Homewatch CareGiversFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Homewatch CareGivers franchise requires a total initial investment of $92K – $154K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.2M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 11.4% charge-off rate across 70 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $92K – $154K
- 43rd pct Senior Care
- Avg gross sales
- $2.2M
- 64th pct Senior Care
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Senior Care
- Units
- 213
- 80th pct Senior Care
- SBA default
- 11.4%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Senior Care · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Senior Care 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 18.2x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchising since 1996. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Bottom line
- Total investment $92K – $154K including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.2M/year (median $722K).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 24/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 11.4% across 70 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Homewatch CareGivers Franchising SPE LLC
- Parent company
- AB Assetco LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Apax Partners
- Predecessor
- Homewatch CareGivers
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 7120 Samuel Morse Drive, Suite 300, Columbia, MD 21046
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $191K
- vs $219K prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
Homewatch CareGivers operates a non-medical home care services franchise providing elderly and disabled clients with in-home assistance including companionship, personal care, mobility support, and daily living tasks. Franchisees manage hiring and scheduling of care aides, client acquisition, billing/payroll, and regulatory compliance within their protected territory. Daily operations involve direct client interaction, caregiver supervision, care plan management, and quality assurance.
- CEO
- Leanne Stapf
- Headquarters
- MD
- Founded
- 1996
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 31
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $25K | $55K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $17K | $49K |
| Total initial investment | $92K | $154K |
Source: Homewatch CareGivers 2024 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
$403K
18.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
247%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $92K – $154K
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $55K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $175 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.2M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $722K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 196 units
- vs category median 22 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $53K→$24.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 5 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 70 Senior Care brands
Revenue is 18.2x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Senior Care averages
How Homewatch CareGivers Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 213
- Opened
- 16
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 25
- Terminated
- 10
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 2
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -4.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +0.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 2
- Terminated (3yr)
- 8
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 12
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 0.1%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 0.4%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 0.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 32 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
- Illinois
- New York
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 70
- Loan volume
- $18.9M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 11.4%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 75.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 50.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 33
- Defaults
- 8
Vintage analysis
Homewatch CareGivers charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Homewatch CareGivers's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 21-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Declining unit count, undisclosed profitability, litigation history, and high investment costs create a CAUTION-level risk profile requiring deep franchisee validation before commitment.
Litigation (Item 3)
1 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 24 / 100 rating
- 01MEDUnit decline of 4.1% YoY indicates shrinking franchise system despite $1.2M+ average revenue
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 prevents ROI validation; only gross revenue available
- 03HIGHLitigation history shows aggressive enforcement against franchisees, including trade secret claims and non-compete actions
- 04MEDHigh initial investment ($92K-$154K) relative to disclosed profitability metrics creates elevated financial risk
- 05HIGHGoing Concern flag is FALSE but declining unit count (-9 units) suggests potential underlying business model stress
- 06MED5% minimum royalty structure with no disclosed floor may create cash flow pressure during market downturns
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 | 1 |
| Territory type | Population-based |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory population | 37,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Maryland |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
1 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 171 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Homewatch CareGivers Care+
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Homewatch CareGivers Care+
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
145 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Homewatch CareGivers · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Homewatch CareGivers franchise?
The total investment to open a Homewatch CareGivers franchise ranges from $92K – $154K, 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 Homewatch CareGivers franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Homewatch CareGivers FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.2M. The median is $722K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Homewatch CareGivers's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Homewatch CareGivers has a charge-off rate of 11.4% across 70 loans, meaning 11.4% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Homewatch CareGivers franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Homewatch CareGivers has 213 total units in the United States, including 212 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 16 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Homewatch CareGivers a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Homewatch CareGivers as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 24 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.