Buying a pool company in Florida

Florida pool companies do some mix of three things. Construction means building new pools and spas, mostly for homeowners, under large one-time contracts paid in stages as the work progresses. Renovation means resurfacing, retiling and re-equipping older pools and redoing decks. Service and repair covers weekly cleaning and chemical routes, plus fixing and replacing pumps, filters, heaters, automation and salt systems.

The three make money very differently. Construction brings big revenue and big swings: it depends on new housing, home equity and interest rates, and it ties the company up in permits, subcontractors and customer deposits. A weekly service route is close to recurring revenue, with homes and community pools paying monthly, and it feeds repair work, which often earns the best margins. A builder typically has project managers, a few crews and many subcontractors (excavation, steel, plumbing, shotcrete, tile, plaster, decking). A service company has route technicians in trucks, a repair technician or two, and an office manager.

• A large weekly service route with low cancellations, packed into a tight area so technicians don't spend the day driving.
• Repair work that comes from the route: a technician who spots a failing pump and sells the replacement, rather than leaving a note for the owner to follow up.
• For builders, a backlog of signed contracts, deposits handled properly, and a record of finishing on schedule. Delays are what make pool customers complain.
• Reliable subcontractors who have worked with the company for years and get paid on time.
• Commercial accounts (associations, apartments, hotels) that bring steady service work.
• Good reviews, because pool customers talk to their neighbors and new pools are visible from the street.
• Equipment supplier relationships with good pricing and warranty support, so failed parts get replaced without a fight.

The Construction Industry Licensing Board at the Florida DBPR licenses pool work. Building and repairing pools takes a commercial or residential pool/spa contractor license. A narrower swimming pool/spa servicing license covers repairs, equipment replacement, refinishing and draining for repair, but not new construction. Routine cleaning and chemical treatment that doesn't affect the pool's structure or equipment needs no state license. Pools at apartments, hotels and most larger associations count as public pools, with operating permits from the Department of Health. The department may require that they be serviced by a certified pool service technician, and licensed pool contractors count as certified (section 514.075).

You don't need a license to own the company, but a contracting company must be qualified by a licensed person (its qualifier), and the license stays with that person. If the only qualifier leaves, the company has 60 days to hire another but can't contract in the meantime, apart from finishing existing jobs with the board's permission. Check that the license the company holds matches what it actually does.

• The service route list: number of accounts, monthly rate, how long customers have stayed, and cancellations last year.
• For builders, every open contract: deposits taken, work done, and whether the cash on hand covers what's left to build. Florida requires contractors who take more than 10% of a residential contract up front to apply for permits within 30 days and start work within 90 days after permits are issued.
• Warranty and defect claims on pools built in recent years. Structural cracks and leaks can show up years later.
• Money owed to subcontractors and suppliers, and whether any of them could file liens on customers' homes.
• Chemical storage and handling, and the trucks that carry chemicals.
• Technician pay, and whether route technicians could leave and take customers with them.

• How many weekly service accounts do you have, and how many did you lose last year?
• How does your revenue split between construction, renovation, and service and repair?
• How do you take deposits on new pools, and what do you use them for?
• Whose license does the company work under, and would they stay on?
• Which subcontractors do you rely on most, and are those agreements in writing?
• What's the oldest open permit or unfinished job you have?
• How do you handle a customer who says their new pool leaks?