What are all the things that need to be looked at when buying a close corporation?
Books including debtors and creditors
Tax is up to date?
Bank accounts
Staff, uif etc
Insurance
Rental
Phone, electricity etc
Anything else?
Make sure your sale agreement includes warranties by the seller regarding legal claims, tax claims etc such that if any claims arise, the seller will be held liable for any undisclosed claims which he was aware of at time of selling.
Depending on the type of business and certifications/supplier listings etc which the cc has - it may be better to buy the business out of the CC and use a new cc.
(ie. if buying a franchise eatery it wouldn't matter much to retain the existing CC - I'd rather buy the business out the CC and place into a new company, but a construction company with CIDB registration, listing on various gov supplier databases and ISO certification etc - it may be more practical to buy the CC as is)
Always worrying when buying a CC so having some idea of the reputation of those selling will help a lot.
Balance is just your proper due diligence which most of the posts above have covered (inquiry from their existing lawyers if there has been any action - often such a letter is done for audit purposes, can obtain confirmation of debtor balances from the large debtors, etc)