Wedding Venue Funding

[Hayley Evans]

Hello! I am new to posting but have been listening to the podcast for years now. My husband and I dream of owning a business that will fund our lifestyle. We are currently considering a wedding/event venue for that purpose. We both have 750+ FICO scores. Our liquid net worth is around $1.1mm; we have an additional $480k in equity in our home and a piece of land we own. He makes over $230k annually. Our mortgage is our only debt. My husband has 15 years of experience in Operations. He is also a military vet. I am a lawyer who has been a stay at home mom for the past 7 years. We do not have any event experience. However, the current owner is a former teacher of mine and states that they will help in the transition period.

The wedding venue we are considering is on the real estate market for $1.5mm it includes 8 acres with 3 buildings (2 cabins and an event facility). The 2 cabins can also function as STRs near GSMNP. It has been operating for 20 years. The owners are at retirement age. I don't have any of their financials yet but expect that they ran solidly for years with a knock from covid. They do appear to have steady bookings each weekend still.

I would love advice on getting funding. What should I expect in terms of what we will have to put up for down payment? What is the lowest up front amount we could get away with? My understanding is that seller financing and SBA loans are probably two of the best ways to get this started. I want to set up meetings with local lenders but want to have my ducks in a row first. Any other advice greatly appreciated!