FRANCHISE·WATCH·DESK

Verified — real FDD extraction

Not found in the SBA Franchise Directory — SBA financing may be unavailable; verify with your lender

Life Saver Pool Fence

Home Services · independent · est. —

Life Saver Pool Fence is a pool-safety company that sells and installs removable mesh fencing and related barriers around residential swimming pools. A franchisee runs a home-based, mobile installation business, measuring and fitting safety fences for homeowners, most often families with young children.

Life Saver Pool Fence net unit count grew +340.0% from 20232025 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

21 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 4.8% across 42 home services systems

Cost to open

$72K–$106K

Item 7 total investment range

SBA loan defaults

No loan record

no SBA 7(a)/504 loans found for this brand

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

Fair
Transfer / churn15%

transfers vs. base · Table 3

Weak
Promise-keeping10%

actual vs. projected openings · Table 5

Not Disc.
Transparency15%

Item 19 disclosure + completeness

Strong

Systemwide units

2023–2025

+340.0%
52023102024222025

Survival record

FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year

In fiscal 2025, 0 of 9 franchised outlets left the system — a 0.0% annualized exit rate, vs 4.8% across 42 home services systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.

Show the outlet tables
Status (FTC)202320242025
Outlets at start1510
Opened4612
Transfers011
Terminations000
Non-renewals000
Reacquired by franchisor000
Ceased — other reasons010
Outlets at end51022
Net change+4+5+12

What it costs — and what it drags

FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty

Buying in means a $35K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $72K–$106K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.

To open (Item 7)

$72K–$106K

all-in investment range

Franchise fee (Item 5)

$35K

upfront, one-time

Royalty (Item 6)

3%

of sales, ongoing

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

Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.

Royalty you'd pay / yr

$30K

3% of sales, before profit

Over a 10-yr term

$300K

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 Life Saver Pool Fence with an independent CPA

Distress signals

news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits

No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for Life Saver Pool Fence. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.

7 questions to ask a Life Saver Pool Fence 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 Life Saver Pool Fence has actually disclosed — each one carries the number it came from, so you can tell whether the answer squares with the record.

  1. 01

    1 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?

    Transfers count as neutral in every ranking. They are the single easiest place to hide distress.

    FDD Item 20 · FY2025

  2. 02

    You pay 3.0% 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

    Life Saver Pool Fence 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

  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 Life Saver Pool Fence’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 Life Saver Pool Fence'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 Life Saver Pool Fence?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.

Life Saver Pool Fence franchise questions, answered from the filings

What percentage of Life Saver Pool Fence franchises closed last year?

In Life Saver Pool Fence's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 0 of 9 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 0.0% — compared with 4.8% across 42 home services 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 Life Saver Pool Fence franchise cost?

Per Life Saver Pool Fence's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $35K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $72K–$106K (Item 7).

What royalty does Life Saver Pool Fence charge?

Life Saver Pool Fence charges an ongoing royalty of 3.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.

Does Life Saver Pool Fence disclose earnings (Item 19)?

Yes — Life Saver Pool Fence makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $312K. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.