Verified — real FDD extraction
Not found in the SBA Franchise Directory under this name — though SBA loans to its franchisees exist; verify eligibility with your lender
PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION
Cleaning & Restoration · independent · est. —
Paul Davis Restoration provides emergency mitigation and reconstruction services for properties damaged by water, fire, storms, and mold, working largely through insurance claims. A franchisee operates a territory-based restoration business with crews, vehicles, and equipment, serving homeowners, businesses, and insurance carriers.
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
Not enough disclosure
Distress
No verified FDD extraction to judge from. Any figures shown are labelled sample data or independent federal records.
Exit rate · latest year
3.3%
vs 3.1% across 24 cleaning & restoration systems
Cost to open
$299K–$805K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
8.3%
vs 14.8% avg across rated brands
Market density · Texas
Thin market
-29% thinner than the national average
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · 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
Systemwide units
2019–2022
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2022, 7 of 211 franchised outlets left the system — a 3.3% annualized exit rate, vs 3.1% across 24 cleaning & restoration systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 193 | 190 | 196 | 211 |
| Opened | 8 | 9 | 22 | 20 |
| Transfers | 5 | 2 | 9 | 20 |
| Terminations | 11 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Outlets at end | 190 | 196 | 212 | 224 |
| Net change | -3 | +6 | +16 | +13 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 199 SBA-backed loans to PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION franchisees since 2002. Of the 96 that have resolved, 8.3% were charged off (defaulted) rather than paid in full, versus 14.8% across 570 rated brands.
8.3%
8 of 96 resolved defaulted
52.2%
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
4.4%
default rate × loss severity
$775,543
what recent franchisees borrowed
61 mo
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
19 vs 17
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION 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 $130K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $299K–$805K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$299K–$805K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$130K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
4%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$40K
4% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$400K
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 PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION with an independent CPADistress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.
10 questions to ask a PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION 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 PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION has actually disclosed — each one carries the number it came from, so you can tell whether the answer squares with the record.
- 01
PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION’s own Item 20 shows 7 of 211 franchised outlets left the system in fiscal 2022 — about 3.3%. 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 · FY2022
- 02
20 units transferred to new owners in fiscal 2022. 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 · FY2022
- 03
Of 96 SBA loans to PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION franchisees that have finished, 8.3% were charged off — the borrower didn't repay. 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 failure, from public federal records, and it is independent of anything the franchisor discloses.
SBA 7(a)/504 loan record, FY1991–present
- 04
Item 7 says the low end to open is $299K, but the average recent SBA loan to a PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION franchisee was $776K. 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+
- 05
You pay 4.0% 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
- 06
PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION 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
- 07
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
- 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?
I'll email you the printable version, and tell you if PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION’s numbers move — a new filing, a rising exit rate, a distress signal. Unsubscribe in one click.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION's 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. Corrections are checked against the filings; nothing you write is published with your name unless you agree to it.
PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION franchises closed last year?
In PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2022), 7 of 211 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 3.3% — compared with 3.1% across 24 cleaning & restoration 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 PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION franchise cost?
Per PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $130K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $299K–$805K (Item 7).
What royalty does PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION charge?
PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION charges an ongoing royalty of 4.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.
Does PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $2.8M. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.
How often do SBA loans for PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION franchises default?
Across 199 SBA-backed loans to PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION franchisees since 2002, 8 of the 96 that have resolved were charged off — a 8.3% default rate, versus about 14.8% across all rated franchise brands. This is the lender's-eye view of franchisee failure, drawn from public SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA data and independent of the franchisor's own disclosures.