American Leak Detection
Bottom line
- Total investment $77K – $260K including a $30K franchise fee, 10.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 59/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 25 loans (below the industry average).
- System contracting at -16.0% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one American Leak Detection unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
23%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
American Leak Detection franchisees operate leak detection and locating services for residential and commercial customers. Day-to-day activities include conducting water leak investigations using acoustic/electronic equipment, preparing diagnostic reports, coordinating with plumbers/contractors, managing service calls, and building recurring customer relationships. Revenue is primarily derived from per-job service fees and potential referral partnerships with repair contractors.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 26 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Declining unit count combined with withheld financial performance data creates material uncertainty about franchisee profitability and system health.
Score breakdown · what drove the 59 / 100 rating
- 01MEDUnit count declined 11.8% YoY (146 → ~129 units), indicating system contraction and potential franchisee struggles
- 02MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents realistic ROI assessment and profitability validation
- 03MINORWide investment range ($76.7K–$259.5K) suggests inconsistent territory valuations and unclear initial capital requirements
- 04MINORTiered royalty structure (10%→6%) creates opaque earnings projections and incentivizes aggressive revenue claims
- 05MINOR5-year term is relatively short for service-based franchise requiring customer relationship rebuilding
- 06HIGHNo litigation disclosure provided, though absence doesn't confirm clean history—requires independent verification
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
74 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
American Leak Detection · FDD (2023) PDF