Should You Buy an HVAC Business in 2025?

Hey there entrepreneurs,

Welcome to the Better Business Brief, where I share takeaways from:

running businesses I’m building to sell for millions
My advisory with other business owners building to sell for millions
tips and tricks you can use to do the same

Recently, we interviewed the guy when it comes to buying and selling HVAC businesses, Patrick Lange.

He’s closed more HVAC deals than probably anyone else in the country and brings the kind of grounded, deal-tested knowledge that only comes from being in the trenches.

Since I’m building my own HVAC business now too, this conversation hit close to home...

So today, in less than 5 minutes, I’ll give you:

🔥 3 Buying Insights from the Top HVAC Broker in the Country

🛠️ What’s Changing with Licensing & SBA

📈 What Makes HVAC Deals Great (& What to Watch Out For)

Patrick started out running his own HVAC business that he grew and then sold.

Then, as a broker, he eventually specialized in doing only HVAC-related deals.

He’s now sold over 200 businesses with 147+ being HVAC businesses.

So these insights come from some SERIOUS reps…

INSIGHT #1

⚖️The SBA Rule Change That Just Killed Lazy Licensing Workarounds

Before June 2025, if you didn’t have an HVAC license, no problem; you could use the seller as the qualifying license-holder while you got up to speed.

That’s gone.

Now, if the seller retains any equity to help with licensing, they have to personally guarantee your SBA loan.

Unsurprisingly, most sellers won’t do that.

They don’t want to risk their entire livelihood on someone they might not know that well having to succeed with their business.

So what do you do instead?

Patrick laid out two proven workarounds...

Buy a small HVAC business with cash just to get the license via someone staying in the business having it, then use SBA for a larger acquisition.
Partner with a licensed operator or pay a license holder a monthly fee (if your lender will allow it).

And pro tip: rules vary by state.

In Tennessee, for example, you don’t even need a state license if the jobs you do are under $25K…

So you could run a mostly residential and light commercial business just fine.

In New Jersey, it's locked down tight and much more strict.

Always ask your lender and someone like Patrick to avoid losing months chasing a deal you can’t even close or make work.

INSIGHT #2

💸Residential > Commercial (If You Want Predictable Cash)

Here’s a simple truth bomb Patrick dropped that caught a lot of attention in our interview:

“If your tech leaves the shop and comes back with more money than he left with, you’ve got a strong business.”

That’s the residential HVAC model.

Cash On Delivery payments.

Immediate cash.

Predictable service jobs.

Compare that to commercial:

Massive AR (accounts receivable) risk
45–90+ day payment terms
$100K+ jobs where you float the labor and materials upfront

We have a strong commercial mix in the HVAC business I run now, and this is a very real set of difficulties.

It means that while we float larger jobs waiting to receive payments, our growth may be stalled.

Sometimes we have to be patient and wait to hire more people because we don’t have the capital to expend on more equipment, assets, and payroll to jump up to that next level.

That’s not really a concern if you’re mostly residential.

If you’re newer to business ownership or short on working capital, residential HVAC is usually the safer bet...

Especially in a hot climate (literally and figuratively) like Florida.

INSIGHT #3

🧠The Hardest Part Isn’t the Systems… It’s You

Patrick dropped another truth bomb that was one of the best we’ve ever had on the show:

“You get punched in the mouth every day being self-employed.”

It’s not the CRM, the margins, or the seasonality that sink most buyers.

It’s the emotional and mental weight of being the owner.

You’re responsible for payroll.

For the families of your techs.

For keeping cash flow healthy when growth causes constraints (which it will).

For stepping in when things go sideways...

At the time of interviewing him, Patrick had sold 147 HVAC businesses.

Only one failed that he knew of.

And the reason?

The buyer wasn’t emotionally prepared to be an owner.

So before you chase the spreadsheet math of a “great deal,” you have to make sure you check if you’ve got the stomach for the grind.

And make sure you’re willing to put in the hard work to build the systems, not just buy them…

We talked about everything in this one.. deal red flags, commercial vs. residential risk, the new rule killing SBA licensing workarounds, and what it takes to actually win after the purchase.

Whether you’re a buyer, seller, or someone working in the trades thinking about how to earn equity through licensing… this is an episode you need to watch, and you can right at this link.

And if you want to join a community of people working on buying businesses and doing equity deals, we have one where we give weekly support via live calls to support finding, negotiating, and structuring deals..

You can try it out free for a week at the link here.

If you like these ideas or found this informative, stick around and subscribe. I do this newsletter every week.

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Happy value-building to you!

See you next time for Better Business Brief,

-Brody