the stage very close to completion ....however there are a couple of issues which are making me think this will not be a good investment and should I pull out.

1.items which were originally included in the sale ,I am now being told are not included
Stick to the original agreement or reduce the price
2. The staff , I am told will be given the choice to stay with me or go with the seller to there other salon
Tell them all staff must go with them, they may well go anyway after a minute of being with you!!
3.i am being asked by the seller to pay for maintenance which has already been carried out on the property.
No
4.Feel like I will be paying a lot of money for nothing more than 2nd hand salon equipment...don't think there will be much good .
Thaaat's right. So negotiate hard, and get them to drop the price by 10k (that price is meaningless, I just said it off the top of my head) or whatever price you feel is better for you.

I am going to make the phone all to my solicitor in the morning to see how everything is progressing ......or should I just pull out and save my hard earned cash for a better opportunity.

Advise PLEASE XX

They are probably going to take most of the clients with them and are happy that you have come by so they can off-load this dead weight (dead-weight to them I mean) on to you.

Negotiate hard!! They want to get rid of it. You can take it or leave it. It doesn't sound as if there are any other buyers interested.

Revise your terms and your offer. If they don't accept say thanks but no thanks and look for something else.

It is your hard-earned money. Don't give it away!!

 

[NailsXpress]

So what is your solicitor doing? Not much by the sounds of it. They should have all the details before them and if you have already agreed on something then they should be sticking to it. Things can only change with negotiation I thought. Both sides have to agree. You are paying your solicitors to do a job so they should be sorting all this out for you surely.

If you are not happy with anything, either negotiate or pull out. Its far too costly to accept whatever she wants. SOME salon owners can be extremely pushy and difficult. Threaten to pull out and see what she says then. I would!

 

[Cjd]

Well ....quick update
I officially withdrew my offer yesterday..gutted.com

My solicitor has been great and he did say he thought it was the best decision as the owner was not being helpful at all.

I am gutted and feel my dreams have been shattered , I am looking out for my new venture and hope it is around the corner

X

 

[BABSann]

I am selling one of my salons, can I ask where you think is a good place to advertise the sale?x

Through an estate agent, Gumtree or google ,'salons for sale', see what they come under and do the same. Hth.

To the op, if your solicitor said they thought you were doing the right thing in pulling out then I seriously think you have done the right thing.

The right place will come along. Nothing in life is simple, if it were we would all be stress free lol.

Good luck in your search.

 

[jacquelineanna]

Well ....quick update
I officially withdrew my offer yesterday..gutted.com

My solicitor has been great and he did say he thought it was the best decision as the owner was not being helpful at all.

I am gutted and feel my dreams have been shattered , I am looking out for my new venture and hope it is around the corner

X

Remember this my lovely, if it's meant for you it won't pass you by.

xx

 

[zonebeuauty]

I am so happy you never went ahead with this,I smelt a rat and so did you,start up your own salon build up a good reputation of your own,might be hard at first but it will all pay off,you can then employ therapist that will be right for your salon and clients.
I have had a salon for 13 years,first three years hard,but now I look back and it was all worth it.
Once you build up take on part time therapists,a good accountant,and most of all a excellent service.....any ? Pm me

 

[Miss Sparkle]

You did the right thing, you had doubts and you acted on your intuition, us ladies need to do that more often it's so frequently telling us the best course of action we have it for a reason *hug*