FranchiseVerdict
AR Homes logo
FV-00165·MODERATEExcellent95

AR Homes

OtherFranchising since 1991Website
Investment
$535K – $2.2M
85th pct Other
Avg revenue
$14.7M
50th pct Other
Royalty
Units
42
61st pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $535K – $2.2M including a $65K franchise fee.
  • Average unit revenue of $14.7M/year (median $10.4M). Estimated payback in 1.1 years.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 60/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 4 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -870% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
AR Franchising, Inc.
Parent company
AR Family Holdings, LLC
Incorporated in
Florida
HQ
160 Fountain Parkway N, Suite 210, St. Petersburg, Florida 33716-1410
Auditor
Forvis Mazars, LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$25.3M
vs $34.9M prior year

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 AR Homes unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $14,747,541
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $535K–$2.2M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $325K–$775K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

129%

Above typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%
ROIC above 100% usually means the revenue figure is a system-wide aggregate or top-cohort number rather than a single-unit average. Verify the "Revenue · per unit" field against the brand's FDD Item 19 detail tables before relying on this output.

Store EBITDA · annual
$2.5M
EBITDA margin
16.8%
Total invested
$1.9M
Payback
9 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 AR Homes units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

21.3%

2.63× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

4.49×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$95.7M

on $143.8M purchase

Total debt

$48.1M

SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note

SBA 7(a) request ($71.9M) exceeds the $5M program cap. Excess capped automatically; backfill via conventional or equity.

Overview

About

AR Homes franchisees operate custom home building and/or renovation businesses, managing construction projects, client relationships, and contractor networks within their assigned service areas. Day-to-day activities likely include project estimation, permit coordination, quality supervision, and client communications. Revenue is generated through home sales or renovation contract fees.

CEO
Donald L. Whetro
Founded
1990
FDD year
2025
States available
10

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$535K – $2.2M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$325K – $775K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$65K
Royalty
The greater of the Minimum Annual Royalty or 3.5% to 4.25…
Ad fund
0.3%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
3.8%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
1.1 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$14.7M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$10.4M
Item 19 type
Adjusted Net Income of franchised outlets
Sample size
29 units
vs category median 20
Range (low → high)
$1.8M$45.1M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
7 / 5
vs category median 3 / 5 · above
Revenue rank50th
vs Other peers
Investment cost rank85th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank70th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank61th
vs Other peers
Risk score rank41th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
42
Opened
1
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
2.4%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
1.0%
Net growth (yr3)
+0.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-8.7%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
42±0
Franchised units
2024
42
Franchised units
2025
46
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 23 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Available · 23 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
4
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

60
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE60 / 100

Moderate-to-high risk investment with unresolved litigation, unprotected territory, opaque financial performance claims, and unclear unit economics in a capital-intensive sector.

Score breakdown · what drove the 60 / 100 rating

  1. 01HIGHPending litigation (Scott Tate) involving 'aiding and abetting' claims suggests potential franchisor accountability issues beyond standard disputes
  2. 02MINORNo protected territory in real estate/home building sector creates direct competition risk between franchisees in same market
  3. 03MINORUnknown unit growth trajectory with only 42 units is concerning—no clarity on system expansion or contraction over past 3-5 years
  4. 04MINORHigh initial investment range ($535K-$2.19M) paired with undefined Minimum Annual Royalty creates unpredictable cost structure
  5. 05MINORItem 19 (Financial Performance) absent from disclosure—average revenue ($14.7M) and net income ($1.2M) figures cannot be verified as franchisor-provided
  6. 06HIGHPrevious litigation settlement (F&S Frame and Trim, 2015) indicates history of contractor/vendor payment disputes, a red flag in construction franchises
  7. 07MINORRoyalty structure (3.5%-4.25% + undefined minimum) on Adjusted Sales Price creates ambiguity—'adjusted' definition critical to profitability

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
County-based
Protected territory
No
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
2
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
3 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Florida

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
155 hrs
On-the-job training
81 hrs
POS system
ARIS / Software Bundle
Operating tech stack

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

61 numbers

Locked
(352) 373-••••
FL
(401) 462-••••
RI
(832) 434-••••
TX

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

AR Homes · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above