How do I sell a custom home building company?

When your name is on the sign, a buyer is partly buying you. That is not a reason to hold back. It means the work before the sale is about showing that the company can run without you. The more of your judgment you can write down and hand over, the more a careful buyer can see. Our page on cleaning up your financial records is a sensible first step.

Open contracts and client money

Prepare a schedule of every job under contract: client, scope, start date, amounts paid and work remaining. Be ready to say where client deposits are held. A buyer will want to know who finishes each home and who answers for it. Clients may need to hear about the sale from you before they hear it elsewhere, and your lawyer can advise on whether consent is needed.

Homes in their after-sales period

List the homes you have finished that may still produce service calls, and the record of past claims and how they were handled. A buyer will ask how those obligations are dealt with. Settle your view with your lawyer ahead of time, because it often comes up late in negotiation.

Supervisors, trades and costing

The people who keep sites running matter as much as the contracts. Talk with your key supervisors about their future before a buyer does, if you can do so in confidence. Write down how you estimate, who your regular subcontractors are and how you price changes. A buyer who sees the method is less likely to see only you.

Timing the sale

Build season is one factor to weigh: a sale in the middle of a busy period gives a buyer more to look at but less time to look. Ask your accountant how timing affects your own position, and plan to stay on for a handover.