SE
AStrongest tier95/100FDD 2026
Surface Experts: Litigation & Risk
Home Services · FDD Items 3, 4 & 5
Lower Risk
No litigation cases disclosed in FDD Items 3 and 4.
Source: FDD Items 3–5
FDD Items 3 & 4
Litigation Metrics
- Cases disclosed
- 0
- Total from FDD Items 3 and 4
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- None
- Franchisor or officer bankruptcy
- Verdict score
- 95 / 100
- FranchiseVerdict composite · higher is better
- Rating
- A
- A / B / C / D / F verdict grade
7(a) FOIA data · FY2020–present
SBA Loan Performance
Aggregated from public SBA 7(a) loan disclosures. Charge-off rate is the share of loans that were charged off or settled for less than the full balance.
- Total 7(a) loans
- 40
- Government-backed loans issued
- Charge-off rate
- 2.5%
- vs 16% franchise average
- 5-yr charge-off rate
- N/A
- Defaults
- 1 loans
- Loans charged off or defaulted
- Total loan volume
- $6.4M
- Avg loan size
- $160K
- Participating lenders
- 12
FDD Items 5, 6 & 17: What You Give Up
Contract Risk Indicators
- Mandatory arbitration
- Required
- Disputes resolved outside court, limits your legal options
- Jury trial waiver
- Waived
- You give up the right to a jury trial
- Non-compete
- 2 yrs
- Post-termination restriction on similar businesses
- Franchisor can compete
- Yes
- Franchisor can open competing locations in or near your territory
- Right of first refusal
- Yes
- Franchisor can match any purchase offer when you try to sell
- Governing law
- Washington (default; but "laws of the state where the Surface Experts Business is located" applies p
- State whose law governs disputes. Relevant if you're not based there
Extracted from FDD Item 3
Litigation Detail
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Litigation data from FDD Items 3, 4, and 5. SBA data from public 7(a) FOIA records (FY2020–present). Not legal advice. Consult a franchise attorney before signing any franchise agreement.