Buying a marina or marine service business in Southwest 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 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.