My experience with the Atlanta office of Sunbelt is very negative. The owner and lead agent for the Atlanta office is Ray Boreham. I approached them to buy a trucking company they had listed and did everything that was asked of me. I completed and submitted a Non-Disclosure Form, a Personal Financial Statement, and a Purchase Agreement for the trucking company. I also hand-delivered a deposit / earnest money check to the office.
Please note, that OTHER BUSINESS BROKERS that I have contacted were more than willing to assist me! I AM A QUALIFIED BUYER... NOT SOME "WANNABE" OFF THE STREET.
However, Ray Boreham has refused to provide the following agreed upon services:
1. Executed Purchase Agreement (signed by Seller)& even after receiving an earnest money down payment;
2.information (financial or operational) to allow any form of due diligence on my part; and
3.information (financial or operational) to the loan officer / underwriter. The loan officer for Wells Fargo has been requesting the necessary info to make a loan and Ray Boreham refuses to provide any information.
Ray said he did not think the bank would make a loan due to the current banking environment. I mentioned that to the loan officer at Wells Fargo and he said that HE is the banker and that Ray should not be making assumptions for him and Wells Fargo. Ray Boreham also told me that the banker should be able to provide a loan commitment without receiving any information on the business for sale (i.E. Tax returns, official financial statements, etc.). When I mentioned that to the loan officer, he just laughed and said that it sounded like Ray had never sold a business in his life!
The whole deal now seems suspect to Wells Fargo due to Ray Boreham refusing to forward the loan officer the information he has requested. I am certain that has sent up all kinds of red flags. At this point, the loan officer at Wells Fargo is becoming highly suspect of Ray's ability to perform and does not want to get between him and his client.
Ray Boreham still cannot explain why he has not issued an executed Purchase Agreement when he has a deposit and a completed Non-Disclosure Form in his possession.
I subsequently found out that Sunbelt and the seller decided they wanted more money for the business, but did not want to ask me since I might balk and accuse them of bait and switch tactics. They cooked up the revenue and cash flow numbers to justify increasing the price of the business to twice what it had been!
That is just a shame and it is completely unacceptable and unprofessional on Ray's part (a 400-pound Loser). I have never seen anything like it from a business broker. I cannot believe that a Sunbelt office is run by such a worthless, incompetent and unscrupulous person.
I contacted the corporate office to report Ray Boreham and Matt Ottaway, President emailed me and said there is nothing they can do about this overweight loser running amok down in Georgia. Let that be a lesson to anyone wanting to buy or sell a business through Sunbelt. Don't do it!!!
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