The numbers
As stated by the listing on September 9, 2026.
- Asking price
- $331,900
- SDE
- $322,800
- Gross revenue
- $1,033,400
- Multiple
- 1.03x
- Established
- 2022
- Employees
- 2
Why we like it
In Houston's heat and humidity, mildew and algae take hold on painted stucco, sidewalks and parking columns within a season, and commercial leases routinely put the landlord or tenant on the hook for how the property looks, so the calls come from property managers who cannot let a strip center or apartment complex go green and streaked. Layered on that is a harder constraint: wash water carrying grease or detergent, the kind that comes off a restaurant's exterior or dumpster pad, generally cannot be sent down a storm drain, so a crew needs containment and proper disposal, not just a truck and a wand. This company runs commercial exterior cleaning work across the Houston market with two employees and an owner who works alongside them, which for a business this size means the owner is very likely still on routes rather than purely managing from an office. Start with the split between recurring contract accounts, the property managers and chains who schedule cleanings on a calendar, and one-off jobs booked site by site, because contract revenue survives a change of ownership and word-of-mouth walk-in work does not. The way a business like this actually grows is by turning one satisfied property manager into five more locations under the same signature, since a regional account multiplies the route without adding a new sales cycle.
No personal licence needed
Texas does not license pressure washing or exterior cleaning contractors the way it licenses electricians or plumbers, so a buyer does not need to hold a personal trade license to run this business. Some cities require a business-level registration or wastewater discharge permit if wash water carries grease or detergent, but that attaches to the company, not to an individual, so it should transfer with the sale or be reapplied for under the new ownership entity rather than requiring the buyer personally to sit for an exam.
What worries us
- Owner is likely still doing the physical workWith only two employees on top of the owner covering the stated revenue, the owner is probably running routes, not just managing a crew from an office, so a buyer is likely stepping directly into cleaning work rather than inheriting a fully staffed operation.
- Customer concentration is unknownA crew this small usually depends on a handful of contract accounts rather than a broad customer base, and losing even one large property management or restaurant chain relationship could take a meaningful bite out of revenue.
- Weather-dependent schedulingExterior cleaning has to work around rain and, during hurricane season, around storms that can shut down outdoor work entirely for stretches, which makes monthly revenue lumpier than a service business that works indoors.
The callSuits a hands-on buyer willing to run routes and sell to property managers directly, not someone looking for a passive, fully staffed operation.
Our calculations
Our standard SBA 7(a) acquisition structure applied to the asking price. Assumptions below.
Sources
| SBA 7(a) loan | $314,031 |
| Seller standby note | $17,446 |
| Buyer cash at close | $17,446 |
| Total sources | $348,923 |
Uses
| Purchase price | $331,900 |
| Closing costs (est.) | $9,957 |
| SBA guaranty fee | $7,066 |
| Total project | $348,923 |
- Monthly payment
- $4,021
- Annual debt service
- $48,247
- DSCR
- 3.90xSTRONG
- Injection check
- Meets 10% ($34,892 against $34,892 required)
- Closing costs estimated at 3% of asking price
- Owner salary of $120,000, loaded
- Rate of Prime + 2.25% = 9.25%
- 10-year term, fully amortizing
- Injection split half cash, half seller standby note
How we would go about buying it
The order matters. Every step below is free until the last one, and each is a chance to walk away before it costs you anything.
- 1
Call the broker, not the bank
The listing is brokered, so the broker is the gate. Ask for the CIM and the last three years of tax returns, and expect to sign an NDA first. Do this before you talk to a lender: no lender will size a loan without the numbers, and the broker will not release them to a lender you have not engaged.
Open the listing - 2
Ask these before you spend anything
Specific to this business, from our read of the listing. The answers decide whether the numbers above survive contact.
- What share of revenue comes from recurring contract accounts (property managers, restaurant chains, retail centers on a set cleaning schedule) versus one-off or walk-in jobs, and how many of the contract accounts auto-renew versus rebid annually?
- What percentage of revenue comes from the three largest customers, and how long has each of those relationships been in place?
- Is the owner currently doing hands-on production work (driving a truck, running a wand) in addition to sales and admin, and how many billable hours a week does that amount to?
- What equipment is included in the sale (trucks, pressure washers, surface cleaners, any wastewater containment or reclaim system), what is its age and condition, and is anything financed or leased separately from the business?
- Does the company hold any city or county wastewater discharge or stormwater permits, and if so do they transfer to a new owner or need to be reapplied for?
- 3
Take it to lenders who do this size
Talk to more than one. Rate is the least of it: the lender who has done fifty of these in Texas will close, and the one who has done two will waste your quarter. Below are the lenders whose typical deal size actually fits this one.
- 4
Structure the offer around the coverage
Our structure clears the floor at 3.90x, and a lender will run its own version with its own add-backs. If the earnings come back lower than stated, the price has to come down or the seller note has to grow. Model both before you make an offer.
Model it yourself
Who we would call
Active Texas acquisition lenders whose typical deal size fits this one.
- Huntington National Bank
142 loans in TXmedian $422,000median rate 9.25%~32 days to first disbursement
- Live Oak Banking Company
133 loans in TXmedian $825,000median rate 9.00%~20 days to first disbursement
- First Internet Bank of Indiana
45 loans in TXmedian $980,000median rate 9.75%~23 days to first disbursement
Loan counts and medians are that lender’s change-of-ownership loans in Texas, FY2025 to FY2026 Q3. Funding speed is the lender’s national median from approval to first disbursement. Names link to our data profile for each lender.
The fine print
The statements this write-up makes about the trade and its rules, as opposed to the figures, were checked against public sources on September 7, 2026. 5 claims were checked.
Run your own numbers
The deal analyzer models price, seller note, equity injection, and DSCR under current SBA terms, with every assumption adjustable.
Open the deal analyzerListing facts as stated by the listing on September 9, 2026, not independently verified. Structure, payment, DSCR, and injection figures are our own computation under the assumptions above, using the Prime rate as of September 28, 2026. Lender shortlist from the SBA 7(a) FOIA file, FY2025 to FY2026 Q3, as of June 30, 2026. Methodology. See an error? Email us and we will correct it.