FranchiseVerdict
G.J. Gardner Homes logo
FV-01030·STRONGExcellent91

G.J. Gardner Homes

Home Services - OtherFranchising since 2020Website
Investment
$151K – $348K
71st pct Other
Avg revenue
$5.4M
59th pct Other
Royalty
Units
24
39th pct Other
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $151K – $348K including a $50K franchise fee.
  • Average unit revenue of $5.4M/year (median $4.8M).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 47/100.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
G J Gardner Homes USA, LLC
Incorporated in
Texas
HQ
1114 S. St. Mary’s Street, Suite 110, San Antonio, Texas 78210
Auditor
Ryan A. Sawyer, CPA, PLLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$2.7M
vs $3.5M 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 G.J. Gardner Homes unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $5,420,916
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restoration
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $151K–$348K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $6K–$12K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

252%

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
$651K
EBITDA margin
12.0%
Total invested
$259K
Payback
5 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 G.J. Gardner Homes units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

26.5%

3.24× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

3.10×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$14.0M

on $27.1M purchase

Total debt

$13.1M

SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note

SBA 7(a) request ($13.6M) exceeds the $5M program cap. Excess capped automatically; backfill via conventional or equity.

Overview

About

G.J. Gardner Homes franchisees operate as residential home builders/developers in protected territories, managing land acquisition, construction project coordination, sales, and customer relationships. Franchisees generate revenue through home sales while paying royalties based on gross sales volume.

CEO
Trent Gardner
Founded
2020
FDD year
2024
States available
6

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$151K – $348K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$6K – $12K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
The greater of 4% of Gross Sales or $3,500 each month
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
5.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$5.4M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$4.8M
Item 19 type
Gross Slab Revenue
Sample size
11 units
vs category median 21
Range (low → high)
$1.5M$12.5M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank59th
vs Home Services - Other peers
Investment cost rank71th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank54th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank39th
vs Home Services - Other peers
Risk score rank18th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
24
Opened
10
Last reporting year
Closed
3
Turnover rate
12.5%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
1.0%
Net growth (yr3)
+41.2%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+14.3%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
24+7
Franchised units
2023
17
Franchised units
2024
21
Franchised units

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

Item 12 · 6 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.

6

states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

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

Risk & Legal

47
Risk · 0-100
STRONG47 / 100

High-growth but opaque home building franchise with undisclosed profitability, aggressive expansion trajectory, and minimal system size creating validation and sustainability risks.

Score breakdown · what drove the 47 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — impossible to validate actual profitability claims against $5.4M average revenue
  2. 02MINORRapid unit growth of 41.2% YoY suggests either aggressive expansion or high failure rate being masked; sustainability unclear
  3. 03MINORHigh royalty floor of $3,500/month ($42,000 annually) creates cash flow burden regardless of sales performance
  4. 04MINORInitial investment range ($151K–$348K) is wide, indicating inconsistent franchise setup costs or territory-dependent pricing
  5. 05MEDOnly 24 units system-wide is extremely small; limited peer data for franchisee validation and franchisor financial stability concerns

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Area around an Approved Location
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
5 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Texas

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
60 hrs
On-the-job training
16 hrs
POS system
Required Software
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

8 numbers

Locked
(310) 426-••••
The franchisor is G J Gardner Homes USA, LLC located at
CA
(956) 500-••••
TX
(210) 941-••••
TX

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

G.J. Gardner Homes · FDD (2024) PDF

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