Happier at HomeFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Happier at Home franchise requires a total initial investment of $101K – $143K, including a $49K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $617K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $101K – $143K
- 34th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $617K
- 22nd pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 5th pct Home Services
- Units
- 19
- 26th pct Home Services
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Home Services 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 5.0x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchised units fell from 19 to 7 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $101K – $143K including a $49K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $617K/year (median $593K).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 50/100.
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Happier at Home, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Bayview MSR Opportunity Master Fund, L.P.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and President
- Deborah Bernacki
- Incorporated in
- NY
- HQ
- 31 Oak Meadow Trail, Pittsford, NY 14534
- Auditor
- Amidon & Villeneuve, CPA's P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $931K
- vs $1.2M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- of ours that operated a business similar to the one you will operate
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Happier at Home franchisees likely operate in the home services, senior care, wellness, or cleaning space, providing in-home services to residential clients. Day-to-day operations typically involve scheduling client visits, managing service delivery, customer relationship management, and handling billing and collections from individual households.
- CEO
- Deborah Bernacki
- Headquarters
- NY
- Founded
- 2004
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 12
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $49K | $49K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $20K | $35K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $32K | $59K |
| Total initial investment | $101K | $143K |
Source: Happier at Home 2026 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
$80K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
54%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
22 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $101K – $143K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $35K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $36K – $49K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $425 |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $12K |
| Inventory (initial) | $200 – $600 |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $617K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $593K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 13 units
- vs category median 25
- Range (low → high)
- $225K→$988K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $347K→$924K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 349 Home Services brands
Revenue is 5.0x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Home Services averages
How Happier at Home Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 19
- Opened
- 3
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Turnover rate
- 15.8%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +171.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 32
- Closed (3yr)
- 4
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Ceased ops
- 21.1%
- Units that stopped operating
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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- California
- Indiana
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 5 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 5
- Loan volume
- $566K
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 2
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Happier at Home's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 2 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 3 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 3-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Early-stage, lightly-regulated franchise system with recent state enforcement action, undisclosed profitability metrics, and minimal unit count raises substantial concerns about franchisor compliance, franchisee ROI, and system sustainability.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $1,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Bankruptcy Code; (b) obtained a discharge of its debts under the bankruptcy code; or (c) was a principal officer of a company or a general partner in a partnership that either filed as a debtor (or had filed against it) a petition to start an action under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or that obtained a
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Amidon & Villeneuve, CPA's P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 50 / 100 rating
- 01MINORRecent regulatory enforcement action in Washington (July 2025) for unlicensed franchise sales indicates compliance issues and potential systemic problems in franchise offering practices
- 02MINORNet income data withheld from Item 19 — inability to verify profitability claims against the stated $617,302 average revenue figure
- 03MEDOnly 19 franchised units with unknown/undisclosed growth trajectory raises questions about system viability and market acceptance
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($101K-$143K) combined with 5% royalty + minimum royalty structure creates significant financial pressure on franchisees
- 05MINOR10-year term is lengthy given the young/unproven franchise system size and lack of transparent unit growth data
- 06HIGHGoing Concern status is 'False' but franchisor's regulatory violations suggest potential operational or financial instability
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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 4 |
| Territory type | Zip code based |
| Protected territory | 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 |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 15 days |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | New York |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 44 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 64 hrs
- Training location
- designated training facility or virtually
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- eRSP
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: eRSP
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
25 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Happier at Home · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Happier at Home franchise?
The total investment to open a Happier at Home franchise ranges from $101K – $143K, with an initial franchise fee of $49K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Happier at Home franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Happier at Home FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $617K. The median is $593K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Happier at Home's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Happier at Home (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 Happier at Home franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Happier at Home has 19 total units in the United States, including 19 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Happier at Home a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Happier at Home as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 50 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.