Common seller tricks in pressure-washing
Sellers often capitalize a busy spring and a few house-wash reviews as if they were a defended route.
- Residential one-off work presented as if it were contracted commercial service.
- A ‘route’ that is really last year’s customers with no agreements.
- Soft-wash chemical work done without the right insurance or training.
- Property-damage or etching claims that are not in the loss runs you were shown.
- Equipment listed at retail when a competent buyer could outfit a truck for much less.
Which numbers to verify
Split residential one-offs, HOA or commercial contracts, and add-on work (gutters, fleets, graffiti). Reconcile deposits. Look at advertising spend versus inbound work — if every job is paid for again, you are buying a marketing habit, not a book. Recast the owner’s days on the wand and on sales. Equipment is cheap relative to many trades; do not pay a multiple of a truck you could build yourself.
Licensing and key-person risk
Some municipalities require contractor licenses or discharge rules for wash water. Chemical soft-wash work has environmental and insurance implications. Confirm you can legally wash in the same towns, and that the policy actually covers the work (including roofs, if they do roofs).
Equipment and condition
A trailer, a solid pump, tanks, and a reliable truck are the plant. They are also replaceable. Inspect them, but spend more time on whether the commercial accounts are real. Surface cleaners and water tanks should be sound; leaks and weak pumps are bargaining chips, not a reason to walk if the book is good.
Seasonality and the calendar
In most of the country this is a spring-to-fall business. Algae and pollen seasons matter. A winter close can mean months with little work unless they have fleets or interior contracts. Ask for monthly figures, not a summer average annualized.
Customer concentration
A few HOAs, storefronts, or property managers can be the only defensible revenue. If they are month-to-month, you are buying a chance to rebid. Residential review volume helps but does not replace a contract. One lost shopping center can be a bad year.
Questions to ask before you make an offer
- Please split residential one-off work and contracted commercial work by month for two years, with deposits.
- Which HOA, retail, or property-management accounts have written agreements, and when can they cancel?
- What is your insurance history for property damage, etching, or slips, and does the policy cover every service you sell?
- How much of the work does the owner still perform personally?
- What do you spend to acquire a residential job, and what share of customers repeat?
- May I see wash-water or municipal requirements in your main towns?
- What equipment is included, and what would it cost to replace the truck setup?
- Are any large accounts already out to bid or unhappy?
- How much does volume drop in the slow months?
- After an LOI, may I visit the top commercial accounts with you?