TheHomeMag Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $199K
- Disclosed sales
- $1.8M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (2)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
TheHomeMag is a home improvement advertising and media franchise publishing local home-services magazines. Franchisees run the publication, selling advertising to contractors and managing content, distribution, and accounts.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A TheHomeMag franchise does not disclose total investment in its current FDD, including a $30K – $100K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2022 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.8M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - issued more than two years ago
Evidence: partial✗ 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 scored4 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $199K
- 77th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- 19th pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 6.5%
- 44th pct Home Services
- Units
- 63
- 50th pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services 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 $199K including a $30K franchise fee, 6.5% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.8M/year.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 55/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +3 franchised outlets in the latest year (4 opened, 1 closed) (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- THM Management, LLC
- Parent company
- Opportunity Leads International, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- TheHomeMag Holding Company, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2022 FDD
- Predecessor
- TheHomeMag Franchising, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Sean Campbell
- CEO experience
- 21 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- Florida
- HQ
- 1732 SE 47th Terrace, Cape Coral, Florida 33904
- Auditor
- Noack & Company, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $4.8M
- vs $5.6M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Sean Campbell
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 2006
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 21
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Source: FDD 2022 · Items 5–7
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $199K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $143K – $220K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $100K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.5%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- No current Brand Marketing Fund (established 2007, suspen…
- Total fee load
- 6.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $195 |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| 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 201% above the home services norm.
Source: FDD 2022 · Item 19
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 TheHomeMag 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: 2022 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- Per unit/yr · from the Item 19 franchised-cohort breakdown (no single system-wide average disclosed)
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- location-by-location historical gross sales list (no averages/medians computed)
- Sample size
- 42 outlets
- vs category median 32
- Range (low → high)
- $254K→$7.0MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 40 of the 2022 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2021
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2022
- Disclosed in the 2022 filing, covering 2021
Compared against 319 Home Services brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.8M/year in gross sales.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.5% — below the Home Services median of 8.0%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 0/10 — minimal disclosure beyond the required average. Hard to judge the distribution of outcomes across units.
Operator retention
System expanding at 13.5% CAGR over 3 years across 63 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Home Services medians
How TheHomeMag Compares
Category median of published Home Services 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 2022 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 63
- Opened
- 4
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 1.6%
- Company-owned
- 21
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 67%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +13.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +13.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 1
- Reacquired
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 1.6%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 1.6%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 7 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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
9 current owners across 7 states.
- NE 2
- TX 2
- CA 1
- IA 1
- OK 1
- PA 1
- VA 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 2 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 2
- Loan volume
- $526K
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (2)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 2 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (2)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (2)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 1
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
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
Advertising franchisor with two related antitrust/Lanham Act suits (both dismissed in defendants' favor) plus negative franchisor equity of -$134,279. Offsetting these, net income was a strong $3.7M on $5.9M revenue and net growth was 13.5%.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
GDHI Marketing, LLC d/b/a GODABO Home and Life (GoDabo) as plaintiff in two cases: (1) Civil Action No. 18-cv-2672 MSK (U.S. District Court, District of Colorado) filed October 19, 2018, against Antsel Marketing, LLC, THM Management, LLC, Claire Lindsay, Annie Mullen, Barbara Robles, and Ellen Smith for Sherman Act violations, Lanham Act violations, and tortious interference. Dismissed September 23, 2019 in favor of Defendants. (2) Civil Action No. 19-cv-34024 (U.S. District Court, District of Colorado) filed October 18, 2019, against Antsel Marketing, LLC, THM Management, LLC, Claire Lindsay, Russell Lindsay, Annie Mullen, Barbara Robles, and Ellen Smith for anticompetitive actions and tortious interference. Dismissed March 5, 2021 in favor of Defendants.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Noack & Company, LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Franchisor total revenue $5,927,871 for FY2021, of which $491,612 (8.3%) derived from franchisee purchases (mailing list/printing/graphics services).
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 55 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNegative franchisor net worth: -$134,279
- 02MEDTwo related antitrust/Lanham Act suits (GDHI/GoDabo), both dismissed for defendants
- 03MINORPositive net income $3.7M on $5.9M revenue; growth 13.5%
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 2022 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 100 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Cape Coral, Florida |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Florida |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
GDHI Marketing, LLC d/b/a GODABO Home and Life (GoDabo) as plaintiff in two cases: (1) Civil Action No. 18-cv-2672 MSK (U.S. District Court, District of Colorado) filed October 19, 2018, against Antsel Marketing, LLC, THM Management, LLC, Claire Lindsay, Annie Mullen, Barbara Robles, and Ellen Smith for Sherman Act violations, Lanham Act violations, and tortious interference. Dismissed September 23, 2019 in favor of Defendants. (2) Civil Action No. 19-cv-34024 (U.S. District Court, District of Colorado) filed October 18, 2019, against Antsel Marketing, LLC, THM Management, LLC, Claire Lindsay, Russell Lindsay, Annie Mullen, Barbara Robles, and Ellen Smith for anticompetitive actions and tortious interference. Dismissed March 5, 2021 in favor of Defendants.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 16 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 86 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisee, subject to franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Magazine Manager (CRM)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Magazine Manager (CRM)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
9 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What do TheHomeMag franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the TheHomeMag FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.8M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns TheHomeMag?
TheHomeMag is franchised by THM Management, LLC. Its parent company is Opportunity Leads International, LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is TheHomeMag Holding Company, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2022 filing.
What is Item 19 in the TheHomeMag 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 TheHomeMag FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is TheHomeMag's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for TheHomeMag (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 TheHomeMag franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, TheHomeMag has 63 total units in the United States, including 42 franchised units and 21 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is TheHomeMag a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates TheHomeMag as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 55 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.