Buying a marina or marine service business in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida

• Full slips and storage racks, tenants who have stayed for years, and a waitlist.
• Docks, seawalls, forklifts and lifts in good repair, with inspection and maintenance records.
• A state submerged land lease in good standing, if the docks sit over state-owned water bottoms.
• Fuel tanks that are registered, insured and tested on schedule.
• Factory-trained technicians who have been there for years, and a service manager who isn't the owner.
• Good water access: enough depth at low tide, and no low fixed bridges for the boats you serve.
• Revenue spread across storage, fuel and service, so one slow line doesn't sink the year.
• A hurricane plan that has worked: haul-out procedures, tie-down rules, and insurance that paid when it mattered.

Have a marine engineer survey the docks, pilings, seawall, travel lift and dry stack racks. Waterfront repairs are slow to permit and expensive to build, and they can't always wait.

Get the submerged land lease, its term, the rent history and any compliance letters, and ask DEP's Division of State Lands what it would take to transfer the lease to you. Pull fuel tank registrations, leak detection records and any past discharge reports. A boatyard that has done years of bottom painting and engine work deserves an environmental assessment before you buy the land or sign a long lease.

Get your own insurance quotes early, including windstorm and flood, rather than relying on the seller's policy, and ask what past storms cost in damage and lost months. Review the slip and storage agreements: rates compared with nearby marinas, deposits, and any abandoned or unpaid boats, which can be slow to remove. Finally, check that zoning allows every use on the site, from fuel sales to boat repair.

• How many slips and racks are rented right now, and how long is the waitlist?
• When were the docks, seawall and forklifts last inspected or rebuilt?
• What happened here in the last few hurricanes, and what did insurance pay?
• Is the submerged land lease current, and has DEP raised any issues?
• Which engine brands are your technicians certified on, and would they stay?
• How much of your revenue comes from storage, how much from fuel and how much from service?
• Are there any abandoned boats or unpaid storage accounts on the property?

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.