Angst

[Don Draper]

Interestingly, after reading your last post, I would say really pause and think about it.
Aside from the obviously sentimental reasons for buying the place, what would motivate you to go from what sounds like a pretty comfortable lifestyle to working all but 24 hours per day? Just curious if you've worked and volunteered at all at the type of place you'll be running to really get a feel for what it will be like. All the reading in the world will NOT prepare you for how physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, psychologically and spiritually challenging this kind of endeavor is.
You will either be the head chef and bottle washer which will involve working 15-18 hours/day, or you will hire staff to help with some of the work but you will still be working TONS, it sounds like much much more than you are now. If your husband is going to continue working outside the business the two of you will have little to no quality time together, at least for the first few years 'til things are up and running.
Just want to be sure it's something you've thought of, I can't emphasize the difficulty in the first year enough, and we bought an established business. Building it up will entail a whole different level of commitment in terms of time.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

Now I am wondering if I am nuts to think I can do this at all in todays economy?? Is there any glimmer of hope?? All seems very black today.

If you have the cash and have done ALL your research, this is actually a good time to buy. There are great deals out there. There are also great risks. It's much more difficult to get a loan than it used to be, but what has happened is that they are carefully looking to see if the business can support it. Gone are the days of just sign on the line and hope it works out.
Buy low and sell high.....isn't that how one makes money?
I agree with all of the above posts that you MUST have cash reserves. This is just good business sense whether we're talking B&B or any other business. From the day we bought out B&B we had our exit strategy. You must plan ahead for all possibilities, both positive and negative.
If you have your property in mind and are unsure of things, contact a professional to help you. There are many out there. It's actually an exciting time for those aspirings who have the money to buy a property right now. You won't see these kinds of "deals" again (we hope).
It's not all bleak, and there is hope, just be very careful..

I have done my homework-- again, and again, and again. The economic news does not get better. I doubt people forced into early retirement intend to travel a great deal. ANYWAY....
We are debt free. We have no mortagages. Even with the down, we have cash reserves for two years, for all our properties taxes, utilities, and insurance as well as living expenses. The husband plans on continuing his consulting business. The sale of our primary residence could pay off the balance, and add to the funds needed for renovation. The motel could be up and running this spring, to offset outgo.
BTW I applied for a sba loan when I bought my commercial building. Although they approved the loan, I ended going with a local lender who gave us a much better rate.
The property is 1/2 hour from the largest tourist area in the state, and is on route two several other areas of interest. It is on a nice lake, and has sandy frontage and a nice sandy beach area.
The area is quite nice; there are three lakes there, this one is the largest and is largely developed. The frontage on this property is probably the largest chunk of undeveloped property on the lake. There are three listings on the lake now, and all are asking about $100. per front foot. We would be paying under half that and getting the motel, an inn and a cabin.
Statistics based on the past can not be used as a prediction of the future. I think it is best to prepare for the worst. In a better economy I a sure the heir would take the money and run. I know for fact they were offered over a million for the place and turned it down, because I was present at the time.
The PO, now deceased, and her husband bought it in 1953. It is a local landmark. I think it has a lot of potential. Tourisim is down and is projected to drop another 7.8% in the area. Occupancy rates are not too helpful I feel because the property lies between two counties wiith one dominated by a large number of franchises. Also, this property is very different than many. There is a small motel in town proper with horrible beds that does a good business. Across the lake is a very small resort that rents cabins to fishermen. Nicely kept, but not much land.
Based on my best estimates,, without putting preservation easements to restrict deveolpment on the land thereby lowering property taxes, I fiqured to meet expenses the property must rent out at about 25% of capacity for the season (20 weeks) to do a little better than break even. This is based on keeping the room rates low enough to compete with other motels and inns in the area.
Sorry for the rather generic response. I went for a hard ski, but I am still feeling down.
.

It seems that you've both done your homework AND have the funds to go forward! Yes, you still will have "angst", but that is normal. If this property is a landmark in the area, then you will have the opportunity to appeal to a target market and can offer an experience that other properties can't. That gives you a great "niche marketing" opportunity. Focus on the types of people that are attracted to this type of property. You must allow yourself a good part of your budget for marketing. Make sure you have a fabulous website. Try not to keep all your rates low since you will have 3 different type rooms. Once people get used to low rates, it's difficult to raise them, even in good times. Compete with your motel rooms to the franchaises in the area and if it's appropriate, consider making all or some of your "inn" room and cabin special to try to reach the non-motel crowd.
It sounds like you have a great opportunity, so listen to your gut and work through the fear. As I said before, this is the perfect time for someone who is qualified to invest in a property because I really think it's only got to go one direction....that's up!
Keep us posted!

 

[Innkeeper To Go]

Now I am wondering if I am nuts to think I can do this at all in todays economy?? Is there any glimmer of hope?? All seems very black today.

If you have the cash and have done ALL your research, this is actually a good time to buy. There are great deals out there. There are also great risks. It's much more difficult to get a loan than it used to be, but what has happened is that they are carefully looking to see if the business can support it. Gone are the days of just sign on the line and hope it works out.
Buy low and sell high.....isn't that how one makes money?
I agree with all of the above posts that you MUST have cash reserves. This is just good business sense whether we're talking B&B or any other business. From the day we bought out B&B we had our exit strategy. You must plan ahead for all possibilities, both positive and negative.
If you have your property in mind and are unsure of things, contact a professional to help you. There are many out there. It's actually an exciting time for those aspirings who have the money to buy a property right now. You won't see these kinds of "deals" again (we hope).
It's not all bleak, and there is hope, just be very careful..

I have done my homework-- again, and again, and again. The economic news does not get better. I doubt people forced into early retirement intend to travel a great deal. ANYWAY....
We are debt free. We have no mortagages. Even with the down, we have cash reserves for two years, for all our properties taxes, utilities, and insurance as well as living expenses. The husband plans on continuing his consulting business. The sale of our primary residence could pay off the balance, and add to the funds needed for renovation. The motel could be up and running this spring, to offset outgo.
BTW I applied for a sba loan when I bought my commercial building. Although they approved the loan, I ended going with a local lender who gave us a much better rate.
The property is 1/2 hour from the largest tourist area in the state, and is on route two several other areas of interest. It is on a nice lake, and has sandy frontage and a nice sandy beach area.
The area is quite nice; there are three lakes there, this one is the largest and is largely developed. The frontage on this property is probably the largest chunk of undeveloped property on the lake. There are three listings on the lake now, and all are asking about $100. per front foot. We would be paying under half that and getting the motel, an inn and a cabin.
Statistics based on the past can not be used as a prediction of the future. I think it is best to prepare for the worst. In a better economy I a sure the heir would take the money and run. I know for fact they were offered over a million for the place and turned it down, because I was present at the time.
The PO, now deceased, and her husband bought it in 1953. It is a local landmark. I think it has a lot of potential. Tourisim is down and is projected to drop another 7.8% in the area. Occupancy rates are not too helpful I feel because the property lies between two counties wiith one dominated by a large number of franchises. Also, this property is very different than many. There is a small motel in town proper with horrible beds that does a good business. Across the lake is a very small resort that rents cabins to fishermen. Nicely kept, but not much land.
Based on my best estimates,, without putting preservation easements to restrict deveolpment on the land thereby lowering property taxes, I fiqured to meet expenses the property must rent out at about 25% of capacity for the season (20 weeks) to do a little better than break even. This is based on keeping the room rates low enough to compete with other motels and inns in the area.
Sorry for the rather generic response. I went for a hard ski, but I am still feeling down.
.

It seems that you've both done your homework AND have the funds to go forward! Yes, you still will have "angst", but that is normal. If this property is a landmark in the area, then you will have the opportunity to appeal to a target market and can offer an experience that other properties can't. That gives you a great "niche marketing" opportunity. Focus on the types of people that are attracted to this type of property. You must allow yourself a good part of your budget for marketing. Make sure you have a fabulous website. Try not to keep all your rates low since you will have 3 different type rooms. Once people get used to low rates, it's difficult to raise them, even in good times. Compete with your motel rooms to the franchaises in the area and if it's appropriate, consider making all or some of your "inn" room and cabin special to try to reach the non-motel crowd.
It sounds like you have a great opportunity, so listen to your gut and work through the fear. As I said before, this is the perfect time for someone who is qualified to invest in a property because I really think it's only got to go one direction....that's up!
Keep us posted!
.

You must allow yourself a good part of your budget for marketing. Make sure you have a fabulous website. Try not to keep all your rates low since you will have 3 different type rooms. Once people get used to low rates, it's difficult to raise them, even in good times.

All very good advice.
Starting rates are one thing for the most basic, lowest end rooms. Keeping most of the rooms at the higher end with tiered rates gives you much more flexibility all around. You need a starting rate to compete. You need strong ADR to survive. Go with a good mix of rates.

 

[Samster]

Now I am wondering if I am nuts to think I can do this at all in todays economy?? Is there any glimmer of hope?? All seems very black today.

