FRANCHISE·WATCH·DESK

From the filed FDD — automated extraction, check the source

2026 FDD

SBA-eligible · directory code S0402 since 2017

College Hunks Hauling Junk

Junk removal & dumpster rental · parent company: not identified

College Hunks Hauling Junk is a junk removal and moving franchise. Franchisees operate a truck-based crew business, providing junk hauling, donation pickups, and local moving services for homeowners and businesses.

College Hunks Hauling Junk net unit count declined 19.9% 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

SBA loans to its franchisees approved FY2013–2020 charged off far more often than franchise loans of the same years (11 vs about 4.5 expected, 2.4×). A charge-off is a lender's loss, not proof a business closed, but at 2.4× the same-year rate we cap the rating regardless of what Item 20 shows.

Exit rate · fiscal 2025

15.1%

vs 11.1% median across 6 comparable systems (junk removal & dumpster rental)

Cost to open

$138K–$346K

Item 7 total investment range

SBA loan losses · vs same-year loans

2.4×

11 of 45 charged off vs ~4.5 expected

Market density · Texas

Thin market

51% thinner than the national average

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Data as of 2026-10-29. Figures come from College Hunks Hauling Junk's public FDD filings (latest: MN 2026, extracted 2026-07-30) 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

Our answer: Weaker disclosed record

We lead with the loan record: franchisees' loans defaulted far more often than franchise loans made in the same years, which outweighs what the franchisor's own Item 20 shows.

FDD record · Item 20

Weaker operating record

Units fell 20% (2023–2025: 206 → 165); exit rate 15.1% (fiscal 2025) vs 11.1% median.

SBA loans · vs same-year loans

Far more defaults than expected (2.4×)

11 charge-offs among 45 resolved loans approved FY2013–2020; about 4.5 expected.

Modeled risk

Higher modeled risk

Riskier than 90% of scored systems.

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

hi-1.0.0
Net unit growth41%

latest consecutive years · Item 20 Table 1

Weak
Exit quality29%

terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3

Weak
Transfer / churn18%

transfers vs. base · Table 3

Fair
Promise-keeping12%

actual vs. projected openings · Table 5

Weak
Transparencynot in verdict

Item 19 disclosure + completeness · shown, not counted in the verdict

Strong

Systemwide units

2023–2025

-19.9%
206202319020241652025

Survival record

FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year

In fiscal 2025, 28 of 186 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 15.1% (fiscal 2025), vs a 11.1% median across 6 comparable systems (junk removal & dumpster rental). An exit is not a failure: this counts terminations, non-renewals and "ceased — other reasons" as reported, and excludes transfers to new owners. The FDD's footnotes say 11 of the 27 outlets counted as “ceased — other” in 2025 were territories sold to existing franchisees and absorbed into their territories, which remained operational under new ownership; the other 16 closed.

Show the outlet tables ↓
Status (FTC)202320242025
Outlets at start189206190
Opened39162
Transfers132312
Terminations211
Non-renewals000
Reacquired by franchisor011
Ceased — other reasons203027
Outlets at end206190165
Net change+17-16-25

The franchisor's own finances

FDD ITEM 21 · AUDITED STATEMENTS · 2026 FDD

Full read →

CliftonLarsonAllen LLP gave an unmodified (clean) opinion on the statements in the 2026 FDD; revenue fell 12% from FY2023 to FY2025.

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.

Audit opinion

Unmodified (clean) opinion

CliftonLarsonAllen LLP

Revenue · FY2025

$31.7M

extracted · not cross-checked

Net income · FY2025

$2.2M

extracted · not cross-checked

Where FY2025 revenue came from

57% royalties

initial-fee share not extracted

Show the statement figures ↓
Fiscal yearFY2023FY2024FY2025
Total revenue$36.1Mextracted · not cross-checked$35.2Mextracted · not cross-checked$31.7Mextracted · not cross-checked
Royalty revenue$18.3Mextracted · not cross-checked$18.7Mextracted · not cross-checked$18.0Mextracted · not cross-checked
Net income (loss)$9.3Mextracted · not cross-checked$7.5Mextracted · not cross-checked$2.2Mextracted · not cross-checked

The lender's view

SBA 7(a)/504 loan outcomes · compared with franchise loans of the same years

Banks have made 171 SBA-backed loans to College Hunks Hauling Junk franchisees since 2013. Of the 45 approved FY2013–2020 that have resolved, 11 charged off — where about 4.5 would be expected for franchise loans made in the same years. That is 2.4× the expected rate: these loans defaulted far more often than comparable franchise loans.

All-time, 16 of 65 resolved loans charged off (24.6%). That raw figure mixes every approval year since 2013 — 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. 62% of the brand's loans have not resolved yet.

Loss vs same-year loans

2.4×

11 of 45 resolved (FY2013–2020) vs ~4.5 expected

All-time charge-off · raw

24.6%

16 of 65 resolved, every approval year

Loss given default

76.7%

charged-off $ ÷ approved $, defaulted loans

Avg. loan · FY2020+

$256,938

what recent franchisees borrowed

Median time to default

32 mo

approval → charge-off, defaulted loans

Lenders · FY21+ vs FY16–20

29 vs 7

distinct banks still lending

Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%) · dashed line = all franchise loans that year

20'15131411'19673329'22

SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO COLLEGE HUNKS HAULING JUNK BY SBA FRANCHISE NAME/CODE · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL · EXPECTED = SAME-YEAR RATE ACROSS ALL SBA FRANCHISE LOANS, LOANS ≥ ~6 YEARS OLD

The owner's side of the deal

FDD × federal loan record

Who finances it

Celtic Bank Corporation

28.1% of this brand's loans

That lender charges off 27.0% of its resolved SBA loans to other franchise brands in the FOIA file, vs 14.8% nationally — a read on that lender's portfolio mix, not a finding about the bank.

