Top Rail FenceFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A TOP RAIL FENCE franchise requires a total initial investment of $113K – $213K, including a $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. The 2024 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 23 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 21, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $113K – $213K
- 38th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 54th pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 28th pct Home Services
- Units
- 93
- 52nd pct Home Services
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Home Services avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Only 0.0% of 23 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
Franchised units fell from 167 to 21 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $113K – $213K including a $60K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Item 19 discloses "Actual Revenues and Adjusted Profit" rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 8/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 23 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- HFB FenceCo Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- HFB HoldCo, LLC
- Incorporated in
- NC
- HQ
- 107 Parr Drive, Huntersville, North Carolina 28078
- Auditor
- Davies, Goldstein & Associates CPA's PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2K
- vs $1.8M prior year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2024
- Status as of 2024; may have been resolved in a later filing we don't yet have.
Affiliated brands
- DDL Investments
- LP Franchising
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
TOP RAIL FENCE franchisees operate residential and commercial fence installation and repair businesses, managing crews for construction, handling customer acquisition through local marketing, and providing estimates and project management. Daily operations involve job scheduling, quality oversight, material sourcing, and customer service for fence design, installation, maintenance, and replacement projects.
- CEO
- Jeffrey Dudan
- Headquarters
- NC
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 17
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $60K | $60K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $15K | $30K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $38K | $124K |
| Total initial investment | $113K | $213K |
Source: TOP RAIL FENCE 2024 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $113K – $213K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $60K – $74K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $599 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $1K – $5K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
This brand's FDD disclosed "Actual Revenues and Adjusted Profit" in Item 19 rather than annual gross sales. This metric cannot be directly compared across brands, so we omit it from rankings.
vs Home Services averages
How Top Rail Fence Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 93
- Opened
- 72
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 72
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 117
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 1.1%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 16 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Indiana
- Michigan
- New York
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
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.
- Total loans
- 23
- Loan volume
- $3.7M
- Median loan
- $180K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 6
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Top Rail Fence's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 6 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 12 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 3-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 23 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Hypergrowth expansion coupled with thin profitability margins and opaque financial disclosure presents moderate-to-high risk; explosive unit growth may indicate recruitment-driven model rather than sustainable franchisee success.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 1 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $269,900
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Davies, Goldstein & Associates CPA's PLLC⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 8 / 100 rating
- 01MINORExplosive 342.9% YoY unit growth is unsustainable and suggests potential quality control issues, franchisee satisfaction concerns, or aggressive recruitment masking underlying problems
- 02MINORHigh initial investment ($112,944-$213,444) combined with 7% royalty on relatively modest average revenue ($943,783) creates tight margin pressure with breakeven concerns
- 03MINORNet income averaging only $126,073 (13.4% net margin) means franchisees take home minimal profit after royalties, taxes, and operating expenses in many cases
- 04MINORFranchise fee of $59,900 represents 53-63% of minimum initial investment, indicating heavy reliance on front-loaded revenue rather than ongoing system support
- 05MEDLack of disclosed Item 19 financial performance data prevents independent verification of claimed average revenue and income figures
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Qualified Households |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory population | 80,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | North Carolina |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 1 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 29 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 19 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- joint
- POS system
- Service Minder / Fencecloud
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Service Minder / Fencecloud
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
19 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
TOP RAIL FENCE · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a TOP RAIL FENCE franchise?
The total investment to open a TOP RAIL FENCE franchise ranges from $113K – $213K, 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 TOP RAIL FENCE franchise owners earn?
TOP RAIL FENCE does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is TOP RAIL FENCE's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, TOP RAIL FENCE has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 23 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many TOP RAIL FENCE franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, TOP RAIL FENCE has 93 total units in the United States, including 167 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 72 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is TOP RAIL FENCE a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates TOP RAIL FENCE as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 8 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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.
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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.