If you have the cash and have done ALL your research, this is actually a good time to buy. There are great deals out there. There are also great risks. It's much more difficult to get a loan than it used to be, but what has happened is that they are carefully looking to see if the business can support it. Gone are the days of just sign on the line and hope it works out.
Buy low and sell high.....isn't that how one makes money?
I agree with all of the above posts that you MUST have cash reserves. This is just good business sense whether we're talking B&B or any other business. From the day we bought out B&B we had our exit strategy. You must plan ahead for all possibilities, both positive and negative.
If you have your property in mind and are unsure of things, contact a professional to help you. There are many out there. It's actually an exciting time for those aspirings who have the money to buy a property right now. You won't see these kinds of "deals" again (we hope).
It's not all bleak, and there is hope, just be very careful..

I have done my homework-- again, and again, and again. The economic news does not get better. I doubt people forced into early retirement intend to travel a great deal. ANYWAY....
We are debt free. We have no mortagages. Even with the down, we have cash reserves for two years, for all our properties taxes, utilities, and insurance as well as living expenses. The husband plans on continuing his consulting business. The sale of our primary residence could pay off the balance, and add to the funds needed for renovation. The motel could be up and running this spring, to offset outgo.
BTW I applied for a sba loan when I bought my commercial building. Although they approved the loan, I ended going with a local lender who gave us a much better rate.
The property is 1/2 hour from the largest tourist area in the state, and is on route two several other areas of interest. It is on a nice lake, and has sandy frontage and a nice sandy beach area.
The area is quite nice; there are three lakes there, this one is the largest and is largely developed. The frontage on this property is probably the largest chunk of undeveloped property on the lake. There are three listings on the lake now, and all are asking about $100. per front foot. We would be paying under half that and getting the motel, an inn and a cabin.
Statistics based on the past can not be used as a prediction of the future. I think it is best to prepare for the worst. In a better economy I a sure the heir would take the money and run. I know for fact they were offered over a million for the place and turned it down, because I was present at the time.
The PO, now deceased, and her husband bought it in 1953. It is a local landmark. I think it has a lot of potential. Tourisim is down and is projected to drop another 7.8% in the area. Occupancy rates are not too helpful I feel because the property lies between two counties wiith one dominated by a large number of franchises. Also, this property is very different than many. There is a small motel in town proper with horrible beds that does a good business. Across the lake is a very small resort that rents cabins to fishermen. Nicely kept, but not much land.
Based on my best estimates,, without putting preservation easements to restrict deveolpment on the land thereby lowering property taxes, I fiqured to meet expenses the property must rent out at about 25% of capacity for the season (20 weeks) to do a little better than break even. This is based on keeping the room rates low enough to compete with other motels and inns in the area.
Sorry for the rather generic response. I went for a hard ski, but I am still feeling down.
.

Rupert has brought up a really good point about you launching this business. If your husband is continuing in his consulting business, will all of this business fall to you? Are you prepared for that? I have to honestly say that is probably the single largest component to our closing our business. Our business is actually growing and we've decided on closing. But we're not growing enough (nor are we large enough) to staff everything out. So, we would probably continue not to show any kind of profit after 2 years. For me, that's not how I want to live despite the fact that I love what I do and our guests. The work is too demanding as we re-assess our life priorities. And I knew how hard the work would be. The one thing that I didn't anticipate was that I personally would be the business 24/7 pretty much on my own. I don't fault my spouse, his other job just became more demanding as well. (As the economy tightened and workloads increased.)
Best of luck to you in figuring this out.

 

[white pine]

Interestingly, after reading your last post, I would say really pause and think about it.
Aside from the obviously sentimental reasons for buying the place, what would motivate you to go from what sounds like a pretty comfortable lifestyle to working all but 24 hours per day? Just curious if you've worked and volunteered at all at the type of place you'll be running to really get a feel for what it will be like. All the reading in the world will NOT prepare you for how physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, psychologically and spiritually challenging this kind of endeavor is.
You will either be the head chef and bottle washer which will involve working 15-18 hours/day, or you will hire staff to help with some of the work but you will still be working TONS, it sounds like much much more than you are now. If your husband is going to continue working outside the business the two of you will have little to no quality time together, at least for the first few years 'til things are up and running.
Just want to be sure it's something you've thought of, I can't emphasize the difficulty in the first year enough, and we bought an established business. Building it up will entail a whole different level of commitment in terms of time..

What motivates us is the place. It seems like if we don't do this it is likely that a developer will end up with the place and tear it down. It needs too much to make it work for most people to contemplate. We feel we stand a good chance of pulling it off. But you are right, part of the angst is leaving this place, an having a life of chaos again. Today we followed an otter trail across the snow to two other lakes, and watched as two wolves crossed our lake from the living room windows. There was no sound but the wind. Hard to give that up. If the feds do buy us out, they will tear the buildings down and close off the drive. Talk about you can't go home again. Angst.
I did have a retail business for over 15 years. I did scrub and unplug toilets, dust and clean, drive across the county at 2am for alarm calls, deal with drunken customers, shoplifters, bad checks,etc. Being a business owner always means you are the head cook and bottle washer. Yes, I do intend to have help but I don't kid myself. Another part of the angst.
Re. experience, we stayed there for weeks on projects in the area for over ten years, and afterwords on our own. We did help out and we even motel sat for her while she went on a short trip. We talked about buying it itn '96 and talked alot about running the place. We told the heir things he did not know. Our friend, the p.o., knew herself, and was true to herself. I understand that now, I'm not sure that I did then. I think I know myself now too. If we jump off this cliff it will be with eyes wide open.
The architect called today, he was speaking with the building inspector, who has offered to review the remodel plans with options regarding fire escape routes. Looks like the sprinkler system will be very expensive, but we are interested in saving the structure as well as lives.....
Have I mentioned we still have not made an offer yet??? Still doing my homework. He said they would call me early next week. In Angst...

 

[swirt]

Now I am wondering if I am nuts to think I can do this at all in todays economy?? Is there any glimmer of hope?? All seems very black today.

If you have the cash and have done ALL your research, this is actually a good time to buy. There are great deals out there. There are also great risks. It's much more difficult to get a loan than it used to be, but what has happened is that they are carefully looking to see if the business can support it. Gone are the days of just sign on the line and hope it works out.
Buy low and sell high.....isn't that how one makes money?
I agree with all of the above posts that you MUST have cash reserves. This is just good business sense whether we're talking B&B or any other business. From the day we bought out B&B we had our exit strategy. You must plan ahead for all possibilities, both positive and negative.
If you have your property in mind and are unsure of things, contact a professional to help you. There are many out there. It's actually an exciting time for those aspirings who have the money to buy a property right now. You won't see these kinds of "deals" again (we hope).
It's not all bleak, and there is hope, just be very careful..

I have done my homework-- again, and again, and again. The economic news does not get better. I doubt people forced into early retirement intend to travel a great deal. ANYWAY....
We are debt free. We have no mortagages. Even with the down, we have cash reserves for two years, for all our properties taxes, utilities, and insurance as well as living expenses. The husband plans on continuing his consulting business. The sale of our primary residence could pay off the balance, and add to the funds needed for renovation. The motel could be up and running this spring, to offset outgo.
BTW I applied for a sba loan when I bought my commercial building. Although they approved the loan, I ended going with a local lender who gave us a much better rate.
The property is 1/2 hour from the largest tourist area in the state, and is on route two several other areas of interest. It is on a nice lake, and has sandy frontage and a nice sandy beach area.
The area is quite nice; there are three lakes there, this one is the largest and is largely developed. The frontage on this property is probably the largest chunk of undeveloped property on the lake. There are three listings on the lake now, and all are asking about $100. per front foot. We would be paying under half that and getting the motel, an inn and a cabin.
Statistics based on the past can not be used as a prediction of the future. I think it is best to prepare for the worst. In a better economy I a sure the heir would take the money and run. I know for fact they were offered over a million for the place and turned it down, because I was present at the time.
The PO, now deceased, and her husband bought it in 1953. It is a local landmark. I think it has a lot of potential. Tourisim is down and is projected to drop another 7.8% in the area. Occupancy rates are not too helpful I feel because the property lies between two counties wiith one dominated by a large number of franchises. Also, this property is very different than many. There is a small motel in town proper with horrible beds that does a good business. Across the lake is a very small resort that rents cabins to fishermen. Nicely kept, but not much land.
Based on my best estimates,, without putting preservation easements to restrict deveolpment on the land thereby lowering property taxes, I fiqured to meet expenses the property must rent out at about 25% of capacity for the season (20 weeks) to do a little better than break even. This is based on keeping the room rates low enough to compete with other motels and inns in the area.
Sorry for the rather generic response. I went for a hard ski, but I am still feeling down.
.

Rupert has brought up a really good point about you launching this business. If your husband is continuing in his consulting business, will all of this business fall to you? Are you prepared for that? I have to honestly say that is probably the single largest component to our closing our business. Our business is actually growing and we've decided on closing. But we're not growing enough (nor are we large enough) to staff everything out. So, we would probably continue not to show any kind of profit after 2 years. For me, that's not how I want to live despite the fact that I love what I do and our guests. The work is too demanding as we re-assess our life priorities. And I knew how hard the work would be. The one thing that I didn't anticipate was that I personally would be the business 24/7 pretty much on my own. I don't fault my spouse, his other job just became more demanding as well. (As the economy tightened and workloads increased.)
Best of luck to you in figuring this out.
.

