Andy Stark

Hi all and thanks for allowing us to join. My wife and I are selling up in Cheshire and planning to buy a business in the Sarasota or Venice area.
We are 25 year regular visitors to Florida and are huge fans of the life in Florida.
Could do with some advice regarding business brokers and immigration law firms to use.
We were planning on doing this in 2006 but the crash squashed that idea but we are back and ready to give it a go.
I dare say there is a few of you out there who have trodden this path. Would love to hear from you and welcome all advice
Andy and Lisa

Twinkle0927

I haven't done it but I just wanted to make sure you are aware that an E2 visa does not lead to permanent residency (aka a green card). It can be renewed multiple times but should the business fail, should you wish to retire, should you wish to sell the business you would have to leave the country.

Out of interest, what kind of business would it be? The business, as you probably know, must be more than marginal.

tom169

Considered an EB-5?

Andy Stark

Hi. Yes thanks I am aware of that and will take all manner of advice before we decide what to do. We own a Sandwich shop here in the UK so have that experience and would look for a similar going concern in Florida.
I am aware of The renewal process with E2 but we do back ourselves to succeed and to that end need to get the selection Right!
For us the USA is probably a 10 to 15 year plan and the green card is not our objective.

Andy Stark

Very briefly but we don't have that level of capital! E2 is our only viable option!

Twinkle0927

The next question is whether the sandwich shop would be an accepted business for an E2. The business has to generate more than a subsistence income. Have you researched whether there is a need for another sandwich shop there? One thing this country is not short of is fast food places. It would have to be something completely different than the current offerings. Otherwise it would not be substantial enough.

tracyandneil

Hi


Welcome. I am sure you will get lots of advice on this site but another site to look at is www.the-usa-forum.com which has a specific forum for the E2 route.


Hope this helps.

Floridablues

I've seen more than a few British owned food/goods businesses come and go in my 15 years around the Disney area of central Florida. There are some that are still operating years later. A lot of the Brits here seem to have bought into vacation property management, not so many these days!

Andy Stark

My other thought was to buy a pool cleaning business.. has advantages as reasonably recession proof and less affected by seasonal fluctuations.
Will seek expert advice UK side to assess viability and also States side when we next over in March!
Under no illusions that it's simple but we should be ok to meet the minimum investment figure and have plenty left for living etc.
Here goes...

scrubbedexpat099

A few Subway etc franchises would work, I know somebody who has one locally, actually they are thinking of going independent as the national promotions are killing their margins.

scrubbedexpat099

Well pool cleaning is a bot of a joke, how will you compete with others using undocumented sic labour with much lower overheads?

Twinkle0927

I wondered how long it would take before the "pool cleaning business" would be mentioned. I could understand you having a sandwich business and bringing something better to the market than there currently is - artisan breads, new flavors, European cheeses, etc. would make a change from the usual dross here. After all, you have been in the sandwich-making business before. But how many pools have you cleaned? As mentioned before, you would be competing in a very saturated market with teams of undocumented workers paying less than minimum wage. And whilst there is growth by way of new homes being built all the time, there are crews being formed faster than the homes are being built.

BritinFL

Hi Andy we made the move over from the UK last year and found an amazing team of immigration lawyer and cpa etc, we went down the E2 visa route and are very happy. It is extremely stressful but doable with the right business purchased in the first place!

Andy Stark

Could really do with picking your brains 're the E2 and the decisions you guys made to optimise our chances.
How was the visa application process? Did you go for a business type you were familiar with or something new.
I am thinking to buy a going.concern and inherit the staff.
Really open minded as to business type and not looking to pursue the Sandwich shop thing..
How long was your application process?
Etc etc😊

scrubbedexpat099

I would cut down the variables you can, go for a solid business that is easy to apppobe and maintain and in an area you know, there will be enough OMG's due to the change of country.