Who buys it

81.3%

borrowers with no other franchise SBA loan on record

The rest already owned at least one other franchise. Across the corpus, brands bought mostly by repeat operators have charged off less often than brands sold mostly to newcomers (see methodology).

Does experience help here?

Not enough resolved loans to split

Computed from 33 SBA 7(a)/504 loans matched to College Hunks Hauling Junk by SBA franchise code in the SBA FOIA file. Debt service assumes level amortization at the average disclosed term and rate. Owner-level splits rely on borrower-name matching and may misclassify. A lender's rate excludes its loans to this brand, so it reads the lender, not the brand.

What it costs — and what it drags

FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty

Buying in means a $35,000 franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $138K–$346K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.

To open (Item 7)

$138K–$346K

all-in investment range

Franchise fee (Item 5)

$35,000

upfront, one-time

Royalty (Item 6)

7%

of sales, ongoing

If a unit does this in annual sales…$1.1M/yr

Starts at the Item 19 median of $1.1M from College Hunks Hauling Junk’s latest FDD. Read which units built that figure, then check it with current and former owners.

Royalty you'd pay / yr

$81K

7% of sales, before profit

Over a 10-yr term

$805K

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 labor, vehicles, supplies, insurance, 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 College Hunks Hauling Junk with a buyer-paid CPA

How the earnings claim is built

FDD ITEM 19 · BASIS · 2026 FDD

This filing makes an Item 19 earnings claim; we have not yet read how it is built. Open Item 19 and check which units it covers, which it leaves out, and whether it shows costs.

Show the basis ↓

Modeled risk

FDD Risk Score · a prediction from disclosure and loan-file features

Higher modeled risk · modeled

Modeled from the public record, this brand looks riskier than 90% of the systems we score (higher-risk band).

Observed · vs same-year loans

2.4×

11 of 45 seasoned loans charged off

Risk percentile

90th

Checkable · higher = riskier

Modeled · vs same-year loans

1.8×

≈ 28.8% at the all-loan vintage mix

Top drivers: Share financed by high-loss lenders (raises) · Item 20 exit rate (raises) · Item 3 litigation (log) (raises) · Net unit growth (lowers). The brand has 30+ seasoned resolved SBA loans, so the score can be checked against its own record. 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 College Hunks Hauling Junk. This is not evidence that no events exist. Check PACER, the FDD's Item 3 (litigation) and Item 4 (bankruptcy), and recent news yourself.

12 questions to ask a College Hunks Hauling Junk 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 College Hunks Hauling Junk has disclosed. Each one carries the number it came from, so you can check the answer against the record.

  1. 01

    College Hunks Hauling Junk’s own Item 20 shows 28 of 186 franchised outlets left the system in fiscal 2025 — about 15.1%. 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

  2. 02

    12 units transferred to new owners in fiscal 2025. When you look at those, were they people cashing out a good business — or getting out of a bad one?

    Item 20 counts transfers as neutral, but a transfer can be a good sale or a reluctant exit — the filing does not say which.

    FDD Item 20 · FY2025

  3. 03

    The system went from 206 units to 165 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

  4. 04

    SBA loans to College Hunks Hauling Junk franchisees approved 2013–2020 defaulted far more often than franchise loans made in the same years: 11 charge-offs among 45 resolved loans, where about 4.5 would be expected (2.4×). Did you finance with an SBA loan, and how close did your first two years come to trouble?

    This is the lender's view of how these loans ended, from public federal records matched by SBA franchise code — independent of anything the franchisor discloses — compared with franchise loans made in the same years. A charge-off is a loan outcome, not proof the business closed.

    SBA 7(a)/504 loan record, seasoned loans FY2013–FY2020 · 2.4× of same-vintage franchise loans

  5. 05

    Item 7 says the low end to open is $138K; the average recent SBA loan to College Hunks Hauling Junk franchisees was $257K. 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+

  6. 06

    You pay 7.0% 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

  7. 07

    College Hunks Hauling Junk 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

  8. 08

    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

  9. 09

    Item 3 discloses 1 legal matter. Do you know what it was about, and was it 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

  10. 10

    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

  11. 11

    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

  12. 12

    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?

I'll email you the printable version, and tell you if College Hunks Hauling Junk’s numbers move — a new filing, a rising exit rate, a distress signal. Unsubscribe in one click.

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Own or owned a College Hunks Hauling Junk — or represent the franchisor?no appointment · read by a person

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.

College Hunks Hauling Junk franchise questions, answered from the filings

How many College Hunks Hauling Junk franchised outlets left the system last year?

In College Hunks Hauling Junk's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 28 of 186 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 15.1% — compared with a 11.1% median across 6 comparable systems (junk removal & dumpster rental) 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 College Hunks Hauling Junk franchise cost?

Per College Hunks Hauling Junk's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $35,000 (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $138K–$346K (Item 7).

What royalty does College Hunks Hauling Junk charge?

College Hunks Hauling Junk charges an ongoing royalty of 7.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.

Does College Hunks Hauling Junk disclose earnings (Item 19)?

Yes — College Hunks Hauling Junk makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $1.1M. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.

How often do SBA loans for College Hunks Hauling Junk franchises default?

SBA loans to College Hunks Hauling Junk franchisees approved 2013–2020 defaulted far more often than franchise loans made in the same years: 11 charge-offs among 45 resolved loans, where about 4.5 would be expected (2.4×). All-time, 16 of 65 resolved loans since 2013 charged off (24.6%); that raw figure mixes every approval year, so we compare with same-year loans instead. A charge-off is a loan loss, not proof the business closed. Source: public SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA data.