Did you mention this elsewhere and I missed it, or is the first time uttering it aloud? I'm dumbfounded Samster, but I know exactly how you feel. Hang in there.

 

[Samster]

Now I am wondering if I am nuts to think I can do this at all in todays economy?? Is there any glimmer of hope?? All seems very black today.

If you have the cash and have done ALL your research, this is actually a good time to buy. There are great deals out there. There are also great risks. It's much more difficult to get a loan than it used to be, but what has happened is that they are carefully looking to see if the business can support it. Gone are the days of just sign on the line and hope it works out.
Buy low and sell high.....isn't that how one makes money?
I agree with all of the above posts that you MUST have cash reserves. This is just good business sense whether we're talking B&B or any other business. From the day we bought out B&B we had our exit strategy. You must plan ahead for all possibilities, both positive and negative.
If you have your property in mind and are unsure of things, contact a professional to help you. There are many out there. It's actually an exciting time for those aspirings who have the money to buy a property right now. You won't see these kinds of "deals" again (we hope).
It's not all bleak, and there is hope, just be very careful..

I have done my homework-- again, and again, and again. The economic news does not get better. I doubt people forced into early retirement intend to travel a great deal. ANYWAY....
We are debt free. We have no mortagages. Even with the down, we have cash reserves for two years, for all our properties taxes, utilities, and insurance as well as living expenses. The husband plans on continuing his consulting business. The sale of our primary residence could pay off the balance, and add to the funds needed for renovation. The motel could be up and running this spring, to offset outgo.
BTW I applied for a sba loan when I bought my commercial building. Although they approved the loan, I ended going with a local lender who gave us a much better rate.
The property is 1/2 hour from the largest tourist area in the state, and is on route two several other areas of interest. It is on a nice lake, and has sandy frontage and a nice sandy beach area.
The area is quite nice; there are three lakes there, this one is the largest and is largely developed. The frontage on this property is probably the largest chunk of undeveloped property on the lake. There are three listings on the lake now, and all are asking about $100. per front foot. We would be paying under half that and getting the motel, an inn and a cabin.
Statistics based on the past can not be used as a prediction of the future. I think it is best to prepare for the worst. In a better economy I a sure the heir would take the money and run. I know for fact they were offered over a million for the place and turned it down, because I was present at the time.
The PO, now deceased, and her husband bought it in 1953. It is a local landmark. I think it has a lot of potential. Tourisim is down and is projected to drop another 7.8% in the area. Occupancy rates are not too helpful I feel because the property lies between two counties wiith one dominated by a large number of franchises. Also, this property is very different than many. There is a small motel in town proper with horrible beds that does a good business. Across the lake is a very small resort that rents cabins to fishermen. Nicely kept, but not much land.
Based on my best estimates,, without putting preservation easements to restrict deveolpment on the land thereby lowering property taxes, I fiqured to meet expenses the property must rent out at about 25% of capacity for the season (20 weeks) to do a little better than break even. This is based on keeping the room rates low enough to compete with other motels and inns in the area.
Sorry for the rather generic response. I went for a hard ski, but I am still feeling down.
.

Rupert has brought up a really good point about you launching this business. If your husband is continuing in his consulting business, will all of this business fall to you? Are you prepared for that? I have to honestly say that is probably the single largest component to our closing our business. Our business is actually growing and we've decided on closing. But we're not growing enough (nor are we large enough) to staff everything out. So, we would probably continue not to show any kind of profit after 2 years. For me, that's not how I want to live despite the fact that I love what I do and our guests. The work is too demanding as we re-assess our life priorities. And I knew how hard the work would be. The one thing that I didn't anticipate was that I personally would be the business 24/7 pretty much on my own. I don't fault my spouse, his other job just became more demanding as well. (As the economy tightened and workloads increased.)
Best of luck to you in figuring this out.
.

Did you mention this elsewhere and I missed it, or is the first time uttering it aloud? I'm dumbfounded Samster, but I know exactly how you feel. Hang in there.
.

It was buried in another thread awhile ago so you probably missed it. ;-) We are going to go out with a really nice February but we are still closing at the end of this month. We'll stay in our main house and hopefully sell the second house. There have been a few other developments just this week that I'll share at a later time that have also confirmed that we're doing the right thing. We're OK with it....

 

[Don Draper]

Interestingly, after reading your last post, I would say really pause and think about it.
Aside from the obviously sentimental reasons for buying the place, what would motivate you to go from what sounds like a pretty comfortable lifestyle to working all but 24 hours per day? Just curious if you've worked and volunteered at all at the type of place you'll be running to really get a feel for what it will be like. All the reading in the world will NOT prepare you for how physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, psychologically and spiritually challenging this kind of endeavor is.
You will either be the head chef and bottle washer which will involve working 15-18 hours/day, or you will hire staff to help with some of the work but you will still be working TONS, it sounds like much much more than you are now. If your husband is going to continue working outside the business the two of you will have little to no quality time together, at least for the first few years 'til things are up and running.
Just want to be sure it's something you've thought of, I can't emphasize the difficulty in the first year enough, and we bought an established business. Building it up will entail a whole different level of commitment in terms of time..

What motivates us is the place. It seems like if we don't do this it is likely that a developer will end up with the place and tear it down. It needs too much to make it work for most people to contemplate. We feel we stand a good chance of pulling it off. But you are right, part of the angst is leaving this place, an having a life of chaos again. Today we followed an otter trail across the snow to two other lakes, and watched as two wolves crossed our lake from the living room windows. There was no sound but the wind. Hard to give that up. If the feds do buy us out, they will tear the buildings down and close off the drive. Talk about you can't go home again. Angst.
I did have a retail business for over 15 years. I did scrub and unplug toilets, dust and clean, drive across the county at 2am for alarm calls, deal with drunken customers, shoplifters, bad checks,etc. Being a business owner always means you are the head cook and bottle washer. Yes, I do intend to have help but I don't kid myself. Another part of the angst.
Re. experience, we stayed there for weeks on projects in the area for over ten years, and afterwords on our own. We did help out and we even motel sat for her while she went on a short trip. We talked about buying it itn '96 and talked alot about running the place. We told the heir things he did not know. Our friend, the p.o., knew herself, and was true to herself. I understand that now, I'm not sure that I did then. I think I know myself now too. If we jump off this cliff it will be with eyes wide open.
The architect called today, he was speaking with the building inspector, who has offered to review the remodel plans with options regarding fire escape routes. Looks like the sprinkler system will be very expensive, but we are interested in saving the structure as well as lives.....
Have I mentioned we still have not made an offer yet??? Still doing my homework. He said they would call me early next week. In Angst...
.

You have obviously given this a great deal of thought and preparation. I think you know in your gut what you want to do...and I think you'll be supported in whatever your choice is because you have tried to look at it from every angle. Maybe look at it from the opposite perspective...what's the absolute worst case scenario, and can you live with it? It sounds to me like you could.
Don't think of it as angst...think of it as excitement because you have so many choices. You sound like you have your eyes wide open in addition to a lot of common sense.

 

[white pine]

Now I am wondering if I am nuts to think I can do this at all in todays economy?? Is there any glimmer of hope?? All seems very black today.

If you have the cash and have done ALL your research, this is actually a good time to buy. There are great deals out there. There are also great risks. It's much more difficult to get a loan than it used to be, but what has happened is that they are carefully looking to see if the business can support it. Gone are the days of just sign on the line and hope it works out.
Buy low and sell high.....isn't that how one makes money?
I agree with all of the above posts that you MUST have cash reserves. This is just good business sense whether we're talking B&B or any other business. From the day we bought out B&B we had our exit strategy. You must plan ahead for all possibilities, both positive and negative.
If you have your property in mind and are unsure of things, contact a professional to help you. There are many out there. It's actually an exciting time for those aspirings who have the money to buy a property right now. You won't see these kinds of "deals" again (we hope).
It's not all bleak, and there is hope, just be very careful..

