HouseMaster franchise
2026 filing · April 1, 2026Fewer locationsShares sales figures
HouseMaster at a glance
A home inspection business serving buyers, sellers and agents in a territory. At the end of 2025 there were 190 HouseMaster locations in the US, all franchised.
The business
- Franchisor
- HouseMaster SPV LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Waco, Texas
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $74K–$133K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $42,500
- The minimum, for a territory of up to 75,000 owner-occupied homes (larger territories pay $0.57 per owner-occupied home)
- Royalty
- 6.25%–7.75% tiered
- A license fee on yearly gross sales: 7.75% of the first $200,000, 7.5% to $325,000, 7.25% to $575,000, 7% to $1,075,000, 6.5% to $1,575,000 and 6.25% above that
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Limited
- Limited protection
- Franchisor financing
- Some financing offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 190
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 190
- Company-owned
- 0
- Change in 3 years
- −57
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 39
- Most in Florida, New Jersey and Ohio
From HouseMaster SPV LLC’s 2026 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
HouseMaster among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | HouseMaster | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $103,284 | Costs less than 87% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $42,500 | Higher than 54% of franchises |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 190 | More than 85% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $138,881 | Lower than 98% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 1.3× | Lower than 60% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a HouseMaster franchise costs
Opening one HouseMaster costs an estimated $73,878 to $132,689. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital. It is one of the low-cost franchises.
Source: HouseMaster SPV LLC, 2026 filing, page 37
HouseMaster franchise fee
The franchise fee is $42,500, the minimum, for a territory of up to 75,000 owner-occupied homes (larger territories pay $0.57 per owner-occupied home). You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: HouseMaster SPV LLC, 2026 filing, page 24
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | A license fee on yearly gross sales: 7.75% of the first $200,000, 7.5% to $325,000, 7.25% to $575,000, 7% to $1,075,000, 6.5% to $1,575,000 and 6.25% above that. |
|---|---|
| Additional Training Fees | Our then-current fee per trainee/per day, currently $0. |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: HouseMaster SPV LLC, 2026 filing, page 27
Other fees as filed, from page 31. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures HouseMaster publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average sales
- $138,881
- Median sales
- $100,766
Yearly figures for 2025, covering single-unit franchisees reporting for 2025 (71 locations). The average is about 1.3 times the midpoint of the cost to open.
Sales are what a location takes in before rent, payroll, royalties and other costs, not what its owner keeps.
Source: HouseMaster SPV LLC, 2026 filing, pages 75–76
SBA loans to HouseMaster franchisees
Lenders approved 39 SBA 7(a) loans for HouseMaster franchisees from 1995 to 2026, $6.02M in all. Of the 17 that have ended, 13 were paid in full and 4 were charged off. The other 22 haven’t ended yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
Growth and closures
Share of franchised locations, 2025 / 2023–2025. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | HouseMaster | Typical real estate brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | −19% / −23% | −0.9% / 0% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 21% / 39% | 10% / 29% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical real estate brand is the median of the 44 brands in real estate franchises with three years of counts.
How HouseMaster compares
Of the 95 real estate franchises on this site, HouseMaster is the 52nd cheapest to open and the 22nd largest by number of locations.
| Figure | HouseMaster | Typical real estate brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $74K | $69K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $133K | $244K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $43K | $35K | $40K |
| Sales per location | $139K | $553K | $794K |
| US locations | 190 | 67 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 40 of 95 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 95 brands in real estate franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 272 (+1) | 0 | – | – |
| 2022 | 247 (−25) | 0 | – | – |
| 2023 | 242 (−5) | 0 | +15 | −20 |
| 2024 | 235 (−7) | 0 | +19 | −26 |
| 2025 | 190 (−45) | 0 | +5 | −50 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: franchise failure rates.
Over 5 years, from the start of 2021 to the end of 2025, franchised locations went from 271 to 190 (−81, −30%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2024 filing.
Source: HouseMaster SPV LLC, 2026 filing, page 78
2021–2022: HouseMaster SPV LLC, 2024 filing, page 79
Where HouseMaster locations are
At the end of 2025, HouseMaster had franchised locations in 39 states. The most are in Florida, New Jersey and Ohio.
- Florida31
- New Jersey17
- Ohio13
- Texas13
- North Carolina12
- New York11
| State | Franchised |
|---|---|
| Florida | 31 |
| New Jersey | 17 |
| Ohio | 13 |
| Texas | 13 |
| North Carolina | 12 |
| New York | 11 |
| Pennsylvania | 11 |
| California | 8 |
| Colorado | 7 |
| Arizona | 6 |
All 39 states
Source: HouseMaster SPV LLC, 2026 filing, page 80
Who owns HouseMaster?
HouseMaster franchises are sold by HouseMaster SPV LLC.
HouseMaster is one of the 19 Neighborly brands here. Investment firm KKR, which agreed in July 2021 to buy Neighborly from Harvest Partners.
From HouseMaster SPV LLC’s 2026 filing; Business Wire.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | Yes. The filing describes past or pending cases involving the franchisor, its affiliates or its executives on page 23. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | No bankruptcy of the franchisor. Companies controlled by the investment firm KKR, including The Collected Group (2021), Envision Healthcare (2023) and Marelli Holdings (2025), went through Chapter 11. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: HouseMaster SPV LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on page 23, bankruptcy on page 23
HouseMaster filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from HouseMaster SPV LLC’s 2026 filing, issued April 1, 2026; the earlier ones below are on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | April 1, 2026 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
| 2024 filing | – | Minnesota | Locations, 2021–2022 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other real estate franchises
All real estate franchises
HouseMaster is also on these lists: home service franchises.
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