Buying a pressure washing or pool service business in Tampa Bay

• Regular, repeat work: a dense pool route or commercial accounts on a set schedule, not just one-time jobs. One-time washing work has to be found again every week.
• Few cancellations, and customers who have stayed for years and pay automatically.
• Customers clustered close together, so more stops fit in a day.
• Technicians who can run a route or a job alone and keep customers happy.
• Equipment in good shape, with spare pumps and engines so a breakdown doesn't stop work.
• Repairs (for pools) or add-on services (for washing) sold to existing customers.
• Careful chemical handling and a clean record on property damage claims.
• Reviews and referrals that bring in new customers steadily.

• For pool routes: the account list with each customer's monthly price, service day, years as a customer, and cancellations. Route sales often include the seller's promise that accounts will stay for a set period; consider asking for one.
• For washing: how revenue splits between regular commercial accounts and one-time jobs at homes.
• Whether pool equipment repairs, and any duct cleaning that opens up an air conditioning system, are done under the right license.
• How chemicals are stored, handled and carried, and any spills.
• Damage claims: etched glass, stripped paint, damaged roofs or plants from chemicals or pressure.
• Equipment age, the condition of trucks and trailers, and spare parts.
• How much of the work depends on the owner personally.
• Insurance: general liability that covers chemical and pressure damage, auto coverage for the trucks, and workers' compensation. Florida requires it from the first employee for construction work and from the fourth for most other businesses. Pressure washing isn't named among the state's construction classes, but ask an insurance agent how this company is classed.

• How many regular accounts do you have, and how many left in the last year?
• How are your routes laid out, and how many stops does a technician make in a day?
• Do you repair or replace pool equipment or clean air ducts, and under whose license?
• What chemicals do you use on roofs and siding, and have you had any damage claims?
• Which commercial customers are on a regular schedule, and do you have those agreements in writing?
• How much of the work do you still do yourself?
• If you were staying, what would you buy or replace?

Tampa Bay, as we draw it, runs from Citrus County south through Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough, and east into Polk: Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Wesley Chapel, Brooksville, Inverness, Lakeland and Winter Haven. Tampa is the business center, with Port Tampa Bay, Tampa International Airport, the University of South Florida and MacDill Air Force Base, home to the headquarters of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command. Financial services, insurance and health care employ many people, and the Gulf beaches of Pinellas bring tourists and seasonal residents.

Polk County sits on Interstate 4 between Tampa and Orlando and has become a center for warehouses and distribution, alongside its older citrus and phosphate industries. To the north, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus are more suburban and rural, with many retirees. Home service companies, the building trades, medical practices and auto businesses all have a deep customer base across the region.

Hurricane Helene's storm surge in September 2024 and Hurricane Milton two weeks later both hit the region hard. Flood zones and insurance costs now matter in any deal near the water. Ask how the business came through those storms, what it claimed, and whether its building sits in a flood zone.

The labor market is deep by Florida standards, though skilled tradespeople can still be hard to find. New homes have pushed north and east into Pasco and eastern Hillsborough, and along Interstate 4 in Polk, bringing demand for services with them. Coastal Pinellas is more seasonal than inland Tampa or Lakeland. The bay itself shapes a service company's territory: crossing a bridge at rush hour can turn a short distance into a long drive, so look at where the customers actually are.