Cait’s Estate Sales Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $82K – $111K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Cait's Estate Sales is a real estate services franchise running on-site and online estate sales for downsizing and estates. Franchisees run local operations, staging and pricing contents, marketing sales, and running selling events.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Cait’s Estate Sales franchise requires a total initial investment of $82K – $111K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.5% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Limited operating history: franchising since 2025. A system this young has fewer than three years of Item 20 outlet history and rarely enough SBA loans for a charge-off rate, so its grade rests on less evidence than an established system's. Read its Item 20 tables and talk to its first franchisees before relying on the grade. Other new franchisors
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: partial✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored6 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $82K – $111K
- 62nd pct Real Estate
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned onlyn=2
- Royalty
- 6.5%
- 46th pct Real Estate
- Units
- 2
- 4th pct Real Estate
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Real Estate · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Real Estate median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $82K – $111K including a $50K franchise fee, 6.5% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSGross Sales figures are for 2 affiliate-owned (company) outlets only, not franchised outlets, for calendar year 2025; sales tax excluded; ancillary service revenue excluded.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 48/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- FLAGItem 4 discloses a bankruptcy of an officer or of a company an officer ran, not of the franchisor. Review Item 4 for details.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Caits Estate Services, Inc.
- CEO title
- Owner and President
- George Venturella
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Illinois
- HQ
- 10201 191st Street, Mokena, IL 60448
- Auditor
- Kezos & Dunlavy
- Audited financials
Overview
About
- CEO
- George Venturella
- Headquarters
- IL
- Founded
- 2025
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 2
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 27% below the typical real estate franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $10K | $15K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $23K | $46K |
| Total initial investment | $82K | $111K |
Source: Cait’s Estate Sales 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $82K – $111K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $15K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 6.5%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $500 |
| Training fee | $200 |
| Transfer fee | $49K |
| Renewal fee | $7K |
| Inventory (initial) | $500 – $700 |
| Total fee load | 7.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Cait’s Estate Sales is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Cait’s Estate Sales unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Gross Sales figures are for 2 affiliate-owned (company) outlets only, not franchised outlets, for calendar year 2025; sales tax excluded; ancillary service revenue excluded.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a sample of only 2
- Item 19 type
- actual gross sales of 2 affiliate-owned outlets
- Sample size
- 2
- vs category median 53 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $190K→$1.3MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 48 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 0 / 10 · above
Compared against 101 Real Estate brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.5% (near the Real Estate median).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Real Estate medians
How Cait’s Estate Sales Compares
Category median of published Real Estate brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 6
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 2 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
2
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Micro-franchise system with unverified financials, no going concern status, and insufficient operational track record to validate investment returns.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Subject: an officer. An officer’s own bankruptcy or a company an officer ran, not the franchisor’s
Owner and President George Venturella filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition on April 20, 2018 (In re Venturella, No. 18-11555); the court entered a discharge on December 10, 2018.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Kezos & Dunlavy
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 48 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDOnly 2 franchise units with unknown growth trajectory indicates extremely limited system scale and unproven scalability
- 02MINORHigh franchise fee ($49,900) relative to system size creates significant franchisee risk with minimal brand infrastructure support
- 03MINOR6.5% royalty on claimed $596K revenue = ~$38,764 annual ongoing payments with only 2-unit reference base for validation
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 7 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 300,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 30 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 13 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 4 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Illinois (franchisor's principal place of business); litigation/mediation venue also Illinois |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | Illinois |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 27 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 36 hrs
- Training location
- Mokena, Illinois (in-person) and remote via Zoom
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 36 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee (home office or leased commercial space within Territory)
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Cait's Management
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Cait's Management
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Cait’s Estate Sales franchise?
The total investment to open a Cait’s Estate Sales franchise ranges from $82K – $111K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Cait’s Estate Sales franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Cait’s Estate Sales FDD discloses outlet figures from $190K to $1.3M but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Cait’s Estate Sales?
Cait’s Estate Sales is franchised by Caits Estate Services, Inc.. The FDD names no parent company. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Cait’s Estate Sales FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Cait’s Estate Sales FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Cait’s Estate Sales's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Cait’s Estate Sales (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Cait’s Estate Sales franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Cait’s Estate Sales has 2 total units in the United States.
Is Cait’s Estate Sales a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Cait’s Estate Sales as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 48 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.