Celebrating
30 years in the industry, HouseMaster is the most experienced, respected and
innovative home inspection franchise system.Since its inception in 1979, HouseMaster has performed nearly two million home inspections and has
grown to almost 400 franchises. The HouseMaster company culture focuses on
franchise relationships and support, technical proficiency, proven marketing
methods, aggressive risk management tools and cutting-edge technology.Interviewed by media giants such as the Associated
Press, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, HGTV, USA Today and the NY
Times, HouseMaster is considered a leading authority on home inspections.
HouseMaster
enjoys many firsts in the industry such as the customized NIBI® classroom and
online training sessions, inspection and franchise guarantees, agent
indemnification program, operation and marketing systems and on-site inspection
reports.HouseMaster franchisees are
among the most experienced in the industry and are a great source of support,
motivation and camaraderie for new franchisees. HouseMaster provides its
franchisees with detailed business planning tools that allow them to budget
their resources, ensure optimum performance, and carefully monitor their
efforts. Any motivated professional who aspires to be the best will find
himself in good company as part of the HouseMaster team.
Operating Units
12/31/2006
12/31/2007
12/31/2008
Franchised
311
355
334
% Change
--
14.1%
-5.9%
Company-Owned
15
10
10
% Change
--
-33.3%
0.0%
Total
326
365
344
% Change
--
12.0%
-5.8%
Franchised as % of
Total
95.40%
97.26%
97.09%
Investment
Required
The
fee for a HouseMaster franchise is $27,500.HouseMaster may offer financing of the initial franchise fee to
qualifying franchisees.
HouseMaster
provides the following range of investments required to open your initial
franchise. The range assumes that all items are paid for in cash. To the extent
that you choose to finance any of these expense items, your front-end
investment could be substantially reduced.
Item
Established Low
Range
Established High
Range
Franchise
Fee
$27,500
$27,500
Training
Expenses
$500
$2,000
Marketing
Materials and Supplies
$3,000
$6,000
Office
Equipment and Furniture
$0
$2,000
Computer
System
$0
$4,700
Rent
$0
$750
Prepaid
Expenses
$250
$2,500
General
Liability Insurance
$1,500
$2,500
Errors
and Omissions Insurance
$2,500
$3,500
Legal
Services
$1,000
$2,500
HouseMaster
Manual Deposit
$250
$250
Conference
Travel Expenses
$1,000
$3,000
Additional
Funds (3 months)
$6,000
$11,000
Total
Investment
$43,500
$68,200
On-going
Expenses
HouseMaster
franchisees pay a royalty fee ranging from 5% to 7.5% of gross sales and an
advertising fee ranging from 2% to 2.5% of gross sales.
What You Get—Training
and Support
HouseMaster
franchisees are provided with a business coach who guides them through the
training and business start-up process and beyond, including managing time
spent between inspections, sales processes and administrative processes.
Franchisees undergo
two to five weeks of initial training, where they are provided with the
HouseMaster online home inspection primer and webinars on contractual
issues, business plans and goal setting, marketing materials and additional
services opportunities. Technical training at NIBI® (The National Institute of
Building Inspectors – a state approved vocational school) in Bound Brook, NJ
includes classroom sessions on residential construction, home inspection
standards of practice, inspection procedures, training for contact
management and report writing software and practicum sessions, as well as
additional classroom sessions on operations, marketing and communication.
Franchisees also benefit from NIBI® Distance Learning, a high-quality
interactive internet program that is ideal for both training and continuing
education.
Franchisees
communicate with each other as well as corporate staff on the InfoEx, HouseMaster’s
private internet site.The InfoEx also
provides franchisees with general information and bulletins, important updates
on a variety of issues and access to tools such as web page templates, email
templates, printed materials to customize, realtor presentations, tradeshow
materials, internet marketing options such as social networking and the
HouseMaster Library.
Territory
HouseMaster
grants exclusive and protected territories.