I have done my homework-- again, and again, and again. The economic news does not get better. I doubt people forced into early retirement intend to travel a great deal. ANYWAY....
We are debt free. We have no mortagages. Even with the down, we have cash reserves for two years, for all our properties taxes, utilities, and insurance as well as living expenses. The husband plans on continuing his consulting business. The sale of our primary residence could pay off the balance, and add to the funds needed for renovation. The motel could be up and running this spring, to offset outgo.
BTW I applied for a sba loan when I bought my commercial building. Although they approved the loan, I ended going with a local lender who gave us a much better rate.
The property is 1/2 hour from the largest tourist area in the state, and is on route two several other areas of interest. It is on a nice lake, and has sandy frontage and a nice sandy beach area.
The area is quite nice; there are three lakes there, this one is the largest and is largely developed. The frontage on this property is probably the largest chunk of undeveloped property on the lake. There are three listings on the lake now, and all are asking about $100. per front foot. We would be paying under half that and getting the motel, an inn and a cabin.
Statistics based on the past can not be used as a prediction of the future. I think it is best to prepare for the worst. In a better economy I a sure the heir would take the money and run. I know for fact they were offered over a million for the place and turned it down, because I was present at the time.
The PO, now deceased, and her husband bought it in 1953. It is a local landmark. I think it has a lot of potential. Tourisim is down and is projected to drop another 7.8% in the area. Occupancy rates are not too helpful I feel because the property lies between two counties wiith one dominated by a large number of franchises. Also, this property is very different than many. There is a small motel in town proper with horrible beds that does a good business. Across the lake is a very small resort that rents cabins to fishermen. Nicely kept, but not much land.
Based on my best estimates,, without putting preservation easements to restrict deveolpment on the land thereby lowering property taxes, I fiqured to meet expenses the property must rent out at about 25% of capacity for the season (20 weeks) to do a little better than break even. This is based on keeping the room rates low enough to compete with other motels and inns in the area.
Sorry for the rather generic response. I went for a hard ski, but I am still feeling down.
.

Rupert has brought up a really good point about you launching this business. If your husband is continuing in his consulting business, will all of this business fall to you? Are you prepared for that? I have to honestly say that is probably the single largest component to our closing our business. Our business is actually growing and we've decided on closing. But we're not growing enough (nor are we large enough) to staff everything out. So, we would probably continue not to show any kind of profit after 2 years. For me, that's not how I want to live despite the fact that I love what I do and our guests. The work is too demanding as we re-assess our life priorities. And I knew how hard the work would be. The one thing that I didn't anticipate was that I personally would be the business 24/7 pretty much on my own. I don't fault my spouse, his other job just became more demanding as well. (As the economy tightened and workloads increased.)
Best of luck to you in figuring this out.
.

I am so very sorry for you, I recognize the worn out quality in your post. We went through something like that a few years back. It sounds like it is time for you to back-up and regroup It is an awful thing to go through but things do get better. Having to be "on" for people makes it that much worse. My sincere sympathy. Virtual hug here.
We have had some discussions to this end. First, I find that I need a project. Those who know me know I can't sit. I remember the sense of caring and sharing that the p.o. had. "I'm so worried about Mr. A, he looks so worn out, being here will help him" etc.. Her sincerity made us all feel we were staying at mom's/gram ma's, that's something I would like to do too. I like to comfort people. People do seem to always want to tell me things.... I do set limits here. But I digress.
My husband works largely from home. He does travel, but he tries to minimize this. As long as he has high speed internet he is good to go. With some exceptions he can pick and choose the hours he works and has a multi-year contract with one client.
We are lucky yes, but that comes from hard work and knowing that what we were doing before did not work and that.changing. Help is in the budget--definitely, and the business is seasonal.
Thanks for your excellent post something everyone needs to think about.

 

[Samster]

Now I am wondering if I am nuts to think I can do this at all in todays economy?? Is there any glimmer of hope?? All seems very black today.

If you have the cash and have done ALL your research, this is actually a good time to buy. There are great deals out there. There are also great risks. It's much more difficult to get a loan than it used to be, but what has happened is that they are carefully looking to see if the business can support it. Gone are the days of just sign on the line and hope it works out.
Buy low and sell high.....isn't that how one makes money?
I agree with all of the above posts that you MUST have cash reserves. This is just good business sense whether we're talking B&B or any other business. From the day we bought out B&B we had our exit strategy. You must plan ahead for all possibilities, both positive and negative.
If you have your property in mind and are unsure of things, contact a professional to help you. There are many out there. It's actually an exciting time for those aspirings who have the money to buy a property right now. You won't see these kinds of "deals" again (we hope).
It's not all bleak, and there is hope, just be very careful..

I have done my homework-- again, and again, and again. The economic news does not get better. I doubt people forced into early retirement intend to travel a great deal. ANYWAY....
We are debt free. We have no mortagages. Even with the down, we have cash reserves for two years, for all our properties taxes, utilities, and insurance as well as living expenses. The husband plans on continuing his consulting business. The sale of our primary residence could pay off the balance, and add to the funds needed for renovation. The motel could be up and running this spring, to offset outgo.
BTW I applied for a sba loan when I bought my commercial building. Although they approved the loan, I ended going with a local lender who gave us a much better rate.
The property is 1/2 hour from the largest tourist area in the state, and is on route two several other areas of interest. It is on a nice lake, and has sandy frontage and a nice sandy beach area.
The area is quite nice; there are three lakes there, this one is the largest and is largely developed. The frontage on this property is probably the largest chunk of undeveloped property on the lake. There are three listings on the lake now, and all are asking about $100. per front foot. We would be paying under half that and getting the motel, an inn and a cabin.
Statistics based on the past can not be used as a prediction of the future. I think it is best to prepare for the worst. In a better economy I a sure the heir would take the money and run. I know for fact they were offered over a million for the place and turned it down, because I was present at the time.
The PO, now deceased, and her husband bought it in 1953. It is a local landmark. I think it has a lot of potential. Tourisim is down and is projected to drop another 7.8% in the area. Occupancy rates are not too helpful I feel because the property lies between two counties wiith one dominated by a large number of franchises. Also, this property is very different than many. There is a small motel in town proper with horrible beds that does a good business. Across the lake is a very small resort that rents cabins to fishermen. Nicely kept, but not much land.
Based on my best estimates,, without putting preservation easements to restrict deveolpment on the land thereby lowering property taxes, I fiqured to meet expenses the property must rent out at about 25% of capacity for the season (20 weeks) to do a little better than break even. This is based on keeping the room rates low enough to compete with other motels and inns in the area.
Sorry for the rather generic response. I went for a hard ski, but I am still feeling down.
.

Rupert has brought up a really good point about you launching this business. If your husband is continuing in his consulting business, will all of this business fall to you? Are you prepared for that? I have to honestly say that is probably the single largest component to our closing our business. Our business is actually growing and we've decided on closing. But we're not growing enough (nor are we large enough) to staff everything out. So, we would probably continue not to show any kind of profit after 2 years. For me, that's not how I want to live despite the fact that I love what I do and our guests. The work is too demanding as we re-assess our life priorities. And I knew how hard the work would be. The one thing that I didn't anticipate was that I personally would be the business 24/7 pretty much on my own. I don't fault my spouse, his other job just became more demanding as well. (As the economy tightened and workloads increased.)
Best of luck to you in figuring this out.
.

I am so very sorry for you, I recognize the worn out quality in your post. We went through something like that a few years back. It sounds like it is time for you to back-up and regroup It is an awful thing to go through but things do get better. Having to be "on" for people makes it that much worse. My sincere sympathy. Virtual hug here.
We have had some discussions to this end. First, I find that I need a project. Those who know me know I can't sit. I remember the sense of caring and sharing that the p.o. had. "I'm so worried about Mr. A, he looks so worn out, being here will help him" etc.. Her sincerity made us all feel we were staying at mom's/gram ma's, that's something I would like to do too. I like to comfort people. People do seem to always want to tell me things.... I do set limits here. But I digress.
My husband works largely from home. He does travel, but he tries to minimize this. As long as he has high speed internet he is good to go. With some exceptions he can pick and choose the hours he works and has a multi-year contract with one client.
We are lucky yes, but that comes from hard work and knowing that what we were doing before did not work and that.changing. Help is in the budget--definitely, and the business is seasonal.
Thanks for your excellent post something everyone needs to think about.
.

Best of luck in your endeavors! I hope that it all works out for you. I like projects as well....we spent 2 years renovating our house and then worked on the second house before we opened as a B&B. I'm also way too involved in community projects. And, I have a true caregiver personality which often gets me in trouble. ;-) It took me this long to figure out that there was one person in the equation that I never seem to take care of........
My life priorities have definitely changed and I want to spend more time with my family and friends instead of strangers.

 

[wendydk]

Now I am wondering if I am nuts to think I can do this at all in todays economy?? Is there any glimmer of hope?? All seems very black today.

If you have the cash and have done ALL your research, this is actually a good time to buy. There are great deals out there. There are also great risks. It's much more difficult to get a loan than it used to be, but what has happened is that they are carefully looking to see if the business can support it. Gone are the days of just sign on the line and hope it works out.
Buy low and sell high.....isn't that how one makes money?
I agree with all of the above posts that you MUST have cash reserves. This is just good business sense whether we're talking B&B or any other business. From the day we bought out B&B we had our exit strategy. You must plan ahead for all possibilities, both positive and negative.
If you have your property in mind and are unsure of things, contact a professional to help you. There are many out there. It's actually an exciting time for those aspirings who have the money to buy a property right now. You won't see these kinds of "deals" again (we hope).
It's not all bleak, and there is hope, just be very careful..

