Residential HVAC, electrical, plumbing, or roofing startup or small-firm acquisition serving McCracken's 3,800-unit housing shortage and downtown-renovation pipeline through 2030.

3,800-unit housing shortage — Kentucky Housing Corporation 2024 county study, referenced in the Paducah Housing Strategic Plan (paducahky.gov/news/city-commission-meeting-highlights-july-22-2025, captured 2026-05-11).

CFSB up to 100% loan-to-value on single-family and construction loans — confirmed by Paducah Planning Director Carol Gault at the July 22 2025 city commission meeting (paducahky.gov, captured 2026-05-11). A local bank offering 100% LTV construction money is the practical signal that residential build velocity has a financing pathway.

Katterjohn Homes 12-home development at roughly $400K each — approved 2025 per city commission minutes; Katterjohn is a named home-builder buyer for sub-trades (paducahky.gov news February and July 2025).

Heart of Paducah Homebuyer Program — active rehab and new-build program in the Walter Jetton / Southside area (paducahky.gov downtown-development-programs and city commission highlights).

Lone Oak 32-unit multifamily proposal 2025 — adds multifamily MEP and finish work to the residential trade pool.

The W on Broadway plus Upper Story Residential Grant — downtown 1897 Clark building mixed-use conversion plus the city grant for downtown rental conversion expand the inner-ring rehab inventory (paducahky.gov; paducahmainstreet.org).

Aloft Marriott 121-room hotel opens December 2026 at 520 N. 3rd Street — the hotel itself is commercial, but the visitor inflow drives short-term-rental and renovation tail that residential trades serve (paducahky.gov November 18 2025 groundbreaking; wpsdlocal6.com).

Aging housing stock — roughly 40% of US occupied housing units are pre-1970 with concentrated HVAC, plumbing, and electrical-panel upgrade demand. Paducah's downtown, Lone Oak, and Reidland housing fit that age profile (housecallpro.com home-services industry report; bdrco.com).

Startup path: $100K–$400K total. Truck and trade-specific equipment $40K–$120K (used service van at the low end; new truck plus full HVAC recovery and brazing kit at the high end). Tools and inventory $10K–$40K. Insurance, bonding cash collateral, license fees, permits $10K–$30K first year. Software, branding, marketing $5K–$20K. Working-capital runway 6–12 months $35K–$190K.

SBA 7(a) is viable at this scale but not mandatory. Many residential trade startups run on $50K–$150K of founder cash plus a credit-union or community-bank truck loan and equipment lease.

Acquisition path: $300K–$800K total. Purchase price $250K–$650K for a 5–15-employee residential trades firm at 3–4× seller's discretionary earnings. SBA 7(a) at 75–85% of purchase price, 10-year amortization. Founder equity $75K–$200K (20–25%). Seller note 10–20% standby behind SBA. Working-capital revolver $50K–$150K.

Year 2 solo or 1-truck startup: $100K–$200K total compensation (W-2 plus distributions, pre-tax). Service-call revenue $250K–$500K at 30–45% gross margin.

Year 3 startup with crew (2–3 trucks): $200K–$400K total compensation on $700K–$1.5M revenue at 10–18% net margin.

Year 3 acquisition steady state: $200K–$400K total compensation. Acquired book $1M–$2.5M at 8–12% EBITDA, less SBA debt service, less owner-operator W-2 baseline of $100K–$140K.

• Katterjohn Homes

  Named residential builder

  Institution

  12-home development active 2025–2026 at roughly $400,000 each; subcontractor intake contact has not been confirmed as of May 2026.
• Heart of Paducah Homebuyer Program

  Rehab and new-build program

  Institution

  Active in the Walter Jetton and Southside area; principal contact is reachable through the Paducah Planning Department.
• CFSB (Community Financial Services Bank)

  Local SBA and residential construction lender

  Institution

  Confirmed 100% loan-to-value residential construction product per the July 22, 2025 city commission meeting; the specific SBA loan officer has not been confirmed as of May 2026.
• Field & Main Bank, Independence Bank Paducah, FNB Bank Midtown

  Residential-trades community banks

  Institution

  Truck loans, revolvers, and SBA 7(a) capacity for trade-firm startups and acquisitions.
• Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction

  Trade-license regulator

  Out-of-county

  Divisions of HVAC, Electrical, and Plumbing under KRS 198B / 227A / 318.
• WKCTC Small Business Development Center

  Business-planning support

  Institution

  No-cost SBA loan-package preparation and trades-business coaching.

Three viable founder paths. (1) Trades operator returning home — mid-career journeyman who left for a larger metro to accumulate hours toward the master license, now coming back to Paducah with the card in hand. Highest-conviction profile for the startup path. (2) Returning professional pairing with a master-license-holder on the W-2 line — a Paducah-native engineer, project manager, or estimator handles books, bidding, and customer flow while the master signs the permits. Common structure for HVAC and electrical startups. (3) Existing operator buying a 5–15-employee residential trades firm at $300K–$800K — the boomer-owner exit path, smaller and more residential-weighted than a commercial Tier-2 acquisition.

Keep the revenue mix balanced — roughly half builder subcontract for volume and weekly hours, half direct retail service for margin. Builder subcontract work pays slower (30–60 day terms) at lower margin but stabilizes the crew; direct retail pays at point of sale at higher margin but is lumpier. Enter on builder subcontract for cash-flow stability, layer direct retail in months 6–18.

On the acquisition path, two or three field foremen in a 5–15-employee residential trades firm hold most of the customer relationships. Seller-funded stay-bonus pool of 5–10% of purchase price in escrow vesting over 18–24 months, plus transparent communication at deal-close, is the standard hedge against close-day attrition.

• — Specific Paducah-area HVAC, electrical, plumbing, or roofing firms with willing-to-sell status and documented residential backlog — sourcing through WKCTC SBDC, GPED, and the local CPA referral network.
• — Per-firm asset-versus-stock deal-structure tradeoffs (stock preserves bonding history but inherits liability tail; asset resets bonding history but cleans tail) — per-firm legal review required.
• — Katterjohn Homes subcontractor intake contact and current subcontract terms.
• — Heart of Paducah Homebuyer Program principal and program-manager contact, reachable through Paducah Planning Department.
• — CFSB SBA loan officer for residential-trades-firm acquisition or startup financing.

Tonight, this week, this month — in that order. Each step produces a yes/no or a number, not a deeper understanding.