Laundromat purchase

[Mitzi Moore]

Hello everyone 

I'm new to the real estate community. 

I want to purchase a laundromat that is depleting each time I visit the location 

my issue will be that the owner have a cleaners that assist him in paying for the laundromat. 

How can I proceed in acquiring the laundromat? 

All advice will be greatly appreciated. 

[Jim Shepard]

I would agree with Ken Barrett to do your due diligence. I owned 2 laundromats at one point. Replacing the old equipment can be expensive. Normally they don't require lots of time (4 or 5 hours a week) but the day you don't have any time is when something major breaks. A good camera system and alarm are a must. If it has an attendant that pays to have their cleaning biz there, require them to use YOUR equipment or they will do their laundry at home. If this attendant doesn't provide good customer service, it will affect your biz negatively. I would suggest you secret shop the attendant before buying. Having an attendant there has its advantages and disadvantages. I didn't have attendants.

I wouldn't consider a laundromat if it isn't close to your home. They need to be checked daily. Have you considered who you are going to turn the keys over to when you go on vacation. The change machine will have lots of $'s in it! Do you have someone you trust to run it while you are gone?

If you look into building a new laundromat, check with the city to see if they charge impact fees? When I was going to build a new store, the city was going to charge me over $100,000 in impact fees on the sewer system! Didn't get built.

If you aren't mechanically inclined I would pass on the biz. Repairs are expensive. Good luck!