I have done my homework-- again, and again, and again. The economic news does not get better. I doubt people forced into early retirement intend to travel a great deal. ANYWAY....
We are debt free. We have no mortagages. Even with the down, we have cash reserves for two years, for all our properties taxes, utilities, and insurance as well as living expenses. The husband plans on continuing his consulting business. The sale of our primary residence could pay off the balance, and add to the funds needed for renovation. The motel could be up and running this spring, to offset outgo.
BTW I applied for a sba loan when I bought my commercial building. Although they approved the loan, I ended going with a local lender who gave us a much better rate.
The property is 1/2 hour from the largest tourist area in the state, and is on route two several other areas of interest. It is on a nice lake, and has sandy frontage and a nice sandy beach area.
The area is quite nice; there are three lakes there, this one is the largest and is largely developed. The frontage on this property is probably the largest chunk of undeveloped property on the lake. There are three listings on the lake now, and all are asking about $100. per front foot. We would be paying under half that and getting the motel, an inn and a cabin.
Statistics based on the past can not be used as a prediction of the future. I think it is best to prepare for the worst. In a better economy I a sure the heir would take the money and run. I know for fact they were offered over a million for the place and turned it down, because I was present at the time.
The PO, now deceased, and her husband bought it in 1953. It is a local landmark. I think it has a lot of potential. Tourisim is down and is projected to drop another 7.8% in the area. Occupancy rates are not too helpful I feel because the property lies between two counties wiith one dominated by a large number of franchises. Also, this property is very different than many. There is a small motel in town proper with horrible beds that does a good business. Across the lake is a very small resort that rents cabins to fishermen. Nicely kept, but not much land.
Based on my best estimates,, without putting preservation easements to restrict deveolpment on the land thereby lowering property taxes, I fiqured to meet expenses the property must rent out at about 25% of capacity for the season (20 weeks) to do a little better than break even. This is based on keeping the room rates low enough to compete with other motels and inns in the area.
Sorry for the rather generic response. I went for a hard ski, but I am still feeling down.
.

Rupert has brought up a really good point about you launching this business. If your husband is continuing in his consulting business, will all of this business fall to you? Are you prepared for that? I have to honestly say that is probably the single largest component to our closing our business. Our business is actually growing and we've decided on closing. But we're not growing enough (nor are we large enough) to staff everything out. So, we would probably continue not to show any kind of profit after 2 years. For me, that's not how I want to live despite the fact that I love what I do and our guests. The work is too demanding as we re-assess our life priorities. And I knew how hard the work would be. The one thing that I didn't anticipate was that I personally would be the business 24/7 pretty much on my own. I don't fault my spouse, his other job just became more demanding as well. (As the economy tightened and workloads increased.)
Best of luck to you in figuring this out.
.

Our business is actually growing and we've decided on closing. The work is too demanding as we re-assess our life priorities. And I knew how hard the work would be. The one thing that I didn't anticipate was that I personally would be the business 24/7 pretty much on my own.

I feel for you Samster. As I mentioned elsewhere, we just pulled our house off the market and decided to stick it out, but with conditions. Thank God, the family crisis' that prompted the sale have cooled off and since business for us is great, we decided not to dump our hard-earned equity by "giving away the farm"....especially considering I would just have to get a job working for someone else...something I can hardly think about.
We will, however, make more time away from the Inn for ourselves, especially this summer. We are also considering a re-structuring of the rooms that would give us more private space and our own bathroom, all accessed from the kitchen and our living room without going through guest areas. This would result (at least at first) in one private bath room and two shared bath rooms. Lower revenue and probably occupancy too, but would make D. ever so much happier....the shared bathroom thing is so hard on him. And truly, if NO ONE can get an Inn this size financed as a business, why should I bother making any decisions based on how it would affect an Inn sale?
Best of luck to you Samster, whatever you do and I hope you stay involved with the forum!

 

[Samster]

Now I am wondering if I am nuts to think I can do this at all in todays economy?? Is there any glimmer of hope?? All seems very black today.

If you have the cash and have done ALL your research, this is actually a good time to buy. There are great deals out there. There are also great risks. It's much more difficult to get a loan than it used to be, but what has happened is that they are carefully looking to see if the business can support it. Gone are the days of just sign on the line and hope it works out.
Buy low and sell high.....isn't that how one makes money?
I agree with all of the above posts that you MUST have cash reserves. This is just good business sense whether we're talking B&B or any other business. From the day we bought out B&B we had our exit strategy. You must plan ahead for all possibilities, both positive and negative.
If you have your property in mind and are unsure of things, contact a professional to help you. There are many out there. It's actually an exciting time for those aspirings who have the money to buy a property right now. You won't see these kinds of "deals" again (we hope).
It's not all bleak, and there is hope, just be very careful..

I have done my homework-- again, and again, and again. The economic news does not get better. I doubt people forced into early retirement intend to travel a great deal. ANYWAY....
We are debt free. We have no mortagages. Even with the down, we have cash reserves for two years, for all our properties taxes, utilities, and insurance as well as living expenses. The husband plans on continuing his consulting business. The sale of our primary residence could pay off the balance, and add to the funds needed for renovation. The motel could be up and running this spring, to offset outgo.
BTW I applied for a sba loan when I bought my commercial building. Although they approved the loan, I ended going with a local lender who gave us a much better rate.
The property is 1/2 hour from the largest tourist area in the state, and is on route two several other areas of interest. It is on a nice lake, and has sandy frontage and a nice sandy beach area.
The area is quite nice; there are three lakes there, this one is the largest and is largely developed. The frontage on this property is probably the largest chunk of undeveloped property on the lake. There are three listings on the lake now, and all are asking about $100. per front foot. We would be paying under half that and getting the motel, an inn and a cabin.
Statistics based on the past can not be used as a prediction of the future. I think it is best to prepare for the worst. In a better economy I a sure the heir would take the money and run. I know for fact they were offered over a million for the place and turned it down, because I was present at the time.
The PO, now deceased, and her husband bought it in 1953. It is a local landmark. I think it has a lot of potential. Tourisim is down and is projected to drop another 7.8% in the area. Occupancy rates are not too helpful I feel because the property lies between two counties wiith one dominated by a large number of franchises. Also, this property is very different than many. There is a small motel in town proper with horrible beds that does a good business. Across the lake is a very small resort that rents cabins to fishermen. Nicely kept, but not much land.
Based on my best estimates,, without putting preservation easements to restrict deveolpment on the land thereby lowering property taxes, I fiqured to meet expenses the property must rent out at about 25% of capacity for the season (20 weeks) to do a little better than break even. This is based on keeping the room rates low enough to compete with other motels and inns in the area.
Sorry for the rather generic response. I went for a hard ski, but I am still feeling down.
.

Rupert has brought up a really good point about you launching this business. If your husband is continuing in his consulting business, will all of this business fall to you? Are you prepared for that? I have to honestly say that is probably the single largest component to our closing our business. Our business is actually growing and we've decided on closing. But we're not growing enough (nor are we large enough) to staff everything out. So, we would probably continue not to show any kind of profit after 2 years. For me, that's not how I want to live despite the fact that I love what I do and our guests. The work is too demanding as we re-assess our life priorities. And I knew how hard the work would be. The one thing that I didn't anticipate was that I personally would be the business 24/7 pretty much on my own. I don't fault my spouse, his other job just became more demanding as well. (As the economy tightened and workloads increased.)
Best of luck to you in figuring this out.
.

Our business is actually growing and we've decided on closing. The work is too demanding as we re-assess our life priorities. And I knew how hard the work would be. The one thing that I didn't anticipate was that I personally would be the business 24/7 pretty much on my own.

I feel for you Samster. As I mentioned elsewhere, we just pulled our house off the market and decided to stick it out, but with conditions. Thank God, the family crisis' that prompted the sale have cooled off and since business for us is great, we decided not to dump our hard-earned equity by "giving away the farm"....especially considering I would just have to get a job working for someone else...something I can hardly think about.
We will, however, make more time away from the Inn for ourselves, especially this summer. We are also considering a re-structuring of the rooms that would give us more private space and our own bathroom, all accessed from the kitchen and our living room without going through guest areas. This would result (at least at first) in one private bath room and two shared bath rooms. Lower revenue and probably occupancy too, but would make D. ever so much happier....the shared bathroom thing is so hard on him. And truly, if NO ONE can get an Inn this size financed as a business, why should I bother making any decisions based on how it would affect an Inn sale?
Best of luck to you Samster, whatever you do and I hope you stay involved with the forum!
.

I'm glad that your family stuff has cooled off. I felt for you too when you posted that's why you were considering selling. :-(
No regrets....(well, maybe some $$ ones)...it was a great ride and we have a housefull of guests coming in over the next couple of weeks until we close the doors. I'd better get busy!!

 

[white pine]

Interestingly, after reading your last post, I would say really pause and think about it.
Aside from the obviously sentimental reasons for buying the place, what would motivate you to go from what sounds like a pretty comfortable lifestyle to working all but 24 hours per day? Just curious if you've worked and volunteered at all at the type of place you'll be running to really get a feel for what it will be like. All the reading in the world will NOT prepare you for how physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, psychologically and spiritually challenging this kind of endeavor is.
You will either be the head chef and bottle washer which will involve working 15-18 hours/day, or you will hire staff to help with some of the work but you will still be working TONS, it sounds like much much more than you are now. If your husband is going to continue working outside the business the two of you will have little to no quality time together, at least for the first few years 'til things are up and running.
Just want to be sure it's something you've thought of, I can't emphasize the difficulty in the first year enough, and we bought an established business. Building it up will entail a whole different level of commitment in terms of time..

