Longshot: Anyon know of a car wash for sale? W

My wife is a retired paramedic, but certainly young and fit enough to work. Being a "housewife" is not good for her. She has decided that she wants to buy an existing self-serve car wash (4-8 bays, spray and scrubby things, you know. She's also considering having one bay as an automatic, which I am opposed to, at least for now. We are very early in the process, and its a bit of a goose chase. Realtor wants us to get ore-qualified before they show us stuff, and the bank won't really even talk until have an address and three years tax returns to talk about.

She's working on a business plan (which will also need to be tailored to a physical address), and researching everything she can. I think I may pull $300k out of our house equity, just so we have a down payment should something come along, My understanding is that the good ones don't last on the market. The SBA for the rest of the loan. From what I've read, a fair price is that which the revenue will pay off in 5 years (some say 4, some 7).

I imagine she'll develop an S-corp for the financial advantage.

So,,, anybody know perhaps an elderly couple who are ready to cash out their car wash?

I should probably find a financial or tax advisor to help me avoid some mistakes. I am admittedly ignorant in the realm of finance. The truth is that I don't even know what I don't know. Any such folk on here wanna let me buy you dinner and learn from you?

Thanks

Having worked on several car washes and chatted with the owners. Auto bays are a pain if neglected but money makers if done right. Either get good with diagnostics or also include in your list of things to look for, a service company that is fair and competent.

Good luck

Get a new realtor. Use sites like https://www.loopnet.com/ to look for commercial properties. Make friends with someone already in the business. We did that and she turned into an investor as well. Consider other options like Dog washes, ice/water stands, rv parks, self storage, etc. Good luck and have fun.

I don't, but it is a good business (or was historically). I know a local guy that did very well for his family owning a few car washes. Tell her good luck!

This sounds kind of familiar. Are you cooking meth and you need a cash business to launder money?

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Originally Posted by Gman

This sounds kind of familiar. Are you cooking meth and you need a cash business to launder money?

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I assumed the stray W in the title was a hat tip to such an idea...

Another thing to consider would be just owning a venue, think of a dance hall. You rent it out for parties, events, whatever. They are pretty popular for weddings, funerals, quinci?eras, etc. If you set it up right with the ability to have a cash bar, then you could put an ATM inside and I know a guy.

The stray W was just my fat thumb. There have been some breaking bad jokes, but she really doesn’t want anything that fancy, and sure doesn’t want employees.

We spoke to a new realtor team today. The hunt is on!

Thanks for all the tips above.

Make friends with an attorney that deals with estates and you can get deals before they hit the market.

Rv and boat storage lot. You own dirt that turns a nice profit with little to no maintenance. A LOT of people out there looking for a spot to store their rv,boat or vehicles.