Anyone with knowledge of buying HVAC / plumbing / roofing businesses?

October 08, 2020

by a searcher from Indiana University at Bloomington in St. Louis, MO, USA

I'm beginning a new search preliminarily focused on the home services category (landscaping, HVAC, plumbing, roofing, etc.). I'm curious to see if anybody on here has experience either buying or at least seriously looking at these businesses. In particular, I'm looking to get a sense for how to best navigate my lack of professional licensing in these areas (as well as understanding how prohibitive that will be for me).

Appreciate any thoughts.

Andrew

Reply by a searcher
from Ivey Business School at Western University in Toronto, ON, Canada

I have spoken to Fred at SF&P advisors and he is probably the top SMB plumbing/hvac broker in the US. He would be a great touchpoint. https://www.sfpadvisors.com/

Reply by a searcher
from Indiana University, Bloomington/Indianapolis in Indianapolis, IN, USA

Just spent some time looking at one. See which government/ department manages permits in the local area and give them a call to discuss licensing requirements. Quick way to get up the learning curve. As Daniel mentioned the labor pool is an issue across the board. If possible get an understanding of the tenure and career path of key technicians. Not ideal to buy a company where everyone is about to retire.

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