Can I Sell a Business Note?
June 17th, 2009 categories: Seller Financing, Selling Your Note
Yes! It’s very common for business owners to carry a portion of the sale when selling a business, and frequently, the note can be sold after 6 months of seasoning (this can be less in certain circumstances).
People selling business notes need to understand that typically, there are significant discounts involved, so if you’re not prepared for a 20%-50% discount (depending on all factors involved), then you’d be better off waiting out the term.
To set up your note and transaction ahead of time so you have a note worth as much as possible, you’ll want to consider hiring me to help you put your deal together.
The basic info I’ll need to start working on your business note:
- type of business
- location (city & state)
- sale date
- how note created (seller carryback?)
- sale price
- down payment
- original note balance
- interest rate
- term
- payment amount
- lien position
- payor onwership structure
- payor credit rating (D&B if applicable)
- personal guarantees
- value of hard asset collateral (tangible and intangible)
- value of intangible ’soft’ asset collateral
- goodwill value
- if real estate included (zoning factors, usage, operation history including NOI past 5 years, any other liens and their rate/term/balance, debt coverage ratio)
These are the documents I generally need to get started and that help me put together the above:
- copy of the note (front and back, or allonges) – be sure you keep the original note handy
- copy of the security agreement – you’ll need the original
- copy of the purchase agreement if purchase-money note
- copy of the bill of sale
- copy of closing statements related to creation of the note
- copy of the appraisal, if any
- copy of the payor’s original credit application and credit report
- documentation of payment history
Potential fees that the note seller MAY be required to pay in order to sell:
- UCC search fees
- credit report fees
- appraisal cost
- corporate records search fee
- legal research cost
- background investigation cost
- field research cost
Let’s get started! I’d love to work with you to ensure that you get the best price and the best service with someone you can trust. You can email or fax documents to (626)451-0454.
And don’t worry . . . the documentation requirements can seem overwhelming, but my associates and I will be here to help you every step of the way.
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