Buying a pool company in Treasure Coast

• 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 Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties on the Atlantic coast and Okeechobee and Highlands counties inland: Stuart, Palm City, Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Sebastian, Okeechobee, Sebring and Avon Park. Port St. Lucie is the largest city and has grown quickly as a suburb within reach of Palm Beach County to the south.

The coast draws retirees and winter residents, and health care, construction, real estate, boating and sport fishing are big parts of the economy. The coast lies in the Indian River citrus district, named for the lagoon. Inland, Okeechobee and Highlands are cattle, dairy and citrus country around Lake Okeechobee and along the ridge near Sebring, with many retirees of their own. Home service companies, the building trades, marine businesses and medical practices find steady customers here.

The coast is seasonal, with winter residents filling restaurants, golf courses and service schedules, and summer is quieter. Hurricane Nicole came ashore near Vero Beach in November 2022, and the region has a long history of storms, so check insurance, flood zones and how a business came through recent ones.

Water quality in the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon is a recurring problem, and in a bad year it can hurt fishing, boating and tourism businesses. Inland, distances are longer and the labor pool thinner. A company in Sebring or Okeechobee may be one of very few of its kind nearby, which can mean loyal customers and little competition, but also few people to hire. Most new homes on the coast are going up in and around Port St. Lucie.