Owner's guide
The honest timeline, stage by stage.
Somewhere between the 30-day promises and the horror stories is the real answer, and it has actual data behind it. Here is what the clock looks like on each path, and what makes it run long.
By James Penz & Thu Ra, Paradosi Partners · Updated 2026-07-16
The two very different clocks
A listed sale has two phases: finding the buyer, then closing with them. BizBuySell's 2025 year in review put the median at roughly 170 days, about five and a half months, just for the market phase, and full brokered processes commonly run six to eleven months end to end. A direct sale to a known buyer deletes most of the first phase: the conversation-to-LOI stretch compresses to weeks. What no path compresses much is what comes after the LOI.
A realistic direct-sale timeline (serious conversation to close)
- First conversation to NDA and a written range
- Typical window: 1 to 2 weeks
- Range to signed letter of intent
- Typical window: 2 to 4 weeks
- Lender underwriting and diligence
- Typical window: 60 to 90 days
- Closing mechanics and announcement
- Typical window: 1 to 2 weeks
- Total
- Typical window: roughly 3 to 5 months
| Stage | Typical window |
|---|---|
| First conversation to NDA and a written range | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Range to signed letter of intent | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Lender underwriting and diligence | 60 to 90 days |
| Closing mechanics and announcement | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Total | roughly 3 to 5 months |
Why the back half doesn't compress
Most sales at this size involve acquisition financing, and lender underwriting runs on the lender's clock: typically 60 to 90 days after a signed LOI for an SBA-backed deal, with underwriting itself taking several weeks inside that. Parallel-tracking the financing while diligence runs saves weeks; nothing legitimate deletes the stage. A buyer promising a 30-day close on a financed deal at this size is describing a process without underwriting, which should worry you more than a longer timeline.
What stretches timelines, and what you can fix now
- Messy or cash-basis books: the single most fixable delay. Clean accrual statements save weeks of archaeology.
- Surprises in diligence: disclose the wart early and it's a footnote; let it be discovered late and it's a renegotiation.
- Landlord consents, license transfers, and franchise approvals: start them at LOI, not at closing week.
- Buyer financing that was never real: ask any buyer how their purchase is funded before you sign an LOI.
- Seasonality: closing a snow-removal business in January complicates everything from inventory counts to working capital.
The best time-saver is honesty in week one, in both directions. A buyer who gives you a fast honest no, or a fast honest number, is worth ten who keep you warm for a quarter.
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