Dealing With Different Cultures When Selling Businesses

I am learning so much. I don't know what's normal yet, it's still too soon.

Plus, we are dealing with so many different cultures of people. I might think something is off but it's the norm in someone else's culture. Let me explain, I have or had a deal involving a Korean couple who wanted to buy my dry cleaner listing for her cousin who has newly immigrated here to the U.S. I thought, "How odd to buy someone else a business". But then I found out that's pretty common in their culture.

It got hairy when I couldn't follow up with the buyer because he wasn't in town yet, the people I spoke to and wrote up the offer with stopped returning my calls. At first I bought the excuse that they were just extremely busy, which by the way I know is true. We opened escrow but not at the place I wanted to, they had another relative who owned an escrow company and they insisted doing it there. Another thing I just didn't feel right about.

Now I'm in a very bad place. I have invested over two months into this, countless calls and messages and today the buyer went over to the seller and started telling him he wants to pay him less for the business and over 18 months and he ( the seller) should work there too. We were supposed to close escrow over a week ago and now he say's this? I knew this situation was wrong for quite some time now but I kept telling myself that maybe that's also typical of the culture but now I see that it isn't of course and these people just wasted everyone's time, money and energy.

Once again a good lesson learned.