Finding good consultants

[sao]

This is an excellent message board. I have learned alot from all of your posts.

We're looking to purchase an existing mat within the next year (our first). Can anyone provide advice on how to locate qualified AND disinterested consultants to evaluate potential laundry businesses (especially regarding equipment condition and the integrity of seller's financials)?

We own several apartment buildings and currently work with an excellent team of managers, brokers, and contractors. However, we were burned a few times by people who had exaggeraged their qualifications and/or did not disclose conflicts of interest.
I'm hoping to shorten the learning curve on this venture.

Money is not burning a hole in our pocket, so we will patiently search for a good opportunity. Any advice would be most appreciated.

[Jim]

Originally posted by sao
This is an excellent message board. I have learned alot from all of your posts.

We're looking to purchase an existing mat within the next year (our first). Can anyone provide advice on how to locate qualified AND disinterested consultants to evaluate potential laundry businesses (especially regarding equipment condition and the integrity of seller's financials)?

You already found the best money can buy........

COINWASH.COM

What better advice can you get than from mat owners who have been in the trenches.......

[sao]

Jim,
I agree with you. I'm sure I will be using this resource frequently. Yet, when we buy real estate, we always have a building inspection done by a licensed contractor because he knows what to look for.
If I were to e-mail him my observations on the property, I could easily leave out important information that he would have caught during a walk-through.

Are mats just not bought this way? Making a large cash investment in a not-so-liquid business makes me paranoid about paying too much going in. Am I being overly cautious?

Thanks,

Sao

[Kitty]

Educate your self as much as possible before considering the usefulness of someone elses expertise in this or any business you may choose to invest in. Only then will you be able to judge any assistance you may require and then you may also be able to weed out the scammers?