Selling My Property to Start Restaurant

There's been a lot of negative posts here - me included.

Rather than risk it all in a restaurant can you learn from you mistakes? Can you run another web based business? Far less capital required than a restaurant.

I don't see them as negative. I see them as suggestions to help the poster work out how to hold onto the asset he has and not put it at risk.

I see many positive posts too.
 
I am with the rest, if you were my dad (he is 55) and he came to me saying I am thinking of doing this I would tell him not to risk the house.

You would be taking on a rather large risk of opening a restaurant just for a job which will take a while before you get any ROI with all the setup fees but you will also need to source a location and agree to a commercial lease which will be for a number of years.

I would look keep looking for a steady job and keep working through, to me things are a numbers game. Could look at retail jobs too, I think Bunnings prefers to higher older people as they have a stronger work ethic than younger people and when I go to Bunnings I prefer to talk to a 50 yo than some 18yo about what product I need.

However for IT I would probably prefer the 18 yo as I cant keep up, I wouldn't look back at IT if you have to relearn it.

Take everyone's thoughts with a grain of salt and think what is best for you and what you think will give you the best results. I truly wish you the best and hope all goes well!
 
There's been a lot of negative posts here - me included.

Rather than risk it all in a restaurant can you learn from you mistakes? Can you run another web based business? Far less capital required than a restaurant.

Hi, I only have one property, a 2 bdr apartment. My situation is quite dim and I would appreciate some understanding and if possible some advice from those with knowledge.

I have been running my own web based business for several years but recently I lost most of my income sources and I had to sign up as unemployed as I could not support myself anymore.

I then tried going to work again, first time for many years when I was sacked when I worked in a young trendy web design company several years ago. I never fitted in as I only knew older technologies and the team were all young guys and I was told I'm too slow and did not know the newer stuff.

So I then decided to work on my own online business, I did well but things changed and now there is very little income.

I'm now also getting a lo older, over 50 and I have no other skills. My computer skills are seen as old hat and I can't complete with all the immigrants and young guys.

I used to be a chef years ago so I decided to have a go at getting a chef job. Well that did not turn out well. I had to compete against young Chinese students who were happy to work for a fraction of the min wage. All they wanted was someone to work super fast and that could fit in with the other Asian kitchen staff. After 2 jobs and trials I was told I was too old and did not fit in.

So now back to the drawing board...

My only hope now is to sell my property. I think I could come out with around 100k if I sold it and paid the mortgage and selling fees.

Of course I do not want to sell my only property but I don't have many other options to make a living. My property is starting to also be positive and I'm slowly paying the mortgage off over the years with lower interest rates etc. It gets great rent and it's in a growing city area.

I'm thinking I could use the money to invest and start up a business I can work in and run. As I had chef experience and I love cooking etc then I think it would be nice to open a restaurant.

yes I have heard all the stories about how hard it is in the restaurant business etc and I will be making a good business plan and doing things carefully.

Going back to the property. I know it would be better to not sell it and use the equity to finance a business but I doubt I could get equity since I have no income to please the banks and that is why I can only think of selling it.

I have training in business management, I have studied for over a year so that should help. I have a fair bit of experience in working in restaurants. I would spend time making a solid business plan and researching.

I do love property investing and I would like to own several properties in the future. I only see this as a temporary solution to get on my feet, get some income coming in and build up my finances then later after 2 years I could buy another property and go from there.

What are your thoughts, what you do if you were in my situation?



Keep your house and start applying for jobs as a chef site manager in a catering education based role such as scholarest, lapg, spotless, heritage, compass etc etc

Take on a 52 week salary at 55-65k, get the school holidays paid time off : 15 weeks

Extract some equity buy houses, Reno during school holidays

Secure and rewarding work while having lots of down time to make money on the side while still being paid

Good luck
 
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Having worked as an Apprentice chef in many Restaurants the last thing I would ever do is buy/start a restaurant.
As others have suggested, find some unskilled work until you've got your feet. Then you can look to move forward.
My Mother has just sold her business and is getting back into the workforce after 30 or so years, confidence is the biggest issue.
Getting knocked back due to age etc is gut wrenchinly hard to see in a parent figure, but I keep encouraging her and i'm sure she will find something eventually.
Keep a positive attitude, keep keen and eager to do any work, there are that many lazy teenagers these days that you will stand out eventually.
Good luck!
 
Having worked as an Apprentice chef in many Restaurants the last thing I would ever do is buy/start a restaurant.

Many food business's including restaurants can return 18+% return off gross revenue. We manage the p&ls of many, and most if them preform strongly under an experienced operator
 
Many food business's including restaurants can return 18+% return off gross revenue. We manage the p&ls of many, and most if them preform strongly under an experienced operator

Money isn't the only reason, worked in many successful ones and owners almost always worked stupid hours.
 
To the OP,
I think you should not do this.
The house is a valuable asset, and a roof over your head.
I have friends escaping domestic violence who are living in council housing. It's so hard to get, and so hard to live off centrelink payments.
At the moment, the way I see it, your house is your only source of income. If you can rent it out and get it paid off, you'll have a single source of income (rent from the house at least).
Did you say you were renting?
I know a few people who did this to save money:
Rented a shared room - this cut their rent to about $100/week or just over.
Worked 2 jobs. Office job during the daytime, then stacking shelves or the like in the evenings.
Could possible be a strategy to attempt.
 
I'm now also getting a lo older, over 50 and I have no other skills. My computer skills are seen as old hat and I can't complete with all the immigrants and young guys.

