Buying an HVAC company in Southwest Florida

• A large, growing list of maintenance agreement customers who renew every year: the closest thing the trade has to recurring revenue.
• Most revenue from service and replacements for homes and small businesses, rather than new construction for one or two builders.
• Technicians who stay. A company that keeps experienced people is getting training, pay and culture right.
• Someone besides the owner who can sell replacements and run the day's service calls.
• A licensed qualifier who will stay after the sale, or a clear plan to replace them before closing.
• Records in field service software: past calls, equipment at each address, warranty registrations.
• Trucks and tools that don't all need replacing in the next two years.

• The license itself. Look up the qualifier at myfloridalicense.com: the license should be active, in the right category and in this company's name.
• How many maintenance agreements are active, how many renewed last year, and whether the promised visits actually happen.
• The mix of service, replacement and new construction, by month. Summers are busy; look at January.
• Who sells replacements. If it's the owner, those sales may dip when they leave.
• Warranty costs: the labor warranties the company has promised, and how often it goes back to fix its own installations.
• Technician pay and turnover, and whether the best people have agreed to stay.
• How replacements are financed. If customers borrow through the company's lender, read that agreement and its fees.
• Federal refrigerant rules have been changing. Ask how the company handled the move to newer refrigerants and what older equipment sits in inventory.
• Truck age and condition, and any vehicle leases.

• How many customers are on maintenance agreements, and how has that changed in three years?
• Whose license does the company work under, and would they stay after a sale?
• Roughly how does your work split between replacements, repairs and new construction?
• Who sells replacements now, and how do leads get to them?
• What does a slow month look like, and how do you keep the techs busy?
• How long have your senior technicians been with you, and how are they paid?
• What warranty do you give on installation labor, and how often do you go back?
• Are any supplier rebates or dealer programs tied to you personally?

This region covers Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Sarasota and Manatee counties on the Gulf coast and Hendry, Glades and DeSoto inland: Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Bonita Springs, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Sarasota, Venice, Bradenton, LaBelle, Clewiston, Moore Haven and Arcadia. The coastal economy runs on people who choose to live or spend the winter here: retirees, seasonal residents, and the construction, real estate, health care, financial and home services that follow them. Tourism, golf and boating add to it.

Inland, the economy is agricultural: sugarcane around Clewiston, citrus, cattle and vegetables, with Immokalee in Collier County a center for farm work. The building trades, pool, landscaping and pest control companies, property managers, medical and dental practices, and marine businesses tend to do well along the coast.

This is one of Florida's most seasonal markets. From roughly January through April, restaurants, shops and service companies run at full speed. Summers are slower, so look at monthly revenue, not only the yearly total. The coast has taken two major hurricanes in recent years: Ian came ashore at Cayo Costa in Lee County in September 2022, and Milton at Siesta Key in Sarasota County in October 2024. Rebuilding brought a wave of work for contractors that won't last forever, so ask how much recent revenue came from storm repairs. Insurance costs and flood zones weigh on every property.

Housing costs near the coast make hiring hard, especially around Naples. New communities east of Interstate 75 in Lee, Collier, Charlotte and Manatee keep service companies busy.