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Crystal Lake, McHenry County

Laundromat for Sale in Crystal Lake, Illinois

A laundromat in Crystal Lake is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Algonquin — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide laundromats playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Crystal Lake file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.

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Crystal Lake market

Selling a laundromat in Crystal Lake

A laundromat in Crystal Lake is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Algonquin — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide laundromats playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Crystal Lake file.

Crystal Lake is McHenry County’s largest city: a real downtown, the namesake lake, and Route 14 Metra — the northwest collar’s commercial center, not Woodstock’s square.

Owner-operators and neighboring Lake/Kane strategics shop here. Route density is better than in McHenry city or Woodstock, and thinner than in Schaumburg. Winter home-services volume is real; a summer-only landscaping book needs an off-season story or a haircut.

Crystal Lake has about 40,743 residents in McHenry County, inside the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Algonquin, McHenry, Woodstock. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Algonquin is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.

Planning facts

Typical multiple
3x–5x SDE
Typical timeline
4–9 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
McHenry County
Population
40,743
Metro
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Nearby comps
Algonquin, McHenry, Woodstock
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
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McHenry County demand

Collar-county demand

DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will, McHenry, Kendall, and neighboring collar shops sell on household density and the I-88, I-90, I-94, and I-55 corridors.

There is no Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Buyers still compare this suburb to the next one on the same highway.

Crystal Lake demand for laundromats is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 40,743 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.

Laundromat in Crystal Lake

What a Crystal Lake buyer will underwrite on this laundromat

Retail in Crystal Lake is lease, parking, and any local-control license — not a holiday week. Buyers already compare this corner to Algonquin, McHenry, Woodstock. Inventory must be salable goods.

Laundromats statewide typically plan around 3x–5x SDE and a 4–9 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this Crystal Lake shop. Buyers here usually argue machine age and condition, lease terms and rent vs revenue ratio, vend prices vs market, location density.

Closing clock for this Crystal Lake file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: Municipal business licenses and plumbing/electrical permits for machine change-outs are the live items. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Crystal Lake application of it.

In a suburb like Crystal Lake, owner-operators, semi-passive income investors are the names that usually appear on the NDA list. A buyer who will drive from Algonquin is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.

Buyer pool

Who buys a laundromat in Crystal Lake

Owner-operators and neighboring DuPage/Lake strategics. PE is selective — they want enough EBITDA to justify the drive from the city. Seller financing is more common than on the North Shore.

Illustration: a 32-washer unattended store in a Chicago neighborhood with mid-life machines, a card system, and a lease with seven years left. Not a closed sale.

A laundromat whose customers already sit in Algonquin, McHenry, Woodstock is a larger business than one that stops at the Crystal Lake city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.

SDE recast

How a buyer will read the books on this Crystal Lake laundromat

Laundromat recasts on vend collection after a market-rate attendant if the store is not truly unattended. Pull a card-system conversion year and any wash-dry-fold that is really the seller folding at night. Utility (gas, water, sewer) is the prime cost. A 3x–5x SDE band assumes machines that still have manufacturer support and a lease that does not reset the rent.

Illustration only — not a quote for any Crystal Lake shop. A laundromat whose tax return shows $87,000 of net profit is not worth $87,000 × a rumor multiple.

Add back the owner’s $42,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $14,000 of discretionary benefits, $4,500 of accepted one-time cost, and $5,000 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $12,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.

Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $140,000. At the planning range 3.0x–5.0x, enterprise value is $420,000 to $700,000. Mid-range 4.00x is $560,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Crystal Lake buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.

At 4.00 times $140,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $560,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.

SDE line items

  1. Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
  2. + Interest expense
  3. + Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
  4. + Depreciation and amortization
  5. + Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
  6. + Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
  7. + Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
  8. − Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
  9. = Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a Crystal Lake laundromat — not a quote
Net profit$87,000
Owner W-2$42,000
Benefits$14,000
One-time$4,500
Personal$5,000
Replacement labor (subtract)−$12,000
Recast SDE$140,000
Planning EV at 4.00x$560,000

Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for laundromats. Replacement labor is subtracted. This is a planning tool, not an appraisal.

Recast SDE—
Planning enterprise value—

Before debt, working-capital peg, holdback, and tax. Educational only.

Enter your annual Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) — your net profit plus owner's salary and any personal expenses run through the business — to estimate a range.

$
1x 3.0x 8x
Estimated Value Range — to —

This is an estimate for planning purposes only. Actual value depends on lease terms, asset quality, customer concentration, and current market conditions. Request a professional valuation for a precise number.

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McHenry County closing

Licenses and closing steps for a Crystal Lake sale

McHenry County uses state CBS-1 and municipal licenses in Crystal Lake, McHenry, Woodstock, and Algonquin. Rural and village zoning can restrict contractor yards and outdoor storage. No Chicago/Cook 45-day local bulk sale.

Municipal business licenses and plumbing/electrical permits for machine change-outs are the live items. There is no statewide laundromat license. Card-system and coin-operator accounts do not always assign. A buyer who cannot get landlord consent to swap 80-pound washers does not have a capex path. Grease and lint-interceptor rules are municipal.

Labor and lease

What has to keep working on Monday after close in Crystal Lake

For a laundromat in Crystal Lake, the first labor question is: Documented vend and a lease with term.

Route density drops north and west of Crystal Lake. Winter home-services volume is real; summer landscaping books need snow or other off-season work or buyers will haircut. Huntley and Algonquin lean toward Kane/Cook overflow.

Northwest exurb: growing rooftops, still a farm-and-lake county in the western townships. Do not assume Chicagoland PE interest on a two-truck shop.

Diligence

What a serious laundromat buyer will open

Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Documented vend and a lease with term; Machine age and parts support; Utility ratio a buyer can hold; Card-system control and theft discipline; Wash-dry-fold that is staffed, not the seller at 10 p.m..

Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the Crystal Lake business: Collection reports by machine and day, not a shoebox of coin; Washer/dryer age, remaining useful life, and parts support; Utilities as a percent of vend and any shared-meter fight; Lease, assignment, and whether the landlord wants the space back; Wash-dry-fold labor and whether it is the seller; Card-system ownership and cash-handling controls.

Buyer tool

SBA payment sketch for a Crystal Lake laundromat buyer

Most Illinois owner-operator acquisitions use SBA 7(a). This is a payment sketch, not an approval.

SBA 7(a) loans are the most common financing for business acquisitions. Estimate your monthly payment and required down payment based on the purchase price.

$
%
%
yrs
Down Payment Required —
Loan Amount —
Est. Monthly Payment —

This calculator provides estimates for planning purposes only. Actual SBA loan terms depend on your credit profile, the specific lender, and current market conditions. Contact us to connect with SBA-approved lenders in Illinois.

Sale steps

How to prepare a Crystal Lake laundromat for sale

  1. Recast this Crystal Lake laundromat. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Crystal Lake buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
  2. Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this laundromat pull a permit or see a patient in Crystal Lake, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
  3. Tell the truth about the Crystal Lake trade area. Map customers against neighboring towns. Buyers will. A book that already covers those towns is larger than a book that stops at the Crystal Lake limit.
  4. Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in McHenry County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
  5. Calendar the notices that apply here. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
  6. Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois laundromats hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Crystal Lake file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
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Questions

Questions about laundromats in Crystal Lake

Answers for owners and buyers in McHenry County, including local closing steps.

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