[bobby p]

i have only been a cleaner 2 years and have a full trad round now . recently a guy in the same town as me got in touch,hes been going 6 years and has built it up to 2 vans and himself +2workers ,but he cannot keep the workers and its all getting him down ,the sheer slog

 he phoned me up last summer wanting to sell me at least half his round,at the time i hadnt been going long myself and i told him i couldnt cope with what he was offering. it seems he has struggled on since ,hiring various ne"er do well types but he phoned me again ,im thinking he is desperate to offload . last year when he first rang me,i dug around a bit,saw he had his whole business advertised,selling it as "a lifestyle change "

i am sure you guys who have been at it much longer get faced with similar from time to time,what way do YOU handle it. its been praying on my mind ,his phone calls

[Blue Frog Systems]

Find out what he wants for what he's offering you. He might not be getting the right guys working for him as he doesn't pay well. That could be because he isn't paying well enough. Maybe that's because he is taking too big a cut or the round isn't paying well.

If I was you I would sit down and have a chat with him.

How many houses
Average price
Prices from and too
Time it takes to complete (working hours)

Then I'd have a chat with an accountant regarding employing and the costs.

[darren clarke]

there must be a reason they leave, is he paying crap pay as round isnt paying enough,  a lot of people expand by accident,  price jobs for themselves then suddendly have to employee and start making less money,  try and talk him in to renting the work to you for 6 months with a option to buy, to see how you get on, as there is a lot on here that expand and then mess it up and end up skint, they go out and buy new vans, rent units etc

[bobby p]

says he charges a tenner a house average,pretty much the going rate .he is wfp and  his round is about 800 houses,so he said. he has let a lot of the monthlies become 2 monthly as a way of coping

my main concern would be what if the same happened to me , its a big step change from just doing my round to what he is offering. when he had 2 good workers he also had a small unit in town where i guess he made the water . but he hasnt got that now

the last time he rang me we had a long chat,he admitted he never made much from his lads .

[darren clarke]

the guy makes 8 grand a monthn and cant run it properly,   something doesnt sound rite,  how much does he want for the work

[bobby p]

last year i saw he had the whole lot for25grand , the 2 small vans,round and what have you.   at that time he rang me ,he was working 7-30 till 4-30 each day,but still had time for a laugh on the phone  and iv seen him working weekends .

for all i know he might have untold debts from any number of reasons-all i know for sure is he wants to sell  .

[darren clarke]

where is the work for sale?

[andyM]

If you are interested have a word with him to see EXACTLY what he's offering.
He may just want to offload the lower priced work which from a business standpoint does make sense for him. Might not be the best move for you though.
I would imagine he is looking to downsize and work for himself without the hassle of employing and pocket a lump sum of cash off whoever buys it. If I were doing that though I would keep the best paying work for myself (Im sure you would to).
If after talking to him and finding out more you are still interested make him a rock bottom price offer. That will leave you a bit of room to negotiate in your favour.
If you have any doubts walk away.