⚡ TL;DR:

Your broker's CIM says the deal covers debt at 1.9x. Your lender's credit memo says 1.3x. Same business, same year, both right.

The difference is the three haircuts most buyers never model (a market-rate replacement salary for the owner, maintenance capex the add-back schedule ignores, and add-backs the underwriter refuses to credit). We walk the full lender calculation start to finish and give you the pre-LOI stress test that tells you whether your deal survives underwriting before you spend a dollar on diligence.

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A Suffolk County, New York supplier and installer of alternative energy systems founded in 1992, profitable in every operating year since inception. Ongoing maintenance contracts produce 53% of revenue, with sales and installation making up the rest. The company has earned recognition from the EPA, the Department of Energy, and the Energy Star program. Eight employees run the operation from a 4,000 sq ft leased warehouse at $5,515 a month. The retiring sellers will stay on as needed for transition; $63K of FF&E and $125K of inventory are included.

Why this deal stands out: A 53% contracted revenue base built over 34 years is the kind of annuity that makes lenders comfortable, and 34 consecutive profitable years is a track record few listings can claim. The 1.9x DSCR supports about $405K of cash after debt service at a reasonable 3.7x multiple.

💡 EBIT Take: Maintenance contracts are the asset, so read them: term, auto-renewal, pricing escalators, and historical attrition. Alternative energy demand on Long Island rides state incentive programs, so map how much install revenue depends on rebates that could change. Confirm the field crew stays, since the sellers are the institutional knowledge.

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Every SBA 7(a) acquisition closes on a personal guarantee, and your loan amount is only the starting point. Ink's calculator walks you through business recovery, personal assets, state, and loan structure to estimate your net personal exposure in minutes.

See your estimated PG exposure range, plus the assumptions and questions to ask before you sign.

A Florida consumer products brand operating for more than 12 years that gained national attention after appearing on Shark Tank. The brand holds several actively enforced design patents that have already been used to remove copycat competitors, carries 18,000+ Amazon ratings, and generates nearly 66% of Amazon revenue organically. Sales run through Amazon FBA, Shopify, TikTok Shop, Walmart Marketplace, and wholesale, with PPC, bookkeeping, and freight outsourced. The semi-absentee owner puts in about 3 hours a week.

Why this deal stands out: The SBA pre-qualification means a buyer can close with roughly 10% down on a brand with enforceable patent protection, a rarity in e-commerce where moats are usually marketing spend. A 2.1x DSCR leaves about $282K after debt service on a business that asks for 3 hours a week.

💡 EBIT Take: Single-brand consumer businesses live and die on platform health, so pull the Amazon account health record, patent expiry dates, and the organic-vs-paid trend by month. The outsourced operating stack is what makes this semi-absentee, so confirm those vendor relationships transfer. Ideal for an operator who wants cash flow alongside a day job or another business.

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A licensed architectural and engineering firm headquartered in Central California with decades of operating history and long-standing relationships with school districts, municipalities, and developers that drive recurring referral business. The firm's licenses create a real barrier to entry. The owner is retiring, will provide training and transition assistance, and seller financing is available. The office real estate is seller-owned and can be negotiated separately.

Why this deal stands out: 2.4x SDE on $1.57M of earnings with a 2.9x DSCR is value pricing for a licensed firm, and public-sector clients like school districts produce repeat work that survives economic cycles. About $1.03M of cash remains after debt service, with seller financing sweetening the structure.

💡 EBIT Take: The licenses are the moat and the constraint: a buyer must satisfy California architectural and engineering licensing or retain licensed principals post-close. Diligence centers on who stamps the drawings today, how much work is tied to the owner's seal, and whether key licensed staff will sign retention agreements. Confirm public contracts and any master service agreements assign on a change of ownership.

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A Los Angeles County franchise of one of the nation's largest senior relocation, downsizing, estate sale, online auction, and home clean-out platforms, with two exclusive protected territories held contractually through 2035. About 6 years in operation with a full-time operations manager, a full-time office administrator, and an experienced part-time field crew. Asset-light and home-based, with no leased real estate and no owned vehicles.

