I’m curious how other buyers/searchers are handling this.
When you get a CIM, teaser, broker email, or listing that looks interesting, what is your actual process before deciding whether it deserves more time?
I don’t mean full diligence.
I mean the first sanity check.
The part before the LOI where you’re trying to figure out:
Does the SDE actually make sense?Can the cash flow support the debt?Are the add-backs believable?Is the seller too important to the business?Is there enough information to even take the deal seriously?Would an SBA lender look at this the same way the seller/broker does?
This is the problem I’ve been working on with ADE.
Not trying to replace lenders, CPAs, attorneys, or diligence.
More like a pre-LOI discipline check so buyers don’t start believing a deal too early just because the listing sounds good.
I’d like to get feedback from people here who look at real SMB deals.
What are the biggest things you check before you let yourself get serious about a deal?
For anyone curious, this is what I’ve been working on:
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