Buying an appliance or equipment repair business in South Florida
South Florida has 240 established appliance and equipment repair businesses by our count: companies in business at least 15 years that still file with the state every year and aren't part of a larger group. Of those, 69% have been in business 20 years or more. Most will never be listed for sale, and many of their owners have never been asked.
What it takes to own one
Appliance and equipment repair businesses in South Florida come in every size. Here's what owning one could look like at three levels, from a solid company to one of the leaders, with a small business loan covering most of the price.
- Earns about
- $138,000 a year
- Price about
- $332,000
- Your cash
- $46,000
- Could pay you
- up to $78,000 a year
- Earns about
- $379,000 a year
- Price about
- $910,000
- Your cash
- $127,000
- Could pay you
- up to $215,000 a year
- Earns about
- $808,000 a year
- Price about
- $1.9 million
- Your cash
- $272,000
- Could pay you
- up to $459,000 a year
Earnings are owner earnings: profit plus what the owner pays themselves, before loan payments and taxes. They and the prices are our estimates from public records, not the owners' figures, and we value companies like these at about 2.4 times a year's owner earnings. Your cash covers the down payment and closing costs, and what the business could pay you is what's left after the loan payments and the cushion lenders require. The more cash you bring, the further up you can go.
Age, size and location
Revenue is our estimate from public records, grouped into wide ranges.
| In business | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under 20 years | 75 |
| 20 to 29 years | 88 |
| 30 to 39 years | 48 |
| 40 years or more | 29 |
| Estimated yearly revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under $1M | 73 |
| $1M to $2M | 21 |
| $2M to $4M | 18 |
| $4M to $8M | 10 |
| Over $8M | 6 |
| County | Companies |
|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | 131 |
| Broward | 58 |
| Palm Beach | 42 |
| Monroe | 9 |
| Town | Companies |
|---|---|
| Miami | 76 |
| Hialeah | 21 |
| Doral | 10 |
| Fort Lauderdale | 10 |
| West Palm Beach | 9 |
| Boca Raton | 7 |
| Medley | 7 |
| Pompano Beach | 7 |
What the best appliance and equipment repair businesses have in common
- Commercial maintenance contracts that renew, with service on a schedule. A restaurant or warehouse that can't run without its equipment rarely shops on price.
- Factory authorizations (approval from equipment makers to service their brands), which bring warranty work, parts access, technical support and training.
- Technicians with deep experience on the equipment the company services, and a plan to train new ones. Experienced technicians are the hardest part of this business to replace.
- Fast response times that customers can count on, which is what keeps maintenance contracts renewing.
- Customers spread across many businesses and homes, not one large account.
- An accurate parts inventory with little obsolete stock.
- Little reliance on low-paying home warranty and other third-party warranty work.
- Dispatch, service history and parts usage tracked in software.
What to check before you buy
- Revenue by type: service calls, shop repair, maintenance contracts, warranty work and parts.
- Maintenance contracts: customers, terms, pricing and renewal history.
- Manufacturer authorizations, and whether they pass to a new owner. Some may require the maker's approval.
- Technician experience, certifications, pay and turnover.
- Parts inventory: count it, check its age, and value it at what it can actually be sold or used for.
- How much revenue comes from the largest customers, especially big commercial accounts.
- How often repairs have to be redone, and warranty claims on the company's own work.
- Vans, tools and diagnostic equipment, including software subscriptions some makers require.
- Pricing: trip charges and labor rates compared with local competitors, and when they last went up.
- Who answers the phone and schedules calls, and how quickly customers get a technician.
Questions to ask the owner
- What kinds of equipment do you service most, and which brands?
- How much of your revenue comes from maintenance contracts, and how many renewed last year?
- Which manufacturers have authorized you, and would those authorizations pass to a new owner?
- How long have your technicians been with you, and how are they trained?
- How much of your work comes from home warranty companies or other third-party warranty programs?
- How do you keep track of parts inventory?
- Which licenses or certifications does your work depend on?
To learn what these companies do, which licenses they need and how ownership works, read our full guide to buying an appliance or equipment repair business in Florida.
Owning a company in South Florida
The local economy
South Florida covers Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties: Miami, Hialeah, Doral, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pompano Beach, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Jupiter, and the Florida Keys down to Key West. It's the state's largest metro area and its most international. PortMiami, Port Everglades and Miami International Airport tie the region to Latin America and the Caribbean, which supports a deep base of wholesalers, freight forwarders and logistics firms, many of them near the airport. Tourism and cruises, finance and wealth management, health care, real estate and construction carry much of the rest. Palm Beach County adds wealthy seasonal residents and, out west near Lake Okeechobee, sugarcane and vegetable farms. In the Keys, nearly everything turns on visitors, fishing and boating.
Companies that serve homes, condo buildings and other businesses do well here: the building trades, property services, insurance agencies, medical and dental practices, and professional firms.
What's different about owning a company here
Costs run high: commercial rent, wages and, above all, property and windstorm insurance. Price the insurance before you make an offer, not after. Miami-Dade and Broward make up the Florida Building Code's High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, with stricter rules for roofs, windows and structures. That raises building costs, and it also gives steady work to the contractors who know those rules well.
Much of the workforce and many customers speak Spanish as well as English, and a company that works well in both languages has an edge. The winter season matters more in Palm Beach County and the Keys than in Miami. In the Keys, the cost of housing makes hiring and keeping staff one of the hardest parts of running a company. Ask any seller there how they find workers and where those workers live.