Buying a general contracting company in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida

• Steady profit across projects, not one great year, with costs tracked by job, showing which kinds of work make money.
• Repeat customers and referral sources (architects, developers, property managers) whose loyalty isn't to the owner alone.
• Superintendents and project managers who run jobs without the owner on site.
• Plenty of subcontractors who answer its calls because it pays on time.
• Change orders written and signed before extra work starts, not argued over at the end.
• A clean history of claims, lawsuits and liens.
• Bonding capacity (how much a surety will guarantee), if it does public or larger commercial work.
• A backlog (signed work not yet done) at sensible margins, not jobs won by bidding low to stay busy.

• Backlog: each signed job, its contract value, cost to finish, expected margin and payment status.
• The work-in-progress schedule: whether the company has billed ahead of or behind the work done. If it's ahead, some of its cash is really owed to subcontractors.
• Margins on completed jobs over the last three years.
• Warranty claims and defect lawsuits. Florida generally allows construction defect suits up to seven years after completion, so past work stays a risk. Your attorney can help keep the seller responsible.
• Liens filed by subcontractors or suppliers, and unpaid bills.
• Deposits: Florida contractors who take more than 10% of a residential contract up front must apply for permits within 30 days and start within 90 days after permits issue.
• Insurance, bonding, and how the surety views a new owner.

• Whose license does the company work under, and would they stay after the sale?
• What kinds of projects make you the most money, and which have lost money?
• Who are your repeat customers, and who's their contact here?
• How do you estimate, and how often do jobs run over budget?
• How much signed work do you have lined up?
• Have you had any defect claims, lawsuits or liens in the last five years?
• Which superintendents and project managers would stay through a sale?

This region covers Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker and Putnam counties: Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra Beach, Orange Park, Fleming Island, Green Cove Springs, Fernandina Beach, Yulee, Macclenny and Palatka. Jacksonville merged with most of Duval County in 1968, which makes it the largest city by land area in the lower 48 states.

The economy leans on logistics, the Navy and financial services. Logistics runs through JAXPORT, major rail lines and the meeting of Interstates 95 and 10. The Navy has Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport. Insurance and health care matter too. St. Augustine, founded by the Spanish in 1565, and Amelia Island draw steady tourism. Trucking and logistics firms, the building trades, medical practices and home services all fit this market.

Northeast Florida is less seasonal than South or Southwest Florida, with fewer winter residents and more year-round employers. Direct hurricane landfalls have been less common here than on other parts of the coast, but storms still bring flooding along the St. Johns River and the beaches, so check insurance costs and flood zones.

Military families bring skilled workers and working spouses into the labor pool, though they also move on when orders change. St. Johns, Clay and Nassau have added the most new homes, and companies serving those suburbs have grown with them. Georgia is close, and some companies here serve customers across the state line. Work in Georgia may need Georgia licenses, so ask how much revenue comes from there and who holds those licenses.