Andy and Doug recount a two‑year sale that survived ghosted buyers, retrades, PPP/EIDL complications, state licensing hurdles in the home healthcare space, and multiple competing offers. Hear how cash buyers and private funding ultimately got to close, why membership interest transfers mattered for licensing, and how the team handled diligence, QofE challenges, and buyer qualification.

Key takeaways include the importance of strategic buyer screening, maintaining a buyer backup list, creating urgency with competing offers, and the seller’s perseverance through extended market cycles. Expect real-world M&A lessons, closing stories from Cabo, and practical advice for buyers and sellers navigating complex regulated industries.

Andy and Doug break down a recent liquor-store sale in Iowa — a deal that started as a 2022 planning conversation and ended in a fast, bumpy close. Topics include the differences between title-company and attorney-state transactions, valuation and deal allocation between business and real estate, and the critical role a broker plays when a named buyer struggles to get bank financing.

They discuss challenges with a hotel-owner buyer who preferred conventional lending over SBA, how Apex shopped lenders to bridge the goodwill gap, issues with settlement-statement errors (including Iowa tax stamps), and the decision to enforce an exclusivity deadline. The episode highlights practical lessons on seller counseling, financing options, and why getting a deal to close often takes more work than finding the buyer.

Today we discuss why involving accountants, attorneys and financial planners early matters; how tax and entity structure can dramatically affect net proceeds and business valuation; examples of misreported profits and multi-entity complications that change sale outcomes; and how deal structure (cash, seller notes, earnouts) impacts value and post-sale life.