I know what you’re thinking – kind of a strange topic for us right? Well, yes and no. I actually have several friends in the business and I had some questions from them on what I thought was the best way to go about selling their business. So in the interest of sharing, we put together this article to help them out and thought we would share in case you have a funeral home business you are looking to retire from!
You might want to sell your funeral home for a number of reasons. If you have had it passed through generations, you may realize that it’s finally time to sell it on and start up another business. It may also be because you want to retire and no longer can handle the stress of the business. Alternatively, it may because of financial reasons – many people now get cremated over buried, therefore you may have lost money meaning that your business can no longer operate. Whatever the reason is for wanting to sell your funeral home, it’s important that you have a plan set in place in order to ensure that you are selling it to the correct buyer and getting the most out of your investment.
So what are the first things to consider in the selling process?
1) Find a Funeral Home Loan Specialist
Firstly, find a funeral home loan specialist that you know will help with the process. Navigating you through it, they are your best bet at getting your funeral home sold. An example of a reliable specialist is Matt Manske, who has years of experience in the field and can help you through every step from the timelines to working with your CPA on tax planning and working on the legal agreements.
2) Work Out How Much You Should Sell it For
When you are trying to establish a price for your funeral home, generally it is thought that you should take a look at its earnings before interest, how much it has depreciated throughout the years, amortization (how you have paid off any debt throughout the time you have owned the home for) and how much you have paid in rent. By researching how much funeral homes of a similar age and condition, you can get a good idea of its real estate value.
3) Make it Aesthetically Appealing for Potential Buyers
If you haven’t redecorated your funeral home in a few years, now is the time. Now, a funeral home obviously has to be tasteful. So you don’t want it to be too modern or too over the top – it still needs to serve its purpose. But by giving it a fresh paint or changing the furniture, it will appeal to potential buyers. The same as the housing market, with your business you want it to persuade buyers to invest.
4) Make Sure You Have A Full Memorandum
In order to get your funeral home ready for selling, you should ensure that you have a full and descriptive memorandum that can show potential buyers what your business is all about. Your business advisor should get this prepared for you, in order to impress the buyers who are on the hunt for a funeral home.
5) Get to Know Your Potential Buyer
Having a good relationship with your potential buyers is crucial to selling your funeral home. You need to get them excited about the prospect of owning it after all. Find out why they are buying it, answering any queries they have and explain why you are selling the funeral home. Once you have gotten to know them and they know you, it’s more likely that they will put an offer in.
