HVAC is an actively consolidated trade, which means the buyers include funded platforms as well as local competitors. A broker who cannot reach the platforms is offering you half the market, and a broker who presents your maintenance base as ordinary revenue is costing you the multiple.
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How the maintenance base should be presented
Contract count, average value, renewal rate and length of relationship, separated clearly from installation and replacement revenue. That separation is the argument for a higher multiple, and a broker who cannot make it is leaving the argument unmade. Ask to see how they presented a comparable business.
Reach both buyer types
Local competitors will find a listing. Consolidators will not, because they buy from a target list they maintain themselves. Ask how many platform buyers the firm has transacted with in the last two years and whether they will approach them directly and by name.
The terms to negotiate
The minimum fee, which decides your effective rate on a smaller company. The exclusive period. And the tail, limited to buyers actually introduced and listed in writing when the agreement ends. Published US commissions on this site run from 5% to 15% across firms that publish anything at all.
Questions people ask about HVAC business broker
Do I need an HVAC specialist?
You need someone who has sold trades businesses with service contracts. Whether they call themselves an HVAC specialist matters less than the closed deals they can reference.
Will a consolidator pay more?
Often, because they are buying earnings after replacing you and can spread overhead. They also ask for more: longer transition commitments and tighter diligence on the crew.
Should I sign an exclusive listing?
Usually yes, for a defined period, because a firm will not invest in a buyer approach without it. Keep the period short enough that a firm doing nothing can be replaced.