Golf course or assisted living? (99% get this wrong)

Your estranged rich uncle dies and leaves you $3 million.

Do you buy an 18-hole golf course or a 125-bed assisted living facility?

Let's do the math.

OPTION 1: THE GOLF COURSE

Lake Presidential Golf Club is for sale just outside DC.

Put down your $3 million. Here's the capital stack:

Your annual debt service comes out to about $635,000 a year.

That leaves you a pretty healthy $840,000 a year after paying your debt.

OPTION 2: THE ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY

Here's one for sale in central Florida with the potential to operate 125 beds.

But right now? They only have 80 beds occupied.

Put down your $3 million. Finance the rest on a 25-year loan.

Your annual payment is roughly $640,000, which leaves you around $740,000 a year in projected profits after debt.

Looks pretty similar, right?

Here's the problem.

There are so many unknowns.

You don't know what it costs to build out those extra 45 beds to get to 125.

The seller's reason for leaving is vague at best.

And this whole place still feels like a project to me.

So which one am I taking?

Come on. I'm taking the golf course.

There's way too many unknowns with the assisted living facility.

And I'm also much better at golf than I am at bingo.

Here's why this matters to you:

Most first-time buyers would look at these two deals and think they're basically the same.

Similar asking price. Similar cash flow. Similar debt service.

But they're not even close.

One is a proven, stable business with clear financials and no major question marks.

The other is a speculative "project" with hidden costs, unclear buildout expenses, and a vague reason for sale.

This is the difference between a smart buyer and a gambler.

A gambler looks at projected profits and gets excited.

A smart buyer looks at the unknowns and walks away.

A gambler falls in love with the "potential."

A smart buyer only bets on what's proven.

And this is exactly what we're going to work on together.

When the 5 spots officially open and you join the program, here's what happens:

You'll send me deals like this. I'll look at them in 10 minutes and tell you exactly what's wrong with them.

I'll show you where the seller is hiding problems. Where the financials don't add up. Where the "opportunity" is actually a disaster waiting to happen.

You'll learn to spot red flags instantly - the same ones I've seen in $200M+ worth of acquisitions.

And you'll stop wasting months chasing deals that were never going to work in the first place.

Because here's the reality:

Most first-time buyers waste 6-18 months on bad deals before they figure this out.

They chase the assisted living facility because it has "potential."

They ignore the red flags because they're desperate to finally be a business owner.

And they end up either walking away with nothing or buying a disaster that destroys them.

You're not going to do that.

Because when we work together, you'll have me reviewing every single deal before you waste a second of your time on it.

The 5 spots aren't open yet, but they will be soon.

In the meantime, keep reading these emails. I'm showing you exactly how I think about deals so when we start working together, you're already ahead of 99% of buyers.

— Doug

P.S. - The golf course vs assisted living decision seems obvious when you know what to look for. But I've seen dozens of first-time buyers chase the "potential" and get destroyed. Don't be that person. Pay attention to what I'm teaching you here.

Alternative Version (Even More Direct):

Quick question:

You have $3 million. Do you buy an 18-hole golf course or a 125-bed assisted living facility?

Both are $10.5M asking price. Both generate around $700K-$800K profit after debt service.

Most first-time buyers would say "they're basically the same."

They'd be wrong.

Here's the breakdown:

GOLF COURSE:

ASSISTED LIVING:

Which one am I taking?

The golf course. Every single time.

Here's why:

The golf course is proven. Clear financials. No major unknowns. Stable operation.

The assisted living facility is a project. Hidden costs. Unclear buildout expenses. Vague seller story.

One is a smart bet. The other is gambling.

This is what I'm going to teach you when we work together.

How to spot the difference between a proven business and a project.

How to see red flags that most buyers miss.

How to walk away from deals that look "good on paper" but will destroy you in reality.

I've done over $200 million in acquisitions. I've walked away from hundreds of deals that looked great on the surface.

And when the 5 spots officially open, you'll have me reviewing every deal you look at so you don't waste months chasing garbage.

The spots will drop soon. Stay ready.

— Doug