Bottom line
- Total investment $104K – $274K including a $25K franchise fee.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 47/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 38 loans (below the industry average).
- No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
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 Roto-Rooter unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
38%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Franchisees operate drain cleaning, plumbing repair, and water restoration services under the Roto-Rooter brand. Day-to-day operations include managing service technicians, scheduling customer appointments, responding to emergency calls, maintaining equipment/vehicles, and generating revenue through residential and commercial plumbing services.
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 · 13 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
Roto-Rooter presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to declining franchise unit count, undisclosed financial performance data, and significant parent company litigation that could affect franchisee support and brand reputation.
Score breakdown · what drove the 47 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-2.0% YoY) suggests system contraction and potential market saturation
- 02HIGHParent company litigation: $140M OIG audit finding with $50.3M demand letter currently under appeal creates uncertainty about corporate stability and potential impact on franchisees
- 03MEDNo disclosed average revenue or net income (Item 19) prevents validation of profit claims and ROI projections
- 04MINORRoyalty structure scaling up to $36,000+/month represents significant ongoing cost burden, especially for smaller territories
- 05MINORHigh initial investment range ($103,980-$273,700) combined with declining unit metrics increases break-even risk
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
72 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Roto-Rooter · FDD (2024) PDF