FRANCHISE·WATCH·DESK

Verified — real FDD extraction

SBA-eligible · directory code S8528 since 2026

HomeCare Advocacy Network

Senior Care · independent · est. —

HomeCare Advocacy Network (HCAN) is an in-home senior-care brand providing non-medical caregiving services such as companionship, personal care, and help with daily living, often paired with home-safety technology. A franchisee operates a local agency that staffs caregivers and manages client care.

HomeCare Advocacy Network net unit count grew +900.0% from 20212023 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. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:

  • 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 and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).

The verdict

Too new to judge

Distress

0
STABLE

10 franchised units over 3 disclosed years is not a track record — systems this early have realized only a fraction of their eventual failures. Judge the disclosures, not a verdict.

Exit rate · latest year

0.0%

vs 5.6% across 20 senior care systems

Cost to open

$145K–$187K

Item 7 total investment range

SBA loan defaults

Too few resolved

1 loans exist; too few resolved to rate

Behind the verdict

the record, factor by factor · Item 20

hi-1.0.0
Net unit growth35%

3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1

Fair
Exit quality25%

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

Strong
Transfer / churn15%

transfers vs. base · Table 3

Strong
Promise-keeping10%

actual vs. projected openings · Table 5

Weak
Transparency15%

Item 19 disclosure + completeness

Weak

Systemwide units

2021–2023

+900.0%
1202182022102023

Survival record

FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year

In fiscal 2023, 0 of 8 franchised outlets left the system — a 0.0% annualized exit rate, vs 5.6% across 20 senior care systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.

Show the outlet tables
Status (FTC)202120222023
Outlets at start018
Opened172
Transfers000
Terminations000
Non-renewals000
Reacquired by franchisor000
Ceased — other reasons000
Outlets at end1810
Net change+1+7+2

The lender's view

SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present

Banks have made 1 SBA-backed loans to HomeCare Advocacy Network franchisees since 2025. Most are still open, so there is not yet a resolved cohort large enough to rate.

Charge-off rate

0 resolved · too thin to rate

Loss given default

avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $

Expected loss

default rate × loss severity

Avg. loan · FY2020+

$363,100

what recent franchisees borrowed

Median time to default

approval → charge-off, defaulted loans

Lenders · FY21+ vs FY16–20

distinct banks lending

Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)

SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO HOMECARE ADVOCACY NETWORK BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL

What it costs — and what it drags

FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty

Buying in means a $55K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $145K–$187K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes no earnings claim (Item 19) — ask current and former franchisees for real numbers.

To open (Item 7)

$145K–$187K

all-in investment range

Franchise fee (Item 5)

$55K

upfront, one-time

Royalty (Item 6)

7%

of sales, ongoing

If a unit does this in annual sales…$1M/yr

Your figure — this brand discloses no Item 19 earnings; validate with current & former owners.

Royalty you'd pay / yr

$70K

7% of sales, before profit

Over a 10-yr term

$700K

royalties alone, excl. ad fund

This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.

Build a real pro-forma for HomeCare Advocacy Network with an independent CPA

Distress signals

news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits

No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for HomeCare Advocacy Network. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.

7 questions to ask a HomeCare Advocacy Network 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 are the questions built from what HomeCare Advocacy Network has actually disclosed — each one carries the number it came from, so you can tell whether the answer squares with the record.

  1. 01

    Item 7 says the low end to open is $145K, but the average recent SBA loan to a HomeCare Advocacy Network franchisee was $363K. What did you actually spend to open, all in?

    Lenders size loans to real project costs. A large gap between the disclosed floor and what banks actually fund is the most common way buyers get underfunded.

    FDD Item 7 vs SBA approvals FY2020+

  2. 02

    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

  3. 03

    HomeCare Advocacy Network’s FDD makes no financial performance representation at all — legally, they've told buyers nothing about earnings. What did your first 24 months actually look like, month by month?

    When a franchisor won't publish numbers, existing owners are the only source. Silence in Item 19 is a choice, not a requirement.

    FDD Item 19 · 2024

  4. 04

    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

  5. 05

    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

  6. 06

    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

  7. 07

    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 HomeCare Advocacy Network’s numbers move — a new filing, a rising exit rate, a distress signal. Unsubscribe in one click.

Before you sign anythingfree · 30 min · no commission

A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing HomeCare Advocacy Network's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.

Don Drummond, CPA — Virginia #43775 · what I charge

Book a free 30-minute call →
Own or owned a HomeCare Advocacy Network?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. Corrections are checked against the filings; nothing you write is published with your name unless you agree to it.

HomeCare Advocacy Network franchise questions, answered from the filings

What percentage of HomeCare Advocacy Network franchises closed last year?

In HomeCare Advocacy Network's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2023), 0 of 8 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 0.0% — compared with 5.6% across 20 senior care systems tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons." There is no official failure rate, and not every exit is a failure, but this is the measurable floor.

How much does a HomeCare Advocacy Network franchise cost?

Per HomeCare Advocacy Network's 2024 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $55K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $145K–$187K (Item 7).

What royalty does HomeCare Advocacy Network charge?

HomeCare Advocacy Network charges an ongoing royalty of 7.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2024 FDD.

Does HomeCare Advocacy Network disclose earnings (Item 19)?

No — HomeCare Advocacy Network's 2024 FDD makes no financial performance representation in Item 19. That is legal and common, but it means the franchisor publishes no earnings claim; ask current franchisees for real numbers.