Cait’s Estate SalesFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Cait’s Estate Sales franchise requires a total initial investment of $84K – $116K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $596K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $84K – $116K
- 52nd pct Real Estate
- Avg gross sales
- $596K
- 17th pct Real Estate
- Royalty
- 6.5%
- 38th pct Real Estate
- Units
- 2
- 5th pct Real Estate
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Real Estate · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Real Estate avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Each dollar invested generates 5.9x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Started franchising in 2025. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
128% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line). Above the 20% threshold most investors target.
Bottom line
- Total investment $84K – $116K including a $50K franchise fee, 6.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $596K/year, with an estimated 128% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 26/100.
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Caits Estate Services, Inc.
- CEO title
- Owner and President
- George Venturella
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- IL
- HQ
- 10201 191st Street, Mokena, IL 60448
- Auditor
- Kezos & Dunlavy
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- Most recent fiscal year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate estate sale services, conducting appraisals, managing liquidation events for estates, and handling client acquisition/logistics. Day-to-day operations involve scheduling estate walkdowns, marketing sales to local audiences, coordinating pickup/delivery, and managing back-office accounting and client relations.
- CEO
- George Venturella
- Headquarters
- IL
- Founded
- 2025
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 0
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $10K | $15K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $25K | $52K |
| Total initial investment | $84K | $116K |
Source: Cait’s Estate Sales 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$92K
15.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
82%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
15 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $84K – $116K
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $15K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $50K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.5%
- Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 0.8 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $49K |
| Renewal fee | $7K |
| Total fee load | 7.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $596K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $128K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 127.5%
- Based on P&L Bottom Line / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Actual
- Sample size
- 2 units
- vs category median 41 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $147K→$1.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 9 / 5
- vs category median 0 / 5 · above
Compared against 121 Real Estate brands
Revenue is 5.9x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Real Estate averages
How Cait’s Estate Sales Compares
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
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 6
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 14 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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
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.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Micro-franchise system with unverified financials, no going concern status, and insufficient operational track record to validate investment returns.
Litigation (Item 3)
Item 3 (Litigation) section is blank/empty - no litigation disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Owner and President George Venturella filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition on April 20, 2018 (In re Venturella, No. 18-11555). Court entered discharge on December 10, 2018.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Kezos & Dunlavy
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
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 26 / 100 rating
- 01MEDOnly 2 franchise units with unknown growth trajectory indicates extremely limited system scale and unproven scalability
- 02MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representations disclosed — cannot independently verify the $596,362 average revenue claim
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, suggesting potential financial instability or undisclosed operational concerns at franchisor level
- 04MINORHigh franchise fee ($49,900) relative to system size creates significant franchisee risk with minimal brand infrastructure support
- 05MINOR6.5% 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
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 7 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | Geographic Area |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | 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 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Illinois |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Item 3 (Litigation) section is blank/empty - no litigation disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 27 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 36 hrs
- Training location
- Franchisor location and on-site
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- Cait's Management
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Cait's Management
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
14 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Cait’s Estate Sales · FDD (2025) PDF
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 $84K – $116K, 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?
According to Item 19 of the Cait’s Estate Sales FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $596K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
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, including 0 franchised units and 2 company-owned units.
Is Cait’s Estate Sales a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Cait’s Estate Sales as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 26 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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.
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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.