From the filed FDD — automated extraction, check the source
2026 FDD
SBA-eligible · directory code S0265 since 2017
Buddy's Home Furnishings
Rent-to-own · parent company: not identified
Buddy's Home Furnishings is a rent-to-own retailer offering furniture, appliances, and electronics through flexible lease-purchase plans. A franchisee operates a showroom store with delivery and collections operations, serving credit-constrained households on weekly and monthly payment terms.
Buddy's Home Furnishings net unit count declined 33.8% over 2023–2025 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. Most numbers on this page come from that document; others come from federal SBA loan records and labor and census data, each labelled with its source:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened, transferred and left the system, the main basis for our verdict, which rates how strong the disclosed record is, or says when the system is too new, the filing too old, or the disclosure too thin to judge.
Our rating · opinion
Weaker disclosed record
Below our threshold on the operating record we compute from Item 20 — unit growth, the mix of exits, owner turnover and promise-keeping. What pulls it down: units fell 34% (2023–2025: 337 → 223); most exits were terminations or closures rather than transfers to new owners; the system opened far fewer outlets than it projected (Item 20 Table 5); the fiscal 2025 exit rate was 36.3%, well above the 6.5% median across 23 comparable systems (retail & products). This is our opinion of the filing, not a finding about the franchisor's finances.
Exit rate · fiscal 2025
36.3%
vs 6.5% median across 23 comparable systems (retail & products)
Cost to open
$376K–$798K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan losses
Too few to rate
2 seasoned resolved loans; 30 needed
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Data as of 2026-10-29. Figures come from Buddy's Home Furnishings's public FDD filings (latest: MN 2026, extracted 2026-07-22) and SBA FOIA loan records (through FY2026), extracted by us and possibly containing errors. The rating is our opinion, not investment, legal, or tax advice. Franchisor or owner and see something wrong? Report a correction — we review every request.
What each source says
FDD record · SBA loans · model · auditor
The sources broadly agree, and the verdict follows the FDD's operating record.
FDD record · Item 20
Weaker operating record
Units fell 34% (2023–2025: 337 → 223); exit rate 36.3% (fiscal 2025) vs 6.5% median.
SBA loans · vs same-year loans
Too few seasoned loans
2 resolved loans approved by FY2020; 30 needed.
Modeled risk
Higher modeled risk
Directional only — too few seasoned loans to check it.
Auditor opinion · Item 21
Clean opinion
Unqualified audit, 2026 FDD. Says nothing about franchisee results.
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
latest consecutive years · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness · shown, not counted in the verdict
Systemwide units
2023–2025
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2025, 107 of 295 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 36.3% (fiscal 2025), vs a 6.5% median across 23 comparable systems (retail & products). An exit is not a failure: this counts terminations, non-renewals and "ceased — other reasons" as reported, and excludes transfers to new owners.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 338 | 337 | 328 |
| Opened | 11 | 11 | 3 |
| Transfers | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Terminations | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 3 | 18 | 107 |
| Outlets at end | 337 | 328 | 223 |
| Net change | -1 | -9 | -105 |
The franchisor's own finances
FDD ITEM 21 · AUDITED STATEMENTS · 2026 FDD
Rivero, Gordimer & Company, P.A. gave an unmodified (clean) opinion on the statements in the 2026 FDD.
This is the company selling the franchise, not any franchisee. A clean opinion means the statements are fairly presented — not that the business is healthy.
Revenue
not extracted
2026 FDD
Net income
not extracted
2026 FDD
Revenue mix
Royalty share not extracted
initial-fee share not extracted
Show the statement figures ↓Hide the evidence ↑
No statement figures extracted from the 2026 FDD.
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan outcomes · compared with franchise loans of the same years
Banks have made 12 SBA-backed loans to Buddy's Home Furnishings franchisees since 2015. Only 2 of its loans approved by FY2020 have resolved — fewer than the 30 we need to compare it fairly with other franchise loans, so we don't rate it.
All-time, 0 of 2 resolved loans charged off (0.0%). That raw figure mixes every approval year since 2015 — loans made in 2006–08 failed at several times the rate of loans made in 2010–13 across all franchises — so it is shown as evidence, not as the score. 83% of the brand's loans have not resolved yet.
—
2 seasoned resolved · 30 needed
0.0%
0 of 2 resolved, every approval year
—
charged-off $ ÷ approved $, defaulted loans
$615,250
what recent franchisees borrowed
—
shown with 10+ defaults
5 vs 2
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%) · dashed line = all franchise loans that year
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO BUDDY'S HOME FURNISHINGS BY SBA FRANCHISE NAME/CODE · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL · EXPECTED = SAME-YEAR RATE ACROSS ALL SBA FRANCHISE LOANS, LOANS ≥ ~6 YEARS OLD
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $39,900 franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $376K–$798K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$376K–$798K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$39,900
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
6%
of sales, ongoing
Starts at the Item 19 median of $670K from Buddy's Home Furnishings’ latest FDD. Read which units built that figure, then check it with current and former owners.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$39K
6% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$390K
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This estimate is computed by software from the brand's public filings and any inputs you enter. No CPA prepared it for you and no assurance is provided on it. Actual results will differ, and the differences may be material.
This is not profit. It covers what the FDD fixes: what you put in, and the royalty you owe on sales. Your take-home depends on cost of goods, labor, rent, and the months to breakeven, none of which the FDD fixes for your unit (some Item 19s include cost data — read it).
Build a real pro-forma for Buddy's Home Furnishings with a buyer-paid CPAHow the earnings claim is built
FDD ITEM 19 · BASIS · 2026 FDD
Item 19's tables are images in this filing, so we could read who is included but not every figure. Open Item 19 in the PDF.