I used to be a chef years ago so I decided to have a go at getting a chef job. Well that did not turn out well. I had to compete against young Chinese students who were happy to work for a fraction of the min wage. All they wanted was someone to work super fast and that could fit in with the other Asian kitchen staff. After 2 jobs and trials I was told I was too old and did not fit in.

So now back to the drawing board...

My only hope now is to sell my property. I think I could come out with around 100k if I sold it and paid the mortgage and selling fees.

Maybe just start looking outside the box,have you looked into the
Facility management mine site ,camp service providers in remote locations,or cleaners hospitality Chef-kitchen hand cleaner on the fly-out fly-in -crews within the mine site in nth Australia,plus I was sitting in a restaurant tonight in inner Brisbane and they had 125 tables,12 staff ,and only 15 people eating while we were there,and with my grade 10 maths skills back of the napkin calculations they would not even have paided the cash in hand wages for the staff before anyone made one cent,i see every week at the auctions what happens to restaurants that don't last 18 weeks then belly-up and someone dream end up on the floor in sections at the fast quick auction,very sad when the put their house on the block and it all ends up a pipe dream nightmare..good luck..
 
I'm like most others here, I advise against selling your property to gamble the proceeds on a risky restaurant venture, especially when you do not have great expertise in that industry (my dad used to run a restaurant, and I used to work for him when I was a student. it's a ball-busting job, often working till 3 or 4 am with high overheads and many pressures feeding hungry and often complaining humans).

So many people have this idealistic notion of opening a cafe or a restaurant but fail to realise what is actually involved. Of course, some do very well, but they're the exception.

Why do you think you will be successful in this kind of business when your other businesses did not work?

As it stands, your property is working for you 24/7 and will most likely continue to provide income and capital gains over the years.

Get skilled up in some area, get a job and keep your one remaining asset. Believe me, that $100k after the sale can slip through your fingers very quickly and you may be left with nothing at all.
 
What to do?

Hiya

I agree: do not sell your apartment....can you draw out some equity? see a broker maybe.

There are 2 ways out IMHO; you either cut costs or you increase income....can you move in with someone?

Another option: look at your super...if you are in the 50s; can you draw it out yet?

Chins up:)
 
Have run my own restaurant before, plus have been involved in the hospitality industry
have employed, been employed for staff

you said you were outdone by immigrant chinese speedwise
are you working at an asian eatery?
assuming you do have some experience, you should be able to work as a sous or exec chef or second in charge of a modern or european establishment where its probably not about pump and dump, where they will appreciate your age, wisdom and experience

as for starting a new one, $100k wont get you far, are you going to start a new one or buy an existing one??

$100k might be a good deposit for a fit out

good luck, feel free to PM me
 
I guess I need to think of some ways to get my online business working again or have another go at finding a job (sigh).

thanks for all the advice anyway. Just to note, some people said I had no experience or implied I was dreaming with a restaurant. I have a lot of experience in restaurants and I have a good plan for one. OK, let's forget it is a restaurant, if it was some other business idea would it make a difference?

Why is selling a property such a terrible idea (when one has better ideas for the money)?
 
Because you seem to be doing this as a last resort, desperate type situation.
The odds are stacked against you if you enter under these conditions.
Too much pressure to perform, together with lack of capital will cause you to make defensive decisions rather than aggressive higher reward decisions.

If your business plans are so good, why have you not done them previously?
 
thanks for all the advice anyway. Just to note, some people said I had no experience or implied I was dreaming with a restaurant. I have a lot of experience in restaurants and I have a good plan for one. OK, let's forget it is a restaurant, if it was some other business idea would it make a difference?

Why is selling a property such a terrible idea (when one has better ideas for the money)?

Because aged over 50 if you sell your only asset to set up a business, and the business fails, you have no home. If you can get a job and continue to pay off that house, you have somewhere to live when you retire. If you sell it, even if your business goes well, you may never be able to afford to buy a similar asset again. Your asset is actually a little business for you in that it puts money in your pocket right now.
 
Keep your property.

Go back into IT even if you take a lesser paying job and then work your way up. While you are back working, start planning on rebuilding an online business on the side. Getting your foot back in the door is important

I can assist you to redo your resume and cover letter if you like.
 
Hi Noball, I feel for you. This is a property investor forum, so the answers will be in favour to keeping the property :D And for good reason too! When you look back at the purchase, it was a good move wasn't it? I reckon you should keep it if you're happy with it. Losing it to a risky business is a big gamble. I was speaking to an American chef recently and he told me restaurants struggle in Sydney due to the rents.

IT is an expensive career to keep up with. I seem to have to upgrade my skills every 2.5 years on average and the courses aren't cheap. If you're keen on sticking with IT, best to avoid coding roles like web/software development. Maybe take on a QA/Testing role because the primary development is usually outsourced and goes through testing locally to make sure it meets our quality requirements.

This may sound silly when money is tight but getting yourself out of where you live/your environment for a few weeks may give you a different perspective and some clarity on moving forward. Maybe a national tour for a month?
 
This may sound silly when money is tight but getting yourself out of where you live/your environment for a few weeks may give you a different perspective and some clarity on moving forward. Maybe a national tour for a month?

This last comment made me wonder if Noball could stop paying rent where he is and try some housesitting? That would put even more money in his pocket, but would also mean giving up some certainty (where he rents) for even more uncertainty. Upside is saving money, downside is uncertainty. Worth thinking about anyway.

I guess someone prepared to take a gamble on a new business may be happy to take a gamble on joining a house sitting site. Only Noball knows if this would interest him, help him or not.
 
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