Mr. Handyman

The $65,000 franchise fee is the highest upfront fee among the residential home services brands in the Neighborly portfolio, sitting well above Mr. Rooter's $42,500 and Molly Maid's $14,900. The additional $5,500 Initial Package Fee brings the day-one payment to $70,500. Veterans get a 15% discount, and existing Neighborly franchisees get 10% — useful if you're adding a second brand.

The item 7 total investment of $143,150–$179,600 is straightforward for a home-based or light-office operation. The biggest variable is working capital ($54,000–$74,000 for three months) and the van, which costs $43,000–$58,000 to purchase and outfit (the item 7 figure only captures the 3-month lease deposit, not the full acquisition cost).

Where the cost picture gets more demanding is the first-year local marketing requirement: $60,000 minimum in year one, then $75,000 in year two, and 8% of prior-year gross sales thereafter. This is above and beyond the 2% MAP fee. For an operator doing $500K in year one, the combined marketing obligation is $60,000 mandatory local + $10,000 MAP — that's $70,000 in marketing costs, or 14% of revenue.

The royalty structure is also layered. Standard revenue (labor) is charged at 7%, but material revenue and subcontractor revenue are charged at 3.5%. The split matters because material charges can be a meaningful portion of a handyman job ticket. Minimum fees kick in starting week 40 at $200/week and escalate to $350/week by week 183, regardless of actual sales.

Mr. Handyman reports gross sales aggregated by how many units a franchisee operates — a more useful disclosure than a flat system average. In 2024, single-unit operators (56 franchisees) averaged $763,264 in annual gross sales, with a median of $592,224. That's a meaningful spread — 34% exceeded the average, and the range was $39K to $3.2M.

Two-unit franchisees averaged $1.14M (median $1.05M), and three-unit operators averaged $1.38M (median $1.35M). The pattern is clear: adding a second territory roughly adds $375K in revenue, not another $763K, suggesting some cannibalization or market saturation at scale.

The average gross sales per job was $684 in 2024 (median $636), which is a useful pricing benchmark. At $700 per job and 1,000 jobs per year — roughly 4 jobs per day for a single-van operation — that's $700K gross. At the 7% royalty that's $49K to corporate, plus $58K–$80K in first or second year marketing minimums.

No net income or profit margins are disclosed. The FDD notes that Mr. Handyman revenue figures 'do not reflect the cost of sales, operating expenses, or other costs and expenses that must be deducted from gross revenue or gross sales figures to obtain your net income or profit.'

Mr. Handyman has grown consistently from 297 units in 2022 to 347 units at end of 2024 — a net gain of 50 units over three years. Critically, closures are very low: just 1 in 2022, zero in 2023, and an implied low number in 2024. For every unit that opened, nearly none closed — a strong signal of franchisee health.

The 2024 data shows 21 new openings against minimal closures. All 347 units are franchised (no company-owned), and the system projects continued growth. This is one of the cleanest unit growth profiles in the Neighborly portfolio.

The mandatory local marketing spend is the item most prospect buyers underestimate. $60,000 in required local marketing in year one — above and beyond the 2% MAP fee — means your true marketing cost can exceed $70,000 annually on a $500K revenue base. If you hit the $75,000 year-two minimum, that's 15% of revenue going to marketing before you've achieved any volume discount. This requirement exists because skilled trade businesses live or die on local visibility, but model it carefully.

The call center program is mandatory, adding $349.99–$449.99/month plus $25 per booked appointment. At modest booking volumes, that's $7,000–$12,000+ annually in fees to Neighborly's affiliate call center.

The biennial Reunion attendance is mandatory, with a $2,000 non-attendance penalty. It's a small number but represents the broader pattern: Neighborly's franchise system has multiple mandatory participation requirements that collectively add up.

Finally, the van requirement is significant and often underappreciated: a properly outfitted Mr. Handyman van costs $43,000–$58,000. The item 7 only shows the lease deposit. Factor the full vehicle cost into your actual launch budget.