[robert mitchell]

Hi ,
Im looking at buying part of a round "that has been cleaned  3 or 4 times"  for a price of three times .

He says it is compact and he will either work round with me or introduce to customers.

He has a fairly large business , three vans i think and is selling surplus work .

i have never bought a round so any advice would be welcome .

regards

Rob

[PoleKing]

Stagger your payments if they'll go for it.
3 or 4 cleans is probably 2 or 3 in reality.
Put a third down, pay other 2 thirds after your first clean-when you've spoken to every single customer.
Depends how desperate you are.
If you're proper desperate-walk away. It's too much of a gamble.

[stecrossley]

Clean it with him and then you will know how long it will take you to clean etc and also get a feel for the customers. Make sure that he is not just trying to sell off all of bad customers nothing wrong with buying work if it suits you.

[robert mitchell]

cheers , don't think he will go for staggered payments but he has offered to the first clean together or just introduce .

im only thinking of buying 400 (1200 cost) even though he has nearly 5 grand to sell.

[AuRavelling79]

Run Forrest, run.

[PoleKing]

Drop him to a grand, clean the £400 a couple if times then go back to him for more.
In the end-you could have all his top paying work, bin his dross and you'll be making proper $ in no time!

[robert mitchell]

funny you should say that Darren , thats exactly what i was going to offer him .
He said if i lost a few on the first clean he would replace them too , which is very fair.

I dont think i will get all his top paying work though , he is selling off five grands worth of extra customers , he is still running two vans .

must have a huge round!

They are not due for a month , but meeting him monday so think if we have a deal i would pay a deposit then half before and half after the first clean .

what do you think?

[PoleKing]

As a buyer it seems fair.
As a seller I'd be a bit wary.

I assume you only 'know' each other-not friends or anything...
Most people selling rounds want the whole shebang upfront-I'm sure you can understand why.

I'd go for it though.
Invite him into your home, let him sit at your table, drink your tea, eat your biscuits, meet your mrs etc. let him see that you're not a shyster it might put him at a bit more ease about staggered payments.
Be open and honest with him.
Make him want to give his work to you, don't try and force his hand.

I'm sure you'll be fine.
All the best with it.
Keep us posted on the work you get.

[dazmond]

so its a freshly canvassed round then?3 or 4 cleans is not an established round!

[robert mitchell]

Your  right dazmond its not but established rounds down here sell for far more than three times value normally.

[robert mitchell]

And where are all the smileys on your post ?

 I Feel short changed 

LOL

[robert mitchell]

Darren ,
Have you bought work before ?

What do you do about signing an agreement ?

The thing playing on my mind is customers wondering why its changing after only a few cleans .

[PoleKing]

Yeah, I bought the vast majority of my work 8 years ago.

Personally I don't care for paperwork.
I go on how I feel.
If you trust your gut it is better IMO.
If you're gonna get screwed over a bit of paper isn't gonna save your bacon.
Solicitors will win, you may-but probably won't-end up with a penny for every pound you've spent.
We did sign papers but it was more for clarity of what the work was rather than a legal come back if either of us felt screwed over.

I wouldn't worry about the quick turnaround of cleaners from the customers. I see what you mean about what they think but they haven't had enough time to build up a relationship with the old guy either.
For all they know he could have been a canvasser sitting on a round to sell.

Where are you Rob?
Sounds like youre 80% on having it?

[robert mitchell]

im in southampton.

If i have it and it works out then i would have more off him in the future if he has more to sell later.

i would put  his name up to see if anyone knows him but not sure thats fair on him .

dont think he is on here.

his name is on wforsale if you subscribe .

[roundbuilder]

I have bought loads of work in the past.. Its always a gamble. I never pay more than 3 cleans. The last batch of work i got for 1 clean  just over a year ago and still to this day i have kept every customer and canvassed a load more round it..as long as its not council estate work and its being done regular and properly then go for it..

[PoleKing]

Do some fishing bud.
Ask local lads.
Ask for a face to face in his house, sat at his table-drinking his tea.
After some dialogue your guy will probably not steer you wrong...
Genuinely all the best with it bud

[robert mitchell]

mick , he said its been cleaned three or four times and he wants three times the value , 1200 for 400 was thinking i would offer a grand.

Cheers Darren

he seems pretty genuine ...... but so do a lot of people ! lol

[mark dew]

I know you might save a couple of hundred quid on the deal, but why not pay him what he asks?
If I was selling a I would definitely get rid of the worst jobs 1st if someone wanted cheaper.
I haven't yet bought any work, so I might sound naïve.
But the saving doesn't seem significant enough to risk the quality of the work which will become the mainstay of your business.