Bottom line
- Total investment $56K – $240K including a $35K franchise fee.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 69/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 6 loans (below the industry average).
- System contracting at -31.3% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
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 Motto Mortgage unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
65%
Above typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Motto Mortgage franchisees operate as mortgage loan officers/originators, sourcing residential mortgage clients, processing applications, and closing loans. Franchisees leverage the Motto brand (owned by parent Guaranteed Rate) for branding and lead generation but primarily operate as independent loan officers with significant client acquisition responsibility. Revenue depends entirely on mortgage origination volume and interest rate environment.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 25 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
Motto Mortgage presents high risk due to sharp unit decline (-25% YoY), active litigation over royalties, undisclosed financials, and an unprotected territory model in a cyclical industry facing headwinds.
Score breakdown · what drove the 69 / 100 rating
- 01MEDUnit count declined 25% YoY (171 units), indicating systemic franchisee struggles or exits
- 02MINORFour active lawsuits in 2024 including royalty collection defaults, suggesting franchisee cash flow problems and franchisor-franchisee conflict
- 03MEDNo financial disclosure (Item 19): average revenue and net income undisclosed, preventing ROI validation
- 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk and revenue cannibalization within system
- 05MINORHigh per-transaction royalty (25 BPs) plus $2,500 monthly floor creates fixed cost burden regardless of production
- 06MINORMortgage industry volatility and rising rate environment (2023-2024) likely driving unit attrition
- 07MINORFranchise fee ($35,000) relatively low, but combined with royalty structure suggests weak unit economics
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
98 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Motto Mortgage · FDD (2025) PDF