What motivates us is the place. It seems like if we don't do this it is likely that a developer will end up with the place and tear it down. It needs too much to make it work for most people to contemplate. We feel we stand a good chance of pulling it off. But you are right, part of the angst is leaving this place, an having a life of chaos again. Today we followed an otter trail across the snow to two other lakes, and watched as two wolves crossed our lake from the living room windows. There was no sound but the wind. Hard to give that up. If the feds do buy us out, they will tear the buildings down and close off the drive. Talk about you can't go home again. Angst.
I did have a retail business for over 15 years. I did scrub and unplug toilets, dust and clean, drive across the county at 2am for alarm calls, deal with drunken customers, shoplifters, bad checks,etc. Being a business owner always means you are the head cook and bottle washer. Yes, I do intend to have help but I don't kid myself. Another part of the angst.
Re. experience, we stayed there for weeks on projects in the area for over ten years, and afterwords on our own. We did help out and we even motel sat for her while she went on a short trip. We talked about buying it itn '96 and talked alot about running the place. We told the heir things he did not know. Our friend, the p.o., knew herself, and was true to herself. I understand that now, I'm not sure that I did then. I think I know myself now too. If we jump off this cliff it will be with eyes wide open.
The architect called today, he was speaking with the building inspector, who has offered to review the remodel plans with options regarding fire escape routes. Looks like the sprinkler system will be very expensive, but we are interested in saving the structure as well as lives.....
Have I mentioned we still have not made an offer yet??? Still doing my homework. He said they would call me early next week. In Angst...
.

You have obviously given this a great deal of thought and preparation. I think you know in your gut what you want to do...and I think you'll be supported in whatever your choice is because you have tried to look at it from every angle. Maybe look at it from the opposite perspective...what's the absolute worst case scenario, and can you live with it? It sounds to me like you could.
Don't think of it as angst...think of it as excitement because you have so many choices. You sound like you have your eyes wide open in addition to a lot of common sense.

.

Thanks for the kind words. Excitement yes, but still much angst.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

Interestingly, after reading your last post, I would say really pause and think about it.
Aside from the obviously sentimental reasons for buying the place, what would motivate you to go from what sounds like a pretty comfortable lifestyle to working all but 24 hours per day? Just curious if you've worked and volunteered at all at the type of place you'll be running to really get a feel for what it will be like. All the reading in the world will NOT prepare you for how physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, psychologically and spiritually challenging this kind of endeavor is.
You will either be the head chef and bottle washer which will involve working 15-18 hours/day, or you will hire staff to help with some of the work but you will still be working TONS, it sounds like much much more than you are now. If your husband is going to continue working outside the business the two of you will have little to no quality time together, at least for the first few years 'til things are up and running.
Just want to be sure it's something you've thought of, I can't emphasize the difficulty in the first year enough, and we bought an established business. Building it up will entail a whole different level of commitment in terms of time..

What motivates us is the place. It seems like if we don't do this it is likely that a developer will end up with the place and tear it down. It needs too much to make it work for most people to contemplate. We feel we stand a good chance of pulling it off. But you are right, part of the angst is leaving this place, an having a life of chaos again. Today we followed an otter trail across the snow to two other lakes, and watched as two wolves crossed our lake from the living room windows. There was no sound but the wind. Hard to give that up. If the feds do buy us out, they will tear the buildings down and close off the drive. Talk about you can't go home again. Angst.
I did have a retail business for over 15 years. I did scrub and unplug toilets, dust and clean, drive across the county at 2am for alarm calls, deal with drunken customers, shoplifters, bad checks,etc. Being a business owner always means you are the head cook and bottle washer. Yes, I do intend to have help but I don't kid myself. Another part of the angst.
Re. experience, we stayed there for weeks on projects in the area for over ten years, and afterwords on our own. We did help out and we even motel sat for her while she went on a short trip. We talked about buying it itn '96 and talked alot about running the place. We told the heir things he did not know. Our friend, the p.o., knew herself, and was true to herself. I understand that now, I'm not sure that I did then. I think I know myself now too. If we jump off this cliff it will be with eyes wide open.
The architect called today, he was speaking with the building inspector, who has offered to review the remodel plans with options regarding fire escape routes. Looks like the sprinkler system will be very expensive, but we are interested in saving the structure as well as lives.....
Have I mentioned we still have not made an offer yet??? Still doing my homework. He said they would call me early next week. In Angst...
.

You have obviously given this a great deal of thought and preparation. I think you know in your gut what you want to do...and I think you'll be supported in whatever your choice is because you have tried to look at it from every angle. Maybe look at it from the opposite perspective...what's the absolute worst case scenario, and can you live with it? It sounds to me like you could.
Don't think of it as angst...think of it as excitement because you have so many choices. You sound like you have your eyes wide open in addition to a lot of common sense.

.

Thanks for the kind words. Excitement yes, but still much angst.
.

Angst is a good thing. If you didn't have it, I would worry about whether you're really ready. It's those folks that are starry eyed, thinking everything will be peachy keen that I really worry about!

 

[gillumhouse]

Interestingly, after reading your last post, I would say really pause and think about it.
Aside from the obviously sentimental reasons for buying the place, what would motivate you to go from what sounds like a pretty comfortable lifestyle to working all but 24 hours per day? Just curious if you've worked and volunteered at all at the type of place you'll be running to really get a feel for what it will be like. All the reading in the world will NOT prepare you for how physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, psychologically and spiritually challenging this kind of endeavor is.
You will either be the head chef and bottle washer which will involve working 15-18 hours/day, or you will hire staff to help with some of the work but you will still be working TONS, it sounds like much much more than you are now. If your husband is going to continue working outside the business the two of you will have little to no quality time together, at least for the first few years 'til things are up and running.
Just want to be sure it's something you've thought of, I can't emphasize the difficulty in the first year enough, and we bought an established business. Building it up will entail a whole different level of commitment in terms of time..

What motivates us is the place. It seems like if we don't do this it is likely that a developer will end up with the place and tear it down. It needs too much to make it work for most people to contemplate. We feel we stand a good chance of pulling it off. But you are right, part of the angst is leaving this place, an having a life of chaos again. Today we followed an otter trail across the snow to two other lakes, and watched as two wolves crossed our lake from the living room windows. There was no sound but the wind. Hard to give that up. If the feds do buy us out, they will tear the buildings down and close off the drive. Talk about you can't go home again. Angst.
I did have a retail business for over 15 years. I did scrub and unplug toilets, dust and clean, drive across the county at 2am for alarm calls, deal with drunken customers, shoplifters, bad checks,etc. Being a business owner always means you are the head cook and bottle washer. Yes, I do intend to have help but I don't kid myself. Another part of the angst.
Re. experience, we stayed there for weeks on projects in the area for over ten years, and afterwords on our own. We did help out and we even motel sat for her while she went on a short trip. We talked about buying it itn '96 and talked alot about running the place. We told the heir things he did not know. Our friend, the p.o., knew herself, and was true to herself. I understand that now, I'm not sure that I did then. I think I know myself now too. If we jump off this cliff it will be with eyes wide open.
The architect called today, he was speaking with the building inspector, who has offered to review the remodel plans with options regarding fire escape routes. Looks like the sprinkler system will be very expensive, but we are interested in saving the structure as well as lives.....
Have I mentioned we still have not made an offer yet??? Still doing my homework. He said they would call me early next week. In Angst...
.

You have obviously given this a great deal of thought and preparation. I think you know in your gut what you want to do...and I think you'll be supported in whatever your choice is because you have tried to look at it from every angle. Maybe look at it from the opposite perspective...what's the absolute worst case scenario, and can you live with it? It sounds to me like you could.
Don't think of it as angst...think of it as excitement because you have so many choices. You sound like you have your eyes wide open in addition to a lot of common sense.

.

Thanks for the kind words. Excitement yes, but still much angst.
.

Angst is a good thing. If you didn't have it, I would worry about whether you're really ready. It's those folks that are starry eyed, thinking everything will be peachy keen that I really worry about!
.

Hear! Hear! I totally agree.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

Now I am wondering if I am nuts to think I can do this at all in todays economy?? Is there any glimmer of hope?? All seems very black today.

If you have the cash and have done ALL your research, this is actually a good time to buy. There are great deals out there. There are also great risks. It's much more difficult to get a loan than it used to be, but what has happened is that they are carefully looking to see if the business can support it. Gone are the days of just sign on the line and hope it works out.
Buy low and sell high.....isn't that how one makes money?
I agree with all of the above posts that you MUST have cash reserves. This is just good business sense whether we're talking B&B or any other business. From the day we bought out B&B we had our exit strategy. You must plan ahead for all possibilities, both positive and negative.
If you have your property in mind and are unsure of things, contact a professional to help you. There are many out there. It's actually an exciting time for those aspirings who have the money to buy a property right now. You won't see these kinds of "deals" again (we hope).
It's not all bleak, and there is hope, just be very careful..

