Bottom line
- Total investment $73K – $146K including a $49K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $162K/year (median $228K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 54/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 6 loans (below the industry average).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
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 Midtown Chimney Sweeps unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
18%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Midtown Chimney Sweeps units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$194K
on $972K purchase
Total debt
$778K
SBA $0.5M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate local chimney sweeping and inspection services, scheduling residential appointments, performing chimney cleanings, installing caps/dampers, and conducting safety inspections. Daily operations involve field service delivery, customer acquisition/retention, crew management (if scaling), and vehicle/equipment maintenance.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 17 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 phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Modest growth, hidden profitability metrics, and past litigation create meaningful uncertainty around franchisee sustainability and franchisor support quality.
Score breakdown · what drove the 54 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo Item 19 (net income) disclosure prevents ROI validation; average revenue of $162k against $73-146k investment suggests tight margins
- 02HIGHLitigation history (3 legal actions settled April 2020) involving breach of contract and mark counterfeiting indicates past franchisor-franchisee disputes and enforcement challenges
- 03MINORSlow unit growth (8.3% YoY on 39 units = ~3 net new franchises annually) suggests market saturation, recruitment challenges, or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 04MINOR7% royalty on gross revenues with $250/month minimum creates cash flow pressure on seasonal/weather-dependent chimney sweep business
- 05MINORHigh franchise fee ($49,000) represents 67-30% of initial investment with unclear break-even timeline
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
19 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Midtown Chimney Sweeps · FDD (2025) PDF