Who Owns Your Home-Service Company? Questions Jacksonville Homeowners Should Ask

Before you spend thousands of dollars on a home repair, there’s one question worth asking: who actually owns the company you’re calling?

My wife and I own Advantage Plumbing. We’re raising our family here, and we want our neighbors to have a plumber they can trust. Lately, some of the stories customers share with us have been hard to hear.

Same name. Different owner.

We’re seeing private equity firms and larger service groups rapidly acquiring plumbing, HVAC, and electrical businesses in our area. Many keep their existing local brands, while customers tell us rates have increased dramatically. Homeowners may recognize the same name without realizing the ownership has changed.

Customers regularly tell us that larger private-equity-backed companies quoted three times or more than Advantage for plumbing work. We’ve also seen or heard about quotes around $30,000 for a two-bathroom repipe, $2,700 for a shower valve, and $3,500 for a standard water heater replacement.

Every job is different, so compare what’s included. A company’s ownership doesn’t tell you everything about its work, either. But you deserve to know who you’re hiring and why a repair costs what it does.

Good plumbing costs money. Pressure shouldn’t be part of it.

I understand the overhead. Insurance, workers’ comp, trucks, fuel, materials, and good employees all cost money. We pay our people well, and we’re in business to make a fair profit.

What bothers me is a homeowner feeling pushed into a huge expense because their water is off, their house is leaking, or they don’t know enough about plumbing to question the recommendation.

We recently helped a first-time homeowner who had been told she needed an approximately $18,000 repipe. Her house had already been repiped. The water was coming in around a window. A second opinion helped her avoid work that wouldn’t have fixed the problem.

Here’s how we do things

We don’t hire salespeople at Advantage. We have plumbers, estimators, and office coordinators. If we find something that needs attention, we’ll explain it, make a recommendation, and let you decide.

We also give pricing over the phone whenever we reasonably can. You should have useful information before someone is standing in your kitchen asking you to make a decision.

Before you say yes to a major repair

• Ask who owns the company. If you’re comparing providers, ask whether they are owned by private equity. If they don’t quote or give their rates over the phone, be prepared for sales games and pressure with a lofty price.
• Check licensing, insurance, and recent Google reviews.
• Ask what they found. Have them explain how the proposed work will fix it.
• Get another opinion and compare written estimates. Check the scope, exclusions, and what needs immediate attention.

Advantage has served this area since 2003. As we grow into more of Jacksonville, I want someone living paycheck to paycheck to feel just as comfortable calling us as someone with plenty of money. We want to be the plumber you trust for the next 20 years.

Have questions about an estimate? Give us a call at (904) 247-9848.

Background on ownership changes: a Jacksonville acquisition announcement and an announcement describing retained local brands.