How Private Equity HVAC Companies Are Overcharging State College Homeowners
- Nov 26, 2025
- 2 min read
If you’ve heard that several HVAC companies in State College have been sold to investment firms backed by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Pulte Capital — it’s true. It’s happening right now, here in Centre County!
Twice a week, I get the call.
A homeowner reaches out for a second opinion. Their system has been condemned, or they’ve been quoted a repair price two to three times what it should cost. This isn’t a coincidence — it’s a pattern.
These companies aren’t sending experienced technicians. They’re recruiting young people fresh out of trade school — or sometimes with no technical background at all — and training them to sell. They’re personable, they’re convincing, and they can earn up to $125,000 a year in commissions. Not for fixing your system. For replacing it.
Why would a company do this in a small community?
Because they don’t plan to stay.
Private equity runs on a 5-year flip model. Buy the company, grow revenue fast, sell it to the next investor. Reputation doesn’t factor into a spreadsheet.
What happens when they are caught?
Well, the state is beginning to notice. This summer a contractor in Lehigh Valley was investigated for the fraud we are talking about here and paid a very heavy price.
But you may be wondering where all the bad reviews are? I mean, why do these companies have hundreds of reviews and a 4 plus star rating? The answer with these guys is always the same - MONEY. They have marketing divisions that spend MILLIONS making sure that when a bad review surfaces, several 5 star reviews bury it. You can filter google reviews for a company by negative first and find them, and they are generally the kind of reviews that would put anyone else out of business. Yelp is much better at flagging fake positive reviews and they know when 5 are recieved in 3 days there is something going on - either solicitation or fraud. Yelp and the BBB will give you the full picture
What you can do
Before you sign anything, get a second opinion. A real one — from an independent, owner-operated contractor with no commission structure and no sales quota.
JBN Mechanical has served Centre County for over 12 years. I’m the owner, and I answer the phone. If something doesn’t sound right about a quote you’ve received, request a free second opinion here.
