Buying a roofing company in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida

• Steady demand between storms: a healthy base of homeowner re-roofs, repairs and commercial accounts, not just surges after hurricanes.
• Its own crews, or long-standing subcontract crews with documented insurance.
• Manufacturer certifications that let it offer extended warranties, and a record of honoring them.
• Commercial customers who call it for repairs and inspections year after year.
• A production manager who runs crews, material deliveries and inspections without the owner.
• Estimators who measure accurately and price tile, metal and flat roofs with confidence, since each fails differently.
• Good standing with permit offices: few failed inspections, no old open permits.
• Marketing that doesn't depend on chasing insurance claims, which Florida restricts closely.
• Supplier accounts with good terms, so the company can buy materials ahead of a busy season.

• Revenue for the last five years, and how much came after named storms. Judge the company on a normal year.
• The share of jobs tied to insurance claims, how the company finds them, and whether its ads and contracts follow the state's rules.
• Any old assignment-of-benefits jobs (where the homeowner signed the insurance claim over to the company) still unpaid or in litigation.
• Signed jobs not yet started, especially after a storm, when homeowners can still cancel.
• Workmanship warranties the company promised and manufacturer warranties it registered.
• Construction defect risk. In many cases Florida allows defect claims up to seven years after a job is finished, so past work stays a risk. Ask your attorney how to keep the seller responsible for it.
• How crews are set up, and proof of workers' compensation for everyone on a roof. Roofing is risky, and insuring it is costly.
• Open permits and failed inspections.

• Whose license does the company work under, and will they stay after a sale?
• How did your revenue look in years without a major storm?
• How do new customers find you, and what share of jobs involve an insurance claim?
• Do you use your own crews or subcontractors, and how long have they worked with you?
• Which manufacturer programs are you in, and what warranties have you registered?
• Are any jobs in dispute, or any insurance payments still outstanding?
• How many jobs are signed and waiting to start right now?

This region covers Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker and Putnam counties: Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra Beach, Orange Park, Fleming Island, Green Cove Springs, Fernandina Beach, Yulee, Macclenny and Palatka. Jacksonville merged with most of Duval County in 1968, which makes it the largest city by land area in the lower 48 states.

The economy leans on logistics, the Navy and financial services. Logistics runs through JAXPORT, major rail lines and the meeting of Interstates 95 and 10. The Navy has Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport. Insurance and health care matter too. St. Augustine, founded by the Spanish in 1565, and Amelia Island draw steady tourism. Trucking and logistics firms, the building trades, medical practices and home services all fit this market.

Northeast Florida is less seasonal than South or Southwest Florida, with fewer winter residents and more year-round employers. Direct hurricane landfalls have been less common here than on other parts of the coast, but storms still bring flooding along the St. Johns River and the beaches, so check insurance costs and flood zones.

Military families bring skilled workers and working spouses into the labor pool, though they also move on when orders change. St. Johns, Clay and Nassau have added the most new homes, and companies serving those suburbs have grown with them. Georgia is close, and some companies here serve customers across the state line. Work in Georgia may need Georgia licenses, so ask how much revenue comes from there and who holds those licenses.