Owl Be There Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $113K – $137K
- Disclosed sales
- $130K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Owl Be There is a senior services franchise providing senior-living placement and referral services to families. Franchisees run home-based operations, matching seniors with care communities for referral fees.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Owl Be There franchise requires a total initial investment of $113K – $137K, including a $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average revenue per franchisee was $130K. This franchisor reports Item 19 per franchisee rather than per outlet, so the figure is not comparable with per-outlet averages[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2025 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - a newer filing may exist
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored6 of 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $113K – $137K
- 63rd pct Senior Care
- Avg gross sales
- $130K
- Per franchisee, not per outlet
- Royalty
- 6.5%
- 76th pct Senior Care
- Units
- 7
- 27th pct Senior Care
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Senior Care · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Senior Care median · 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 $113K – $137K including a $60K franchise fee, 6.5% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage revenue per franchisee of $130K/year (median $127K). Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 58/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +1 franchised outlets in the latest year (4 opened, 3 closed); 2 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- FLAG3 units terminated last reporting year (42.9% of the system). Ask existing franchisees why.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Owl Be There Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- OBT Corporation
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
- David Greenwood
- Incorporated in
- VA
- HQ
- 6200 Rolling Road, #2400, Springfield, Virginia 22152
- Auditor
- DA Advisory Group PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $494K
- vs $205K prior year
Affiliated brands
- Custom Senior Living Search
- Owl Be There Intellectual Property
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- David Greenwood
- Headquarters
- VA
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 5
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 8% below the typical senior care franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown13 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $60K | $60K | |
| Onboarding and Training Feenot refundable | $15K | $15K | |
| Travel & Expenses During Training | $2K | $4K | |
| Start-Up Kit Feenot refundable | $5K | $5K | |
| CSA Certification | $990 | $990 | |
| NPRA Membership | $399 | $399 | |
| Computer System | $0 | $3K | |
| General Supplies | $200 | $400 | |
| Insurance | $2K | $3K | |
| Professional Fees, Business Licenses, Legal Fees | $850 | $3K | |
| Professional Development / Business Coaching | $6K | $6K | |
| Rent and Utilities | — | — | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months | $22K | $38K | |
| Total initial investment | $113K | $137K |
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
- $113K – $137K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $22K – $38K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $60K – $60K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 6.5%
- Tiered by sales volume · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- $250 per month (National Brand Fund flat fee, not to exce…
- Total fee load
- 6.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $800 |
| Training fee | $15K |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $8K |
| Total fee load | 6.5% of rev |
A 6.5% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 88% below the senior care norm.
Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Owl Be There until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$155K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Owl Be There unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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
Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures
- Avg gross sales
- $130K
- Per franchisee, per year — not per outlet
- Median gross sales
- $127K
- Per franchisee, not per outlet
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 3 franchisees
- vs category median 22 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $110K→$153KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 40 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 79 Senior Care brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
The average franchisee generates $130K/year in gross sales.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.5% (near the Senior Care median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence. Sample size of 3 franchisees — treat as directional only.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +50.0% over 3 years (4 opened, 3 closed).
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 Senior Care medians
How Owl Be There Compares
Per franchisee, not per outlet - the category median is per-outlet only, so no comparison is shown
Category median of published Senior Care brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 7
- Opened
- 4
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 42.9%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 86%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +50.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +50.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 3
- Signed, not yet open
- 2
- 0.29 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 6
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Termination rate
- 0.1%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 5 states 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.
5
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
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
Early-stage franchisor with undisclosed profitability metrics, minimal unit count, high cost structure relative to reported revenues, and insufficient franchisee financial performance data to validate investment viability.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · DA Advisory Group PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 58 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet Income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — cannot validate profitability claims or ROI timeline
- 02MEDOnly 7 units system-wide indicates early-stage franchise with limited proven model and scalability
- 03MINORHigh royalty structure (6.5-10% + minimum monthly fee) creates dual burden; minimum fee amount not specified
- 04MINOR20% YoY growth from minimal base (7 units) is mathematically modest and sustainability is unproven
- 05MINOR10-year term is lengthy commitment for unproven brand with no franchisee track record data available
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.5% 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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 700,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 75 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Springfield, Virginia |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | VA |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 132 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Northern VA, OBT Training Center (pre-opening in-person); post-opening via Zoom/teleconference or in-person
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- QuickBooks Online
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: QuickBooks Online
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
18 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Owl Be There franchise?
The total investment to open a Owl Be There franchise ranges from $113K – $137K, with an initial franchise fee of $60K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Owl Be There franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Owl Be There FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $130K. The median is $127K. Important context: Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Owl Be There?
Owl Be There is franchised by Owl Be There Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is OBT Corporation. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Owl Be There 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 Owl Be There FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Owl Be There's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Owl Be There (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 Owl Be There franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Owl Be There has 7 total units in the United States, including 6 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Owl Be There a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Owl Be There as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 58 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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
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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.