Show the basis ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| What is measured | Average Annual Gross Sales (gross sales) |
| Period | Fiscal year 2025 |
| Whose results | Franchised outlets |
| Units included | 188 of 191 Franchised Businesses at end of fiscal year 2025 |
| Left out |
|
| Average (mean) | not printed |
| Median | not printed |
| Costs shown | None — sales only |
| Where | p. 50 (Item 19 runs pp. 49–65) |
| The filing's words | “Tables 1-A and 1-B include certain information regarding the actual historical average annual Gross Sales for fiscal year 2025 for the 188 Franchised Businesses that operated for all of fiscal year 2025” |
Modeled risk
FDD Risk Score · a prediction from disclosure and loan-file features
The model puts this brand in its higher-risk band — but this brand has too few seasoned SBA loans to check the score against, so read it as a band, not a number.
Risk percentile
Higher modeled risk
Directional · no point estimate
Modeled · vs same-year loans
band only
too few seasoned loans to check
Top drivers: Item 20 exit rate (raises) · Net unit growth (lowers) · Item 3 litigation (log) (lowers) · No Item 19 disclosure (raises). Too few seasoned SBA loans to check the score — read it as a band. A linear scorecard trained on brands' vintage-adjusted SBA loss records; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.
Public records
Bankruptcy, closure & federal court records · coverage is selective · dockets are not scored
We have no verified public-record signals published for Buddy's Home Furnishings. This is not evidence that no events exist. Check PACER, the FDD's Item 3 (litigation) and Item 4 (bankruptcy), and recent news yourself.
10 questions to ask a Buddy's Home Furnishings franchisee
Built from this brand's own disclosures · take it to your validation calls
The franchisor will give you a list of owners to call. Most buyers ask whether they like it. These questions come from what Buddy's Home Furnishings has disclosed. Each one carries the number it came from, so you can check the answer against the record.
- 01
Buddy's Home Furnishings’ own Item 20 shows 107 of 295 franchised outlets left the system in fiscal 2025 — about 36.3%. Do you know any of those owners, and do you know why they left?
A franchisor will call these “transitions.” An owner three doors down usually knows whether they sold at a profit or handed the keys back.
FDD Item 20 · FY2025
- 02
The system went from 337 units to 223 over 3 disclosed years. What's the explanation you've been given, and do you believe it?
A shrinking system means fewer owners funding the ad fund and support staff you're paying for.
FDD Item 20 · FY2023–FY2025
- 03
Item 7 says the low end to open is $376K; the average recent SBA loan to Buddy's Home Furnishings franchisees was $615K. What did you actually spend to open, all in — and did your loan cover anything beyond the build-out?
Lenders size loans to the project they finance. If owners say they spent near the loan figure rather than the Item 7 floor, budget from what they spent.
FDD Item 7 vs SBA approvals FY2020+
- 04
You pay 6.0% royalty on gross sales, plus the ad fund, before any of your own costs. On your actual revenue last year, what did you take home as the owner — not revenue, take-home?
Royalty is charged on sales, not profit. This is the number the brochure never shows and the one your life actually runs on.
FDD Item 6
- 05
Buddy's Home Furnishings makes an earnings claim in Item 19. Does your unit look like that number — and do you know which units they included to build it?
Item 19 is legal to build from a flattering subset. Ask whether they excluded new units, closed units, or company stores.
FDD Item 19 · 2026
- 06
How many months did it take to cover your own costs, and how much cash did you burn getting there?
Ramp-to-breakeven working capital is the most underestimated line in any franchise purchase, and the most common reason otherwise-good units fail.
Not disclosed in any FDD — ask an owner
- 07
Item 3 discloses 4 legal matters. Do you know what those were about, and were any brought by franchisees?
Franchisee-brought suits over territory, fees or support tell you how the franchisor behaves when there's a disagreement.
FDD Item 3 · 2026
- 08
What does the franchisor charge for that you didn't expect — required tech fees, mandatory remodels, approved-supplier pricing?
Required spending appears across Items 6, 8 and 11 rather than in one place, so buyers routinely miss the total.
FDD Items 6, 8, 11
- 09
If your agreement came up for renewal tomorrow at current terms, would you sign again?
The single most predictive question you can ask. A hesitation is the answer.
Ask every owner you speak to
- 10
Who else should I call — including someone who left?
The franchisor's list is curated by definition. Former franchisees are where the unflattering truth lives, and current owners usually know how to reach them.
Ask every owner you speak to
Want this as a checklist you can take to the calls?
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A broker is usually paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid only by you, never by a franchisor you're considering — and the job is pressure-testing Buddy's Home Furnishings’ numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
This page is what buyers see before they call you for validation. If the record above is wrong — or right in a way the numbers can't show — say so. Franchisors: send corrections with the page reference and we will review them against the filing and update or annotate the page. Corrections are checked against the filings; nothing you write is published with your name unless you agree to it.
Buddy's Home Furnishings franchise questions, answered from the filings
How many Buddy's Home Furnishings franchised outlets left the system last year?
In Buddy's Home Furnishings's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 107 of 295 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 36.3% — compared with a 6.5% median across 23 comparable systems (retail & products) tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons" as the franchisor reported them; it excludes transfers to new owners. The FDD does not say why each outlet left, and an exit is not the same as a failure.
How much does a Buddy's Home Furnishings franchise cost?
Per Buddy's Home Furnishings's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $39,900 (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $376K–$798K (Item 7).
What royalty does Buddy's Home Furnishings charge?
Buddy's Home Furnishings charges an ongoing royalty of 6.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.
Does Buddy's Home Furnishings disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — Buddy's Home Furnishings makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $670K. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.