I have done my homework-- again, and again, and again. The economic news does not get better. I doubt people forced into early retirement intend to travel a great deal. ANYWAY....
We are debt free. We have no mortagages. Even with the down, we have cash reserves for two years, for all our properties taxes, utilities, and insurance as well as living expenses. The husband plans on continuing his consulting business. The sale of our primary residence could pay off the balance, and add to the funds needed for renovation. The motel could be up and running this spring, to offset outgo.
BTW I applied for a sba loan when I bought my commercial building. Although they approved the loan, I ended going with a local lender who gave us a much better rate.
The property is 1/2 hour from the largest tourist area in the state, and is on route two several other areas of interest. It is on a nice lake, and has sandy frontage and a nice sandy beach area.
The area is quite nice; there are three lakes there, this one is the largest and is largely developed. The frontage on this property is probably the largest chunk of undeveloped property on the lake. There are three listings on the lake now, and all are asking about $100. per front foot. We would be paying under half that and getting the motel, an inn and a cabin.
Statistics based on the past can not be used as a prediction of the future. I think it is best to prepare for the worst. In a better economy I a sure the heir would take the money and run. I know for fact they were offered over a million for the place and turned it down, because I was present at the time.
The PO, now deceased, and her husband bought it in 1953. It is a local landmark. I think it has a lot of potential. Tourisim is down and is projected to drop another 7.8% in the area. Occupancy rates are not too helpful I feel because the property lies between two counties wiith one dominated by a large number of franchises. Also, this property is very different than many. There is a small motel in town proper with horrible beds that does a good business. Across the lake is a very small resort that rents cabins to fishermen. Nicely kept, but not much land.
Based on my best estimates,, without putting preservation easements to restrict deveolpment on the land thereby lowering property taxes, I fiqured to meet expenses the property must rent out at about 25% of capacity for the season (20 weeks) to do a little better than break even. This is based on keeping the room rates low enough to compete with other motels and inns in the area.
Sorry for the rather generic response. I went for a hard ski, but I am still feeling down.
.

Rupert has brought up a really good point about you launching this business. If your husband is continuing in his consulting business, will all of this business fall to you? Are you prepared for that? I have to honestly say that is probably the single largest component to our closing our business. Our business is actually growing and we've decided on closing. But we're not growing enough (nor are we large enough) to staff everything out. So, we would probably continue not to show any kind of profit after 2 years. For me, that's not how I want to live despite the fact that I love what I do and our guests. The work is too demanding as we re-assess our life priorities. And I knew how hard the work would be. The one thing that I didn't anticipate was that I personally would be the business 24/7 pretty much on my own. I don't fault my spouse, his other job just became more demanding as well. (As the economy tightened and workloads increased.)
Best of luck to you in figuring this out.
.

Our business is actually growing and we've decided on closing. The work is too demanding as we re-assess our life priorities. And I knew how hard the work would be. The one thing that I didn't anticipate was that I personally would be the business 24/7 pretty much on my own.

I feel for you Samster. As I mentioned elsewhere, we just pulled our house off the market and decided to stick it out, but with conditions. Thank God, the family crisis' that prompted the sale have cooled off and since business for us is great, we decided not to dump our hard-earned equity by "giving away the farm"....especially considering I would just have to get a job working for someone else...something I can hardly think about.
We will, however, make more time away from the Inn for ourselves, especially this summer. We are also considering a re-structuring of the rooms that would give us more private space and our own bathroom, all accessed from the kitchen and our living room without going through guest areas. This would result (at least at first) in one private bath room and two shared bath rooms. Lower revenue and probably occupancy too, but would make D. ever so much happier....the shared bathroom thing is so hard on him. And truly, if NO ONE can get an Inn this size financed as a business, why should I bother making any decisions based on how it would affect an Inn sale?
Best of luck to you Samster, whatever you do and I hope you stay involved with the forum!
.

Samster, I'm so sorry that you've had to make this decision. I know you put your blood, sweat and tears into your place, but it sounds like you've thought it out thoroughly and it's the best decision for you. Best of luck.
Little Blue, I'm so glad that your family stress has lessened. I've been dealing with a lot of it the past couple of years and it's so difficult to give 100% to everyone else and the business. On a selfish side, I'm glad that you'll continue your B&B but will make it work for you personally. I know from your posts that you care about your guests and really are an asset to your area.

 

[Morticia]

Interestingly, after reading your last post, I would say really pause and think about it.
Aside from the obviously sentimental reasons for buying the place, what would motivate you to go from what sounds like a pretty comfortable lifestyle to working all but 24 hours per day? Just curious if you've worked and volunteered at all at the type of place you'll be running to really get a feel for what it will be like. All the reading in the world will NOT prepare you for how physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, psychologically and spiritually challenging this kind of endeavor is.
You will either be the head chef and bottle washer which will involve working 15-18 hours/day, or you will hire staff to help with some of the work but you will still be working TONS, it sounds like much much more than you are now. If your husband is going to continue working outside the business the two of you will have little to no quality time together, at least for the first few years 'til things are up and running.
Just want to be sure it's something you've thought of, I can't emphasize the difficulty in the first year enough, and we bought an established business. Building it up will entail a whole different level of commitment in terms of time..

What motivates us is the place. It seems like if we don't do this it is likely that a developer will end up with the place and tear it down. It needs too much to make it work for most people to contemplate. We feel we stand a good chance of pulling it off. But you are right, part of the angst is leaving this place, an having a life of chaos again. Today we followed an otter trail across the snow to two other lakes, and watched as two wolves crossed our lake from the living room windows. There was no sound but the wind. Hard to give that up. If the feds do buy us out, they will tear the buildings down and close off the drive. Talk about you can't go home again. Angst.
I did have a retail business for over 15 years. I did scrub and unplug toilets, dust and clean, drive across the county at 2am for alarm calls, deal with drunken customers, shoplifters, bad checks,etc. Being a business owner always means you are the head cook and bottle washer. Yes, I do intend to have help but I don't kid myself. Another part of the angst.
Re. experience, we stayed there for weeks on projects in the area for over ten years, and afterwords on our own. We did help out and we even motel sat for her while she went on a short trip. We talked about buying it itn '96 and talked alot about running the place. We told the heir things he did not know. Our friend, the p.o., knew herself, and was true to herself. I understand that now, I'm not sure that I did then. I think I know myself now too. If we jump off this cliff it will be with eyes wide open.
The architect called today, he was speaking with the building inspector, who has offered to review the remodel plans with options regarding fire escape routes. Looks like the sprinkler system will be very expensive, but we are interested in saving the structure as well as lives.....
Have I mentioned we still have not made an offer yet??? Still doing my homework. He said they would call me early next week. In Angst...
.

You have obviously given this a great deal of thought and preparation. I think you know in your gut what you want to do...and I think you'll be supported in whatever your choice is because you have tried to look at it from every angle. Maybe look at it from the opposite perspective...what's the absolute worst case scenario, and can you live with it? It sounds to me like you could.
Don't think of it as angst...think of it as excitement because you have so many choices. You sound like you have your eyes wide open in addition to a lot of common sense.

.

Thanks for the kind words. Excitement yes, but still much angst.
.

Thanks for the kind words. Excitement yes, but still much angst.

As we turned to each other on our lumpy air mattress on the floor of our brand new inn, our first words to each other the morning after we bought this place were, 'What have YOU done?!'

 

[Breakfast Diva]

Interestingly, after reading your last post, I would say really pause and think about it.
Aside from the obviously sentimental reasons for buying the place, what would motivate you to go from what sounds like a pretty comfortable lifestyle to working all but 24 hours per day? Just curious if you've worked and volunteered at all at the type of place you'll be running to really get a feel for what it will be like. All the reading in the world will NOT prepare you for how physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, psychologically and spiritually challenging this kind of endeavor is.
You will either be the head chef and bottle washer which will involve working 15-18 hours/day, or you will hire staff to help with some of the work but you will still be working TONS, it sounds like much much more than you are now. If your husband is going to continue working outside the business the two of you will have little to no quality time together, at least for the first few years 'til things are up and running.
Just want to be sure it's something you've thought of, I can't emphasize the difficulty in the first year enough, and we bought an established business. Building it up will entail a whole different level of commitment in terms of time..

What motivates us is the place. It seems like if we don't do this it is likely that a developer will end up with the place and tear it down. It needs too much to make it work for most people to contemplate. We feel we stand a good chance of pulling it off. But you are right, part of the angst is leaving this place, an having a life of chaos again. Today we followed an otter trail across the snow to two other lakes, and watched as two wolves crossed our lake from the living room windows. There was no sound but the wind. Hard to give that up. If the feds do buy us out, they will tear the buildings down and close off the drive. Talk about you can't go home again. Angst.
I did have a retail business for over 15 years. I did scrub and unplug toilets, dust and clean, drive across the county at 2am for alarm calls, deal with drunken customers, shoplifters, bad checks,etc. Being a business owner always means you are the head cook and bottle washer. Yes, I do intend to have help but I don't kid myself. Another part of the angst.
Re. experience, we stayed there for weeks on projects in the area for over ten years, and afterwords on our own. We did help out and we even motel sat for her while she went on a short trip. We talked about buying it itn '96 and talked alot about running the place. We told the heir things he did not know. Our friend, the p.o., knew herself, and was true to herself. I understand that now, I'm not sure that I did then. I think I know myself now too. If we jump off this cliff it will be with eyes wide open.
The architect called today, he was speaking with the building inspector, who has offered to review the remodel plans with options regarding fire escape routes. Looks like the sprinkler system will be very expensive, but we are interested in saving the structure as well as lives.....
Have I mentioned we still have not made an offer yet??? Still doing my homework. He said they would call me early next week. In Angst...
.

