Bottom line
- Total investment $35K – $90K including a $15K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $158K/year (median $136K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 42/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 13 loans (below the industry average).
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
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 Mr. Sandless unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
35%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Mr. Sandless units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$284K
on $1.4M purchase
Total debt
$1.1M
SBA $0.7M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Mr. Sandless franchisees operate residential/commercial flooring refinishing services, focusing on dustless wood floor sanding and finishing. Daily operations involve job site management, equipment operation, customer consultations, and quality control of sanding and staining work.
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 · 28 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
Mr. Sandless presents moderate-to-cautious risk: a contracting system with undisclosed profitability, unprotected territories, and a royalty structure that may be unsustainable for lower-performing units.
Score breakdown · what drove the 42 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-2.1% YoY) indicates system contraction and potential market saturation
- 02MINORNo net income disclosure prevents ROI validation; average revenue of $157,676 may not support the royalty floor of $600/month
- 03MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk within franchise system
- 04HIGHGoing concern status suggests financial uncertainty at corporate level
- 05MINORHigh royalty floor ($600/month minimum = $7,200 annually) represents 4.6% of average revenue even at zero profit
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
94 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Mr. Sandless · FDD (2025) PDF