Before you buy, know what you're buying.

I worked with a buyer before anything was signed. Questions from the review led to a lower purchase price. The seller's financials were not showing full EBITDA; understanding why, and what the alternative presentation meant, changed how the buyer read the deal.

The seller also treated his salary as a cost that would disappear, even though he ran much of the day-to-day operation. That add-back did not reflect what was actually happening in the business. It was one of many findings in a sustained review based on business judgment, not transaction arrangement.

I met a first-time buyer after the deal had closed. The seller had left the buyer holding a liability that likely would have been questioned beforehand. A burdensome lease also would likely have been flagged or put in position for renegotiation before closing.

Other terms were not market — outside what a buyer with real information and leverage would normally accept. That did not necessarily mean bad faith. It meant nobody on the buyer's side knew what to ask before the deal was done.