KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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options in selling my accounts / changing central station / webinar schedule
April 25, 2019
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Free Webinars 
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Topic: How to fill out the Commercial or Residential All in One – Sale or Lease form
When: April 29, 2019 
Time: 12 PM to 12:30 PM New York time 
Presented by: Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq 
Who should attend: all sales people who work with these contracts. You should have updated All in One Agreements. The Commercial and Residential forms, in sale or lease format, are filled out in similar manner. Update your All in One now to take full advantage of this webinar. This webinar will be recorded and made available to Concierge Clients [those signed up for our Concierge Program].
Sign up here:https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3023700255575508739
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Topic: How to negotiate the guarantee and holdback in the APA 
When: April 30, 2019 
Time: 12 PM to 1 PM New York time 
Presented by: Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq 
Who should attend: owners thinking about buying or selling 
Sign up here:https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/924497262641412354
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Topic: Negotiating terms in Dealer Agreement with your central station 
When: May 7, 2019
Time: 12 PM to 1 PM New York time 
Presented by: Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq 
Who should attend: dealers and central stations 
Sign up here:https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1815847150023705858
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options in selling my accounts
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Ken
            I am the owner of a small alarm company, and would like to explore my options in selling my accounts.  
  Thank you,
Jerry
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Response
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            You do have options, depending on how you have operated your business.  Your principal asset is your contracts, and contracts trade like negotiable instruments.  There are always more buyers than sellers.  Growth through acquisition has been an accepted and usually proven way to grow.  By growth I mean purchase of alarm accounts, primarily, monitoring, and that means purchasing contracts.
            Options for selling accounts are many.  If staying in business you may have the opportunity to continue providing services to the accounts.  For example, some buyers will want you to provide repair service, they are primarily interested in the monitoring revenue.  Other buyers may want you to stay on in their employ in whatever capacity you excel in, sales, operations or technical.  Still other buyer will want you gone and out of the alarm business, a perfectly acceptable demand if you're ready to retire.
            How you get paid is another bunch of options.  All cash on closing, partial payout or substantial payout over 5 or more years.  Most sellers want their money as soon as they can get it, but others like the idea of a payout with better than market interest on the outstanding purchase price.  
            How you begin the For Sale process also presents options.  Some sellers find friends in the business; others sell to relatives or even employees.  You can list on The Alarm Exchange in the Merger and Acquisition category and expect plenty of  calls.  You can check with your central station to find out if the central can recommend a buyer. You can engage a broker familiar with the alarm industry.  For the most part every reputable broker in the alarm industry is listed on The Alarm Exchange.  Expect to pay a commission of 5 to 10 % of the purchase price, which can translate to 3 or 4 times the RMR.  
            Another option is to have me try and sell the accounts.  I charge one month RMR and I will let you know in less than one week if I can find you a buyer.  After the week you can try the brokers. 
            If by options you also mean, how much can I get, the answer is going to depend on many factors.  What kind of accounts, residential or commercial; what kind of systems, intrusion or fire; what kind of equipment; what central station are you in and do you have your own lines; how many accounts do you have and do you have name recognition in your territory.  Finally, do you have Kirschenbaum contracts?  The starting point for those contracts will be 35 times.  Whether you can get north of 40 will depend on the other factors.  If you don't have the Standard Form Agreements expect the conversation to start at 30.  Because of other factors you may end up with 40 plus, [or under 25] but you've had to work hard for the number.
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changing central station
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Ken
            We are thinking about changing Central Stations, and I am wondering if you have a good list and a bad list?  Are there Contracts we need to start out with or general Rules we need to follow?
Thank you,
name withheld 
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            The "good list" is on The Alarm Exchange in the central station category.  Any central station that has had issues with alarm dealers has either resolved the issue or has been removed from The Alarm Exchange; so only the good ones are listed.  
            A central station is going to require you to sign a Dealer Agreement.  You have to, but you can negotiate the contract terms.  I am not talking about pricing, that's all on you to negotiate.  But other terms are also vital and they usually have to be added to the Dealer Agreement. 
            I have a "rider" that I add to the Dealer Agreement.  I have to customize it for each central station.  The cost is $500, and well worth it.  Don't sign up without getting the rider and having me look over the agreement.
            A central station will either require you to use proper contracts, the Standard Form Agreements, or require you to get a Three Party Agreement signed [an agreement they can get from www.alarmcontracts.com].  If you use the Standard Form Agreement you will not have to get the Three Party Agreement signed because the Standard Form Agreements, the All in One agreement, protects you and the central station.
            If your central station provides you with a Monitoring Contract to get signed, change central stations.  That agreement does nothing for you or your business, and that central station is doing you such as disservice, all  I can say is, run and find another central station.  If the central station doesn't agree, ask them how that contract adds to your RMR and how it protects you.  What is the value of that contract to you?
            Sorry to be so blunt, but I see this all the time and I just don't get it.
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CONCIERGE LAWYER SERVICE FOR THE ALARM INDUSTRY PROGRAM
You can check out the program and sign up here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/concierge or contact our Program Coordinator Stacy Spector, Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304.

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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com