Lush Lawn® Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Lush Lawn is a lawn care franchise providing fertilization, weed control, and turf treatment programs. Franchisees run route-based operations, managing technicians, scheduling, and recurring accounts.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Lush Lawn® franchise requires a total initial investment of $167K – $322K, including a $38K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $167K – $322K
- 70th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 48th pct Home Services
- Units
- 5
- 11th pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services avg · 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 $167K – $322K including a $38K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSFranchisor (Lush Lawn Franchising, LLC) began operating in 2024; only audited statements as of Dec 31, 2024 provided (less than 3 years in operation). Total revenues were $0 (no franchise fees recognized); net loss of $14,250.60. Auditor report signed from Clinton Township, MI dated March 26, 2025 but CPA firm name not printed in extracted text.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 45/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports gross sales by location rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Lush Lawn Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- None
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Aaron Samson
- Incorporated in
- MI
- HQ
- 4345 Meigs Avenue, Suite 200, Waterford, MI 48329
- Auditor
- Bultynck & Co., P.L.L.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- Most recent fiscal year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Aaron Samson
- Headquarters
- MI
- Founded
- 2011
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 9% above the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $38K | $38K | |
| Professional Services | $0 | $10K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $0 | $10K | |
| Equipment, Fixtures, and Furniture | $22K | $45K | |
| Vehicles | $50K | $100K | |
| Computer System/Other Software and Technology | $12K | $23K | |
| Permits and Business Licenses | $100 | $500 | |
| Signage (Indoor/Outdoor) | $2K | $4K | |
| Miscellaneous Travel and Living Expenses while Trainingnot refundable | $5K | $13K | |
| Initial Inventory and Operating Supplies | $10K | $20K | |
| Branded Promotional Materials, and Uniforms | $1K | $2K | |
| Initial Launch Marketing | $12K | $15K | |
| Initial Lease Payments | $0 | $10K | |
| Insurance | $5K | $10K | |
| Miscellaneous Pre-opening Expenses | $500 | $2K | |
| Additional Funds (three months) | $10K | $20K | |
| Total initial investment | $167K | $322K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $167K – $322K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $38K – $38K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 26.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $780 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $4K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $20K |
| Total fee load | 26.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Lush Lawn® did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Lush Lawn® unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
23%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Franchisor (Lush Lawn Franchising, LLC) began operating in 2024; only audited statements as of Dec 31, 2024 provided (less than 3 years in operation). Total revenues were $0 (no franchise fees recognized); net loss of $14,250.60. Auditor report signed from Clinton Township, MI dated March 26, 2025 but CPA firm name not printed in extracted text.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
- Item 19 type
- gross sales by location
- Sample size
- 5
- vs category median 32 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $486K→$2.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 321 Home Services 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 26.0% — above the Home Services average of 8.9%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports gross sales by location rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
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 Home Services averages
How Lush Lawn® Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 5
- 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
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state 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.
1
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
Lush Lawn presents elevated risk due to micro-scale system (5 units), absent profitability disclosure, corporate going concern issues, and inability to validate ROI claims through comparable franchisee performance data.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Bultynck & Co., P.L.L.C.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 45 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 5 units in system with unknown growth trajectory indicates minimal scale and potentially stagnant development
- 02MINORNo net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents accurate ROI validation and profitability assessment
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, suggesting potential financial instability or viability questions at corporate level
- 04MINORHigh initial investment range ($167k-$321.5k) against only 5 comparable units limits benchmarking and peer validation
- 05MINOR8% royalty on reported $2.056M average revenue equals ~$164k annual corporate take, which may be insufficient to support franchise operations with only 5 units
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 26.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · 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 |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 80,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Michigan (county of franchisor's principal place of business) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | MI |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 36 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 124 hrs
- Training location
- 4345 Meigs Avenue, Suite 200, Waterford, MI 48329 (corporate offices)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 5 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Hubspot and RealGreen
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Hubspot and RealGreen
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Lush Lawn® franchise?
The total investment to open a Lush Lawn® franchise ranges from $167K – $322K, with an initial franchise fee of $38K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Lush Lawn® franchise owners earn?
Lush Lawn® does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Lush Lawn® 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 Lush Lawn® FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Lush Lawn®'s franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Lush Lawn® (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 Lush Lawn® franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Lush Lawn® has 5 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 5 company-owned units.
Is Lush Lawn® a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Lush Lawn® as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 45 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Lush Lawn®, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Other Home Services franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Home Services category
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.