An Auckland Lawyer Can Help When You Want To Buy A Business
Buying a business is a huge and exciting step to take. However, it is also very risky not just from the business perspective but there are also many potential legal potholes or trips that you could fall foul of. Therefore, before you sign any documents, you should consult an Auckland lawyer to help buy a business. If you want to find out how a lawyer can help when you decide to buy a business, then read the rest of this article.
One of the ways a lawyer can help buy a business is determining whether or not assets that are being included in the sale can legally be sold to you. There are various issues that may prevent you from acquiring assets that the business owner says will be a part of the sale. For example, if a business is leasing equipment or certain products, then they will not actually own them. The vendor they are leasing the equipment from owns them and, as the new owner of the business you, will have to take over the obligations and costs of that lease. This can create a mess if you decided to buy a business that had equipment included in the sale because there may be a chance that the equipment’s owner would repossess it.
If the business premises are leased, then the landlord may have to agree to the sale. The only way you will be able to find out is by viewing the current lease agreement between the business and the landlord of the property. Property leases can be complex and are quite different from residential leases, so you could have difficulties understanding the agreement. By hiring a business lawyer, they can view the lease agreement and explain to you your rights and obligations. This alone can save you a potential disaster because the last thing you want to do is buy a business and have the landlord evict you because of the contract that was put into place before you even purchased the business.
The chances are you want to buy a specific business because the current owner claimed it was profitable, but you should never just take the business owner’s word for it. If the owner has said the company made profits throughout the last year or two, or whatever period they tell you, then have a lawyer and an accountant look into it. A good lawyer can obtain financial records and this will reveal whether or not the business owner is telling the truth. A business lawyer can help you avoid buying an enterprise that is not making a profit or worse, losing far more money than it is making.
When you buy a business, there will be a lot of paperwork involved. A business lawyer or one that specialises in helping people buy businesses, will help the business acquisition process go smoothly. They will look over the paperwork and make sure everything is being filled out properly before the deal is officially closed. This alone is one of the main reasons to hire a lawyer when you want to buy a business.
The legal fees involved in buying a business are probably the best investment you can make. It is money well-spent because you could be out of a lot more cash if you buy a business where the claims are not true or other legal issues arise after the purchase of the business. With that said, if you plan on buying a business, then hire a lawyer to help buy a business as soon as possible.