Mr. Patrick Crowe, author of "The Car Wash Appraisal Handbook", has provided me with a copy of his book to review. I was curious to review it as I am always interested in car washes and valuations of businesses and real estate. Some of you here on the forum know that in addition to being a car wash owner (3-bay SS) I am also a licensed Real Estate Broker in CA and NV. To achieve these licenses, I was required to study and learn appraisal techniques so I was curious about how Pat's approach stacked up.
In some respects, the book is predictable. It covers the Income Approach, Cost Approach, and Comparative Market approach on valuing car washes. This is wholly in line with valuations of Real Estate which I am quite familiar with. Surprisingly, it also includes nuggets of information regarding rehabbing older washes and working with local governments to lower property taxes.
On the downside, I found a few grammatical errors and the typeface is unusually large-- somewhat diminishing the reader's opinion of how much of a professional document this is. However, if you look past the small criticisms I have in this regard, it is a publication well worthy of valuing washes. If you are new to the business, it will be worth 10 times or more it's price of $29.95.
Finally, I was disappointed but only slightly that it did not directly address two areas. First are washes that sit on ground that is worth far in excess of the wash income itself. This causes great consternation regarding valuation and it is an issue I am personally familiar with. Second, I feel that valuations should separate income streams-- as wash bay income differs from vac income which differs from vending income. A wash doing $100k in SS wash bay business interests me much more than a wash doing $100k in vending.
Final analysis: I believe this is the premiere book in the industry for valuing a car wash. You can nit and pick around the edges, but the core concepts are solid and informative.
In some respects, the book is predictable. It covers the Income Approach, Cost Approach, and Comparative Market approach on valuing car washes. This is wholly in line with valuations of Real Estate which I am quite familiar with. Surprisingly, it also includes nuggets of information regarding rehabbing older washes and working with local governments to lower property taxes.
On the downside, I found a few grammatical errors and the typeface is unusually large-- somewhat diminishing the reader's opinion of how much of a professional document this is. However, if you look past the small criticisms I have in this regard, it is a publication well worthy of valuing washes. If you are new to the business, it will be worth 10 times or more it's price of $29.95.
Finally, I was disappointed but only slightly that it did not directly address two areas. First are washes that sit on ground that is worth far in excess of the wash income itself. This causes great consternation regarding valuation and it is an issue I am personally familiar with. Second, I feel that valuations should separate income streams-- as wash bay income differs from vac income which differs from vending income. A wash doing $100k in SS wash bay business interests me much more than a wash doing $100k in vending.
Final analysis: I believe this is the premiere book in the industry for valuing a car wash. You can nit and pick around the edges, but the core concepts are solid and informative.
