WineryX works because we failed a lot in the beginning. It took time to develop the skills of recognizing real buyers and real sellers. Based on these experiences, we built a better mousetrap. This is simply the truth.
Based on our experience in this rare real estate niche, we have identified a variety of unrealistic Buyers:
- The Widget Buyer has short term and rigid return-on-investment expectations that don’t pencil out on many winery and vineyard cash flow models
- The Don Quixote (or romance) Buyer starts with a dream, but soon ends up talking themselves out of the deal once realities set in
- The short-sighted Local Buyer can’t bring themselves to pay today’s fair market value because they once paid $ X amount for local real estate and can’t get beyond the hurdle of paying so much more for an asset they could have purchased cheaper “back in the day.”
- The White Knight Buyer charges in with a high offer, has elusive funding sources such as “partners” or an out of area mega fund. It’s a smoke and mirror ego game.
- The Lowball Buyer thinks he’s doing every seller a favor, no matter what price is offered.
- The Truck Chasing Buyer- chases down winery opportunities at every chance, but when the truck stops, he doesn’t really want it, he just enjoyed the chase.
- The Cherry Picker Buyer- wants to pay only for the assets he wants and needs, not for the highest and best use assets of the whole offering.
- THE REAL BUYER KNOWS THE REALITIES OF THE BUSINESS; KNOWS THE TRENDS OF THE BUSINESS; RECOGNIZES REAL ESTATE APPRECIATION AS A KEY COMPONENT TO THE INVESTMENT; DOESN’T HESITATE TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF WHERE THE MONEY WILL COME FROM TO EXECUTE AN ACQUISITION; WON’T OVER-PAY BUT WILL PAY A FAIR MARKET VALUE SUPPORTED BY A PROFESSIONAL APPRAISAL; CLOSES THE DEAL.
In addition to our experience with various types of buyers we have also come to recognize that there are several distinct types of unrealistic Sellers as well:
- The Pay Me For Future Potential Seller- “I never got around to doing such and such, but when you complete these tasks with your money this property will be worth what I want you to pay me for it today.”
- The Pay Me For My Blood Sweat and Tears Seller – somebody has to pay me for this not working out like I had planned
- The Pay Me More Than It’s Worth and I’ll Consider Selling Seller-no further explanation needed
- The Ask for Twice the Amount It Appraised for Seller- some good advice for buyers who encounter this kind of seller: wait 3 years, divide the original asking price by 2, then make an offer. Here’s the advice I follow personally: In life I want to be a man’s first love, a husband’s second wife and an unreasonable seller’s third broker
- The Go Down with the Ship Seller - thinks their financial problems have no consequence on the value of pricing the winery according to market value, and continues to get into escrows with unreal White Knight buyers that never close
- THE REAL SELLER- ACCEPTS THAT WINERY AND VINEYARD ASSETS SELL FOR A FAIR MARKET VALUE SUPPORTED BY PROFESSIONAL APPRAISALS AND CURRENT INDUSTRY VALUES BASED ON SIMILAR SALES; IS MOTIVATED TO SELL WITHIN ONE YEAR; PREPARES AND PROVIDES EXTENSIVE INFORMATION FOR PROSPECTIVE BUYERS; HIRES A REPUTABLE FIRM TO REPRESENT THE PROPERTY FOR SALE TO REAL BUYERS
In the past we have been involved with winery and vineyard deals with variations of all the above types of buyers and sellers (most deals did not close escrow, surprise, surprise). In 2006 we made a strategic choice to get out of the winery shopping and wheel spinning business. We strictly limit our introductions to well-matched REAL BUYERS AND SELLERS, no exceptions. THIS IS WHY WINERY X WORKS.
How WineryX Works
To arrive at the point of a closed winery escrow we have developed a process, which REAL BUYERS AND REAL SELLERS appreciate and respect:
- Potential Buyer contacts WineryX (email or phone 707.968-9100) to request a Buyer Profile form and *Agreement of Representation
- Buyer completes Buyer Profile and registers as a potential WineryX client.
- Buyer Profiles are matched with winery or vineyard opportunities based on the stated criteria ONE OPPORTUNITY AT A TIME (In order to protect the confidentiality needs of real sellers and to reduce unnecessary exposure, WineryX does not provide a blanket list of wineries for sale to any Buyer)
- Basic information about price, region, size, etc is provided to Buyer without identifying the winery or vineyard.
- Buyer decides to pursue or pass, based on the general information provided.
- If a Buyer wishes to pursue, their Profile is shared with the Seller, along with proof of financial ability to execute an acquisition. (If Buyer decides to pass, another opportunity that suits the criteria may be presented, and so on, one opportunity at a time).
- Based on stated Profile criteria Seller gives permission to release identity and details on the winery/vineyard upon the execution of a non-disclosure/confidentiality agreement.
- **A detailed memorandum is provided to the Buyer for review.
- A site visit is arranged.
- An offer to purchase is presented and negotiated
- Due diligence phase begins
- Escrow closes
(*Agreement of Representation requires that Buyer name WineryX as their representing Broker for any acquisition made as a result of participating in the WineryX introduction process).
(** Some winery opportunities presented may not be exclusive listings of WineryX, and therefore the quality and extent of information offered on a winery or vineyard opportunity may not be consistent with the detailed memorandums WineryX provides).
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