Buying a pool company in Orlando and Central Florida

• 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 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?

This region covers Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Sumter and Marion counties: Orlando, Winter Park, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Sanford, Clermont, Leesburg, Ocala and the large retirement communities of Sumter and Lake counties. Tourism is what the area is best known for, built on the theme parks, the hotels, the vacation rental homes around Kissimmee and the Orange County Convention Center. It's far from the only business. The University of Central Florida and the military simulation and training offices near it support a technology base, and health care is a major employer.

Marion County is horse country, with thoroughbred farms around Ocala, and it has added warehouses and distribution centers along Interstate 75. Retirees in Sumter and Lake create steady demand for medical practices, home care, home maintenance and auto services. The building trades, restaurants, and companies that serve hotels and rental homes do well across the region.

Central Florida is inland, so storm surge isn't the worry it is on the coasts. Hurricanes still bring wind damage and flooding, though: Hurricane Ian flooded neighborhoods in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties in 2022. Ask whether the business or its customers were affected.

Tourism keeps demand steadier through the year than in markets that depend on winter residents, with busy stretches around school holidays. Hotels, parks and restaurants compete hard for workers, which pushes up wages for any company that hires hourly staff. New homes have spread fast in Osceola, south Lake and southeast Orange counties and around Ocala, so check whether a company's customers are in growing areas or older ones. Traffic on Interstate 4 limits how much ground a service company can cover in a day.