Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi, I am new to this forum and the business world so please bear with me.  I am looking to finally get my own business after working for other people for 20 years.  I want to buy an existing business or franchise.  If I have $100,000 cash and another $150,000 equity, plus excellent credit, how much can I afford?  I am looking locally and on the internet for opportunities, But I would like to know the price range I should be looking at with this amount of buying power.  Is there some formula that I could use to figure this out?  What amount would a bank loan me with these numbers?  I need to know so I can know which opportunities to look at.  Thanks

I`m not well versed in this subject...but I often dream of having as much liquid capital as you do.  And when I go dreaming (which is normally done online)...I normally end up ogling at the website www.bizbuysell.com. It`s a fairly straight-forward site, and you`ll probably want to contact any lister directly and frequently before considering them seriously, but this site might be useful for ballpark figures and help you narrow your scope down...hope this helps...

Thanks, I have been looking on bizbuysell, but I need to know what me borrowing limit is, so I don`t fall in love with a business only to find out that I don`t qualify for it.  I suppose that there are many variables and there is no concrete formula, but I am in the early stages of my research and I would like to know what my limit of buying power is first.  Thanks for any help.

Thanks for the great info, but I have a couple of more questions.  Is the equity in my house as good as cash, or do I only get a percentage of that for buying power?  Sorry for the noob questions, but I need to get a lot of info in a short amount of time.