Sell Your Construction or HVAC Business in Florida

Short answer

Solve the license qualifier question first. A Florida contractor that loses its only qualifier has 60 days to replace them.
Customer deposits are a liability. Expect to credit unearned deposits to the buyer at closing.
Recurring service revenue, a team that doesn't depend on you, and clean job costing drive the multiple.

Who buys Florida contractors and home services companies

Private equity platforms and their add-ons. HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, pool and pest companies have been heavily consolidated. A platform typically wants $3M+ of EBITDA. Smaller companies are bought as tuck-ins at lower multiples.
Strategic buyers: a competitor or adjacent trade expanding its territory or services.
Individual buyers with SBA financing: often the most likely buyer for companies under about $5M in price, and the most constrained by lender rules.

Each buyer cares about different things, so the way you prepare depends on who you expect to sell to.

The license problem: qualifiers

A Florida contracting business operates under a qualifying agent, the individual whose license qualifies the company. If you are that person and you leave after closing, the company has a problem. Under Florida Statute 489.119, when a business loses its only qualifier it must notify the state and has 60 days to employ a new qualifying agent, and it generally can't take on new contracting work until it does. Electrical contractors face a similar 60-day rule under 489.521.

What buyers will ask:

Who qualifies the business today, and will they stay through and after closing?
Is there a second licensed person on staff who could qualify it?
If the buyer is the new qualifier, is their license in place before closing?

Solve this before you go to market. A business with a licensed, committed second-in-command is worth more and sells faster.

Customer deposits and backlog

Construction companies often collect deposits before work starts. Those deposits are a liability: the cash is in your account, but the work is owed. In a sale, buyers expect to be credited for unearned deposits at closing, usually through the working capital adjustment. If you've been treating deposits as operating cash, the closing statement will surprise you.

Florida adds a compliance angle. Under Florida Statute 489.126, a contractor who takes more than 10% of the contract price up front must apply for permits within 30 days and start work within 90 days after the permits are issued, unless the contract says otherwise. Buyers will check that your deposit practices comply, because they inherit the customer relationships.

Backlog matters too. Signed, profitable, permitted work is real value. Expect buyers to review backlog margins job by job, especially jobs priced before recent cost increases.

Warranties and callbacks

Buyers will ask what your warranty exposure is and who pays for callbacks on jobs completed before closing. Track warranty costs by year, keep claim records, and be ready to discuss an escrow or a specific indemnity. A clean history here is a selling point.

What drives the multiple in the trades

Recurring revenue. Maintenance agreements and service memberships are the single biggest premium driver in home services.
Owner dependence. If you sell, estimate and qualify the license, the business is you. Buyers price that risk.
Technician and superintendent retention. A tenured field team on documented pay plans is valuable. High turnover is discounted.
Customer and builder concentration. One builder or GC above 15% of revenue will be flagged.
Clean job costing. Accrual books with job-level margins let a buyer believe your earnings.
Size. One industry publication's example puts a sub-platform shop around 5x EBITDA as a tuck-in and a $3M+ EBITDA platform around 11x. Your number will depend on the factors above, but the size effect is real.

If your buyer uses an SBA loan

You can stay on as a paid consultant for up to 24 months under the October 2026 rules. That helps with the qualifier and customer handoff.
Earnouts aren't allowed. If you and the buyer disagree on value, the bridge is usually a seller note on full standby, which means no payments to you for the life of the SBA loan, typically 10 years. Know that before you agree to one.
The deal needs 1.25x debt coverage on your historical earnings after a market salary for whoever runs the company, and an independent valuation caps the debt.

Why I care about this one

I own and run a Florida construction company: Southern Pool Designs, a luxury pool builder I bought in 2025. I've dealt with deposits, backlog, qualifiers and field teams from the owner's chair, not just in a model.

A 12-month prep checklist

Name and license a second qualifier, or confirm you'll stay on through the transition.
Separate customer deposits from operating cash on your books.
Move to accrual accounting with job costing and a CPA review.
Convert repeat customers to written service agreements.
Put your top field leaders on documented pay plans, with retention bonuses tied to a sale.
Pull permit, license and insurance records into one folder.
Get a sale-readiness assessment so you know your number before a buyer tells you.

FAQ

Can I sell my Florida contracting license with my business?

No. A Florida contractor license belongs to an individual who qualifies the business. When a business loses its only qualifying agent, it has 60 days to employ a new one under Florida Statute 489.119.

What happens to customer deposits when I sell my construction company?

Unearned deposits are a liability. Buyers typically expect a credit at closing, usually through the working capital adjustment, for work that has been paid for but not yet performed.

What is my HVAC or pool company worth?

It depends most on recurring service revenue, how much the business depends on you, team retention, customer concentration and size. Larger platforms command meaningfully higher EBITDA multiples than small tuck-ins.

Can I stay on after selling to an SBA buyer?

Yes. Under the October 2026 SBA rules, a seller can stay on as a consultant for up to 24 months.

Sources

Austen Ebenger

Independent M&A advisor in Orlando. Wharton, NYU MBA, private equity, and owner of a Florida company he bought with an SBA 7(a) loan in 2025. More about Austen.

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or lending advice. SBA rules and Florida law change; confirm current terms with your lender, attorney and CPA.