Buying Tips

Whether you are interested in buying a motel lease, buying a freehold going concern or buying a freehold investment you will find Richard & Kathie possess the knowledge and experience you require to make the right decisions. Our culture is to provide you with all the information you need to decide if motelling is the right path for you. We provide a free no obligation consultation for people thinking of entering the industry. Come and talk to us, email us or phone us to receive valuable information for your decision making process. Have a look at our tips for buyers here, then Contact Us with your questions.

Lease:

If the motel is a lease business the length of the lease is important because when you are ready to move on and sell your motel you need to have a good number of years left on the lease. This ensures you are able to offer a long lease to maximise your return on the sale. It is however common within the industry to extend the number of years on a lease so talk to us or your agent about this.

Operators accommodation:

Is it important for the operators accommodation to be adequate for your own needs? Yes it is! People will sometimes purchase a motel and say well the house is not quite right but we can put up with it. They then have to spend a large amount of time in a space they are not happy with and eventually this causes a bit of misery. The house needs to be somewhere you can go and relax away from the motel. If you can’t achieve this then you may become unhappy and it will show through to the guests.

Is a lease business a zero rated item for GST?

If the lease is in existence and the business is up and running then yes the sale and purchase is zero rated provided that both parties are registered for GST at the date the agreement goes unconditional. There are two components to th motel though and if the owner lives on site this accommodation portion is not GST rateable for a sale where the Zero rating has not been effective. It is important to get this clarified from your accountant when purchasing.

Why should I use a Motel Broker?

A Motel Broker is a specialist in the motel industry. They have an in-depth knowledge of the product and the operation within the industry. Just like there are specialists within the medical profession such as a surgeon a motel broker is a specialist real estate professional in the area of motels.

How do I operate a motel?

Operating a motel is similar to most small businesses. There are admin tasks, planning tasks and day to day running of the business. We always say that there are two main ingredients to running a successful motel business: cleanliness and friendliness. Facilities must be spotlessly clean and you must ALWAYS be friendly to the guests.