You have obviously given this a great deal of thought and preparation. I think you know in your gut what you want to do...and I think you'll be supported in whatever your choice is because you have tried to look at it from every angle. Maybe look at it from the opposite perspective...what's the absolute worst case scenario, and can you live with it? It sounds to me like you could.
Don't think of it as angst...think of it as excitement because you have so many choices. You sound like you have your eyes wide open in addition to a lot of common sense.

.

Thanks for the kind words. Excitement yes, but still much angst.
.

Thanks for the kind words. Excitement yes, but still much angst.

As we turned to each other on our lumpy air mattress on the floor of our brand new inn, our first words to each other the morning after we bought this place were, 'What have YOU done?!'

.

You had an air mattress??? We were on the floor! Hahaha I can totally relate!
I had a guest last week who was moaning and groaning to me "I've worked 8 days straight without a day off". I had to must up my caring innkeeper face, but on the inside I was laughing hysterically. I'd love to have to only work 8 days in a row!

 

[Morticia]

Interestingly, after reading your last post, I would say really pause and think about it.
Aside from the obviously sentimental reasons for buying the place, what would motivate you to go from what sounds like a pretty comfortable lifestyle to working all but 24 hours per day? Just curious if you've worked and volunteered at all at the type of place you'll be running to really get a feel for what it will be like. All the reading in the world will NOT prepare you for how physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, psychologically and spiritually challenging this kind of endeavor is.
You will either be the head chef and bottle washer which will involve working 15-18 hours/day, or you will hire staff to help with some of the work but you will still be working TONS, it sounds like much much more than you are now. If your husband is going to continue working outside the business the two of you will have little to no quality time together, at least for the first few years 'til things are up and running.
Just want to be sure it's something you've thought of, I can't emphasize the difficulty in the first year enough, and we bought an established business. Building it up will entail a whole different level of commitment in terms of time..

What motivates us is the place. It seems like if we don't do this it is likely that a developer will end up with the place and tear it down. It needs too much to make it work for most people to contemplate. We feel we stand a good chance of pulling it off. But you are right, part of the angst is leaving this place, an having a life of chaos again. Today we followed an otter trail across the snow to two other lakes, and watched as two wolves crossed our lake from the living room windows. There was no sound but the wind. Hard to give that up. If the feds do buy us out, they will tear the buildings down and close off the drive. Talk about you can't go home again. Angst.
I did have a retail business for over 15 years. I did scrub and unplug toilets, dust and clean, drive across the county at 2am for alarm calls, deal with drunken customers, shoplifters, bad checks,etc. Being a business owner always means you are the head cook and bottle washer. Yes, I do intend to have help but I don't kid myself. Another part of the angst.
Re. experience, we stayed there for weeks on projects in the area for over ten years, and afterwords on our own. We did help out and we even motel sat for her while she went on a short trip. We talked about buying it itn '96 and talked alot about running the place. We told the heir things he did not know. Our friend, the p.o., knew herself, and was true to herself. I understand that now, I'm not sure that I did then. I think I know myself now too. If we jump off this cliff it will be with eyes wide open.
The architect called today, he was speaking with the building inspector, who has offered to review the remodel plans with options regarding fire escape routes. Looks like the sprinkler system will be very expensive, but we are interested in saving the structure as well as lives.....
Have I mentioned we still have not made an offer yet??? Still doing my homework. He said they would call me early next week. In Angst...
.

You have obviously given this a great deal of thought and preparation. I think you know in your gut what you want to do...and I think you'll be supported in whatever your choice is because you have tried to look at it from every angle. Maybe look at it from the opposite perspective...what's the absolute worst case scenario, and can you live with it? It sounds to me like you could.
Don't think of it as angst...think of it as excitement because you have so many choices. You sound like you have your eyes wide open in addition to a lot of common sense.

.

Thanks for the kind words. Excitement yes, but still much angst.
.

Thanks for the kind words. Excitement yes, but still much angst.

As we turned to each other on our lumpy air mattress on the floor of our brand new inn, our first words to each other the morning after we bought this place were, 'What have YOU done?!'

.

You had an air mattress??? We were on the floor! Hahaha I can totally relate!
I had a guest last week who was moaning and groaning to me "I've worked 8 days straight without a day off". I had to must up my caring innkeeper face, but on the inside I was laughing hysterically. I'd love to have to only work 8 days in a row!
.

We bought the air mattress in advance. Whew!
Last season we did 72 days straight, but that was pathetic. I'm hoping for something well into the hundreds this year. Most guests never think about how many days we work because we're 'home.' To them, we're not working.

 

[Innkeeper To Go]

Interestingly, after reading your last post, I would say really pause and think about it.
Aside from the obviously sentimental reasons for buying the place, what would motivate you to go from what sounds like a pretty comfortable lifestyle to working all but 24 hours per day? Just curious if you've worked and volunteered at all at the type of place you'll be running to really get a feel for what it will be like. All the reading in the world will NOT prepare you for how physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, psychologically and spiritually challenging this kind of endeavor is.
You will either be the head chef and bottle washer which will involve working 15-18 hours/day, or you will hire staff to help with some of the work but you will still be working TONS, it sounds like much much more than you are now. If your husband is going to continue working outside the business the two of you will have little to no quality time together, at least for the first few years 'til things are up and running.
Just want to be sure it's something you've thought of, I can't emphasize the difficulty in the first year enough, and we bought an established business. Building it up will entail a whole different level of commitment in terms of time..

What motivates us is the place. It seems like if we don't do this it is likely that a developer will end up with the place and tear it down. It needs too much to make it work for most people to contemplate. We feel we stand a good chance of pulling it off. But you are right, part of the angst is leaving this place, an having a life of chaos again. Today we followed an otter trail across the snow to two other lakes, and watched as two wolves crossed our lake from the living room windows. There was no sound but the wind. Hard to give that up. If the feds do buy us out, they will tear the buildings down and close off the drive. Talk about you can't go home again. Angst.
I did have a retail business for over 15 years. I did scrub and unplug toilets, dust and clean, drive across the county at 2am for alarm calls, deal with drunken customers, shoplifters, bad checks,etc. Being a business owner always means you are the head cook and bottle washer. Yes, I do intend to have help but I don't kid myself. Another part of the angst.
Re. experience, we stayed there for weeks on projects in the area for over ten years, and afterwords on our own. We did help out and we even motel sat for her while she went on a short trip. We talked about buying it itn '96 and talked alot about running the place. We told the heir things he did not know. Our friend, the p.o., knew herself, and was true to herself. I understand that now, I'm not sure that I did then. I think I know myself now too. If we jump off this cliff it will be with eyes wide open.
The architect called today, he was speaking with the building inspector, who has offered to review the remodel plans with options regarding fire escape routes. Looks like the sprinkler system will be very expensive, but we are interested in saving the structure as well as lives.....
Have I mentioned we still have not made an offer yet??? Still doing my homework. He said they would call me early next week. In Angst...
.

You have obviously given this a great deal of thought and preparation. I think you know in your gut what you want to do...and I think you'll be supported in whatever your choice is because you have tried to look at it from every angle. Maybe look at it from the opposite perspective...what's the absolute worst case scenario, and can you live with it? It sounds to me like you could.
Don't think of it as angst...think of it as excitement because you have so many choices. You sound like you have your eyes wide open in addition to a lot of common sense.

.

Thanks for the kind words. Excitement yes, but still much angst.
.

Thanks for the kind words. Excitement yes, but still much angst.

As we turned to each other on our lumpy air mattress on the floor of our brand new inn, our first words to each other the morning after we bought this place were, 'What have YOU done?!'

.

You had an air mattress??? We were on the floor! Hahaha I can totally relate!
I had a guest last week who was moaning and groaning to me "I've worked 8 days straight without a day off". I had to must up my caring innkeeper face, but on the inside I was laughing hysterically. I'd love to have to only work 8 days in a row!
.

We bought the air mattress in advance. Whew!
Last season we did 72 days straight, but that was pathetic. I'm hoping for something well into the hundreds this year. Most guests never think about how many days we work because we're 'home.' To them, we're not working.
.

Most guests never think about how many days we work because we're 'home.' To them, we're not working.

To them, it's a piece of cake. My favorite is when they ask "Do you ever get tired of sitting around looking at this wonderful view?" to which I usually reply, "No. And if you'll excuse me, I have some laundry to do."