Why this deal stands out: Territorial exclusivity through 2035 in LA County, the densest senior market in the western US, is a contractual moat most service businesses never get. At 2.3x SDE with a 3.1x DSCR, the deal leaves about $333K after debt service on a sub-$1.5M check.

💡 EBIT Take: Franchise resales add a third party to the table, so confirm the franchisor's transfer requirements, fees, and training timeline before LOI. Verify the 43% margin against the franchise disclosure document's royalty and brand-fund line items. The demographic math does the marketing here; the operating question is crew capacity during estate-sale surges.

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A Richmond, Virginia kitchen, bath, and cabinet design-build shop founded in 1995, running 13 full-time staff including a senior designer whose tenure dates back to 1997. Designers are paid commission tied to project profitability, and the Virginia contractor's license is assigned to the business rather than an individual, so it transfers with the sale. SDE has averaged about $863K across 2023-2025 on revenue between $5.1M and $5.5M. The seller is retiring; the 14,000 sq ft facility is seller-owned and leased back at $14K a month. $621K of FF&E is included and the listing is flagged SBA loan eligible.

Why this deal stands out: A contractor's license held by the entity removes the single biggest friction in buying a construction business, and three consecutive years of stable five-million-plus revenue shows the demand is institutional, not personal. Commission-paid designers mean the sales engine is incentive-aligned and transferable.

💡 EBIT Take: Your landlord post-close is the retiring seller, so negotiate lease term and renewal options alongside the purchase agreement, not after. A 16% margin in millwork moves with material costs, so pull the trailing-twelve-month margin trend and current backlog in QoE. Confirm the senior designers' comp plans carry over, because they are the relationships.

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A well-established Wisconsin education services business where the current owner has automated processes and streamlined operations to the point of limited involvement. The listing highlights an absentee ownership structure, strong systems, a team in place, and an extensive FF&E and vehicle list. Cash flow of $700K on $1.34M of gross revenue.

Why this deal stands out: A genuine absentee structure with a 2.0x DSCR and roughly $347K after debt service is the profile semi-passive buyers hunt for, and a 52% margin says the service commands real pricing power in its niche.

💡 EBIT Take: The public listing is deliberately thin, so the first diligence request is everything: employee count, customer mix, contract structure, and three years of financials under NDA. Absentee claims earn a week of on-site observation before you believe them. If the numbers hold, the multiple is fair for the margin profile.

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A Fort Myers impact window and door company with 14 years in operation and a 14-person team across installation and sales. The company has completed more than 2,700 projects and installed over 50,000 impact windows and doors, with gross margins exceeding 50%, a referral-driven model, documented systems, and a contracted backlog. The retiring owner will stay on for transition and has built a sales training library; some seller financing is available for a qualified buyer. $425K of inventory and $50K of FF&E are included.

Why this deal stands out: Hurricane-code demand in Southwest Florida is structural, not cyclical, and the $425K of included inventory materially lowers day-one working capital. A contracted backlog plus seller financing gives a first-time buyer both revenue visibility and structure flexibility.

💡 EBIT Take: The lease expires September 2026, so make renewal terms a closing condition. Verify the backlog contract by contract and check the permit pipeline in Lee County, since install timing drives cash conversion. This fits a buyer with construction or home-services background who can keep crews productive through the off-season.

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A St. Louis County towing, mobile roadside service, and truck repair company with a four-decade operating history and a 140% revenue increase over the past three years. The sale includes a near-new fleet valued at $1.8M plus $75K of inventory. The 24-hour operation runs with 4 full-time and 2 part-time staff. The owner is retiring, offers training and support, and the 12,500 sq ft facility can be purchased separately.

Why this deal stands out: Auto services consistently top EBIT reader engagement, and this one pairs a 40-year reputation with $1.8M of hard fleet assets backing the note. The 140% three-year growth curve gives a new owner momentum instead of a turnaround.

💡 EBIT Take: A 46% margin is well above towing norms, so reconcile it in QoE before trusting the multiple, starting with how much revenue is rotation contracts versus retail calls. Six people running a 24-hour operation means the owner's hours are real; budget for dispatch staffing. Model the building purchase, since towing yards with impound capacity are hard to re-site.

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