SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · FLORIDA
Firstlight Homecare franchise in Florida: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Firstlight Homecare in Florida have taken 8 SBA loans since 1991 (average $254,575)— too few resolved loans in-state to publish a local failure rate (we require a resolved cohort, never extrapolate), so the brand's national rate of 9.1% is the better guide.
Loans in FL
8
Resolved
4
Local charge-off
thin
National charge-off
9.1%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = FL. Charge-off rate = charged-off ÷ (charged-off + paid-in-full); open loans excluded. A local rate is published only when the resolved cohort clears our floor of 30 loans.
Businesses in this industry
4,867
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
20.8
national 17.4
Versus the country
+20%
denser
Every business in Firstlight Homecare's industry operating in Florida — franchised and independent — from the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (2023), against 2024 population estimates. Counter-intuitively, density is not a warning: across 198 brand-state cells in our loan data, the densest quartile charges off at 5.6% versus 18.1% in the thinnest. A crowded market is usually proven demand; an empty one is often empty for a reason.
| System | Loans in FL | Local charge-off | Units in FL |
|---|---|---|---|
| SYNERGY HOME CARE | 12 | thin | 67 |
| Bright Star Healthcare/Brightstar | 10 | thin | — |
| Comfort Keepers | 10 | thin | — |
| HOME HELPERS HOME CARE | 9 | thin | 27 |
| SENIOR HELPERS | 9 | thin | 33 |
| NURSE NEXT DOOR | 7 | thin | — |
| Visiting Angels | 7 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Firstlight Homecare compares to the systems a buyer in Florida would actually be choosing between. Local rates under 10 resolved loans are marked thin, not hidden.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Firstlight Homecare's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →