From SBA-backed acquisitions to seller notes and earnouts — here's exactly how buyers and sellers structure deals in the appliance repair industry, with real examples built around technician-driven businesses doing $500K to $3M in revenue.
Appliance repair businesses are highly acquirable in the lower middle market, but deal structure is where many transactions succeed or fall apart. Because most shops are owner-operated — with value tied to technician relationships, manufacturer service authorizations, and a loyal repeat customer base — buyers and sellers must account for transition risk when designing deal terms. The most common structure combines an SBA 7(a) loan covering 75–80% of the purchase price, a modest seller note of 5–10%, and a buyer down payment of 10–15%. For businesses where the owner is still the primary technician, earnouts tied to technician retention or revenue performance are increasingly common. Clean, owner-absentee operations with documented service records and multiple certified technicians on staff may attract all-cash offers at a slight discount. Understanding which structure fits your specific deal — based on the seller's involvement, the quality of financial documentation, and the strength of the customer database — is essential to closing at the right price.
Find Appliance Repair Businesses For SaleSBA 7(a) Loan with Seller Note
The most common structure for appliance repair acquisitions. The buyer secures an SBA 7(a) loan to cover 75–80% of the purchase price, contributes 10–15% as a cash down payment, and the seller carries a note for the remaining 5–10%. The seller note is typically subordinated to the SBA loan and paid over 2–5 years. This structure is well-suited to appliance repair businesses with at least $300K in SDE, 3 years of clean tax returns, and multiple technicians on staff.
Pros
Cons
Best for: Established appliance repair businesses with 2+ certified technicians, documented service history in a CRM or dispatch platform like ServiceTitan or Jobber, and consistent SDE of $300K or more over three years.
All-Cash Acquisition
The buyer pays the full purchase price at closing with no external financing. This structure is rare in appliance repair at the lower middle market level but does occur when a buyer — often a home services roll-up platform or private equity-backed aggregator — has capital ready to deploy and wants to move quickly on a clean, owner-absentee operation with strong recurring revenue.
Pros
Cons
Best for: Owner-absentee or semi-absentee appliance repair businesses with a lead technician already managing daily operations, strong Google review profiles, and manufacturer service authorizations in place. Best matched to roll-up buyers or cash-flush individual buyers.
Earnout Structure
A portion of the purchase price — typically 10–20% — is paid to the seller after closing, contingent on the business meeting defined performance milestones over 12–24 months. In appliance repair deals, earnouts are most commonly tied to revenue retention, technician retention, or the maintenance of manufacturer warranty authorization agreements. This structure is used when transition risk is elevated, such as when the owner is the lead technician or when the customer base is heavily relationship-driven.
Pros
Cons
Best for: Appliance repair businesses where the selling owner is the primary technician or primary customer relationship holder, or where a key manufacturer warranty authorization is at risk of reassignment following ownership change.
SBA-Financed Acquisition of a Two-Technician Shop with Retiring Owner
$750,000
SBA 7(a) loan: $600,000 (80%) | Buyer down payment: $112,500 (15%) | Seller note: $37,500 (5%)
SBA loan at 10-year term, prime plus 2.75% variable rate. Seller note subordinated to SBA at 6% interest, paid over 3 years beginning 12 months post-close. Seller agrees to 90-day transition period providing technical training, customer introductions, and supplier relationship handoffs. Business generates $320,000 SDE on $1.1M revenue. Buyer debt service on SBA loan approximately $77,000 annually, leaving strong positive cash flow post-acquisition.
Roll-Up Platform All-Cash Acquisition of Owner-Absentee Operation
$1,200,000
All-cash at closing: $1,200,000 (100%) | No seller financing | No earnout
Regional home services roll-up acquires a three-technician appliance repair business generating $480,000 SDE on $1.6M revenue. Business operates with a lead technician managing dispatch via Housecall Pro and holds active service authorizations with Whirlpool and LG. Seller accepts a 7% discount from $1.29M asking price in exchange for all-cash close in 30 days. No seller note required. 30-day transition period with seller available by phone for 90 days post-close.
Earnout Deal for Owner-Technician Business with Key-Person Risk
$560,000 base plus up to $90,000 earnout
SBA 7(a) loan: $448,000 (80% of base) | Buyer down payment: $67,200 (12%) | Seller note: $44,800 (8%) | Earnout: up to $90,000 over 24 months
Appliance repair shop generating $260,000 SDE on $850,000 revenue, with the selling owner performing 60% of repair work. Buyer and seller agree on a base price of $560,000 with up to $90,000 in additional earnout payments tied to: (1) revenue remaining above $750,000 in year one, $800,000 in year two; and (2) lead technician hired during pre-close transition remaining employed through month 18 post-close. Seller stays on as a part-time technician for 6 months at market-rate compensation to support the handoff.
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Appliance repair businesses in the lower middle market typically sell for 2.5x to 4x Seller's Discretionary Earnings. Businesses at the higher end of that range generally have multiple certified technicians who operate independently of the owner, active manufacturer warranty authorizations with brands like Whirlpool or LG, documented service history in a dispatch platform, and consistent revenue growth. Solo-technician shops or businesses with commingled financials typically trade closer to 2.5x.
Yes. Appliance repair businesses are strong SBA 7(a) candidates because they are asset-light service businesses with stable, recession-resistant demand. To qualify, the business typically needs at least 3 years of clean tax returns, $300,000 or more in SDE, and a buyer with relevant management or entrepreneurial experience. The SBA will not finance businesses where the financial records are heavily commingled or where revenue is primarily dependent on a single customer or a single non-transferable manufacturer contract.
Seller notes in appliance repair acquisitions serve two purposes. First, they help bridge valuation gaps between buyer and seller when the two parties disagree slightly on risk-adjusted price. Second, SBA lenders view seller notes as a confidence signal — the seller is leaving some proceeds at risk, which signals they believe the business will continue to perform post-sale. In most SBA-financed appliance repair deals, the seller note is 5–10% of the purchase price, subordinated to the SBA loan, and paid over 2–5 years.
Earnouts are appropriate when a meaningful portion of the business value is dependent on factors that may not fully transfer at closing — most commonly when the selling owner is the primary technician, when the customer base is strongly relationship-driven, or when a key manufacturer warranty authorization is subject to reassignment review. Earnouts in appliance repair deals are typically structured around revenue retention or technician retention over 12–24 months, with clear monthly measurement criteria agreed upon before closing.
Appliance repair due diligence requires specific attention to technician certifications and the ability to retain key employees post-close, the transferability of manufacturer service authorizations, parts supplier relationships and current inventory valuation, and the operational platform used for dispatch and job management. Buyers should independently pull service records from the CRM to verify average ticket size, repeat customer rate, and revenue per technician — these metrics are the real indicators of business health in this industry, and they rarely show up clearly on a P&L alone.
Manufacturer service authorizations — such as those with Whirlpool, LG, Samsung, or GE — are typically agreements with the business entity and may require the manufacturer's approval to transfer when ownership changes. Buyers should confirm the transfer status of all active authorizations during due diligence and, where possible, initiate the reassignment process with the manufacturer before closing. Losing a major warranty authorization post-close can significantly reduce revenue, particularly for shops where warranty work accounts for 20–40% of total jobs.
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