Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S2027 since 2017
GARAGE LIVING
Home Services · independent · est. —
Garage Living is a home-improvement company that remodels residential garages with floor coatings, cabinetry, and storage systems. A franchisee operates a design-and-install business with a showroom or design center, selling garage renovation projects to homeowners.
GARAGE LIVING net unit count declined -2.0% from 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. 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
Proven & steady
Distress
A real track record with an unremarkable region of the ledger: neither the growth nor the exits stand out, for better or worse. The standout in the record: owner turnover is low.
Exit rate · latest year
4.1%
vs 9.2% across 42 home services systems
Cost to open
$246K–$324K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
Too few resolved
24 loans exist; too few resolved to rate
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
2023–2025
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2025, 2 of 49 franchised outlets left the system — a 4.1% annualized exit rate, vs 9.2% across 42 home services systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 42 | 51 | 52 |
| Opened | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Transfers | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Outlets at end | 51 | 52 | 50 |
| Net change | +9 | +1 | -2 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 24 SBA-backed loans to GARAGE LIVING franchisees since 2017. Most are still open, so there is not yet a resolved cohort large enough to rate.
—
5 resolved · too thin to rate
—
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
—
default rate × loss severity
$380,433
what recent franchisees borrowed
21 mo
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
6 vs 5
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
Loan performance by state
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO GARAGE LIVING BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
A typical GARAGE LIVING buyer since 2020 borrowed $380K through SBA — about $57K a year in debt service. Against the brand's own disclosed median unit revenue of $1.5M, that is 3.9% of every dollar the store takes in — before rent, payroll, food, or royalty.
Who finances it
United Midwest Savings Bank National Association
50.0% of this brand's loans
That lender charges off 35.1% of its loans to other franchise brands, vs 14.8% nationally.
Who buys it
Too few identified operators
Does experience help here?
Not enough resolved loans to split
Computed from 24 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to GARAGE LIVING franchisees joined to the brand's own FDD. Debt service assumes level amortization at the average disclosed term and rate. 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 $60K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $246K–$324K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$246K–$324K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$60K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
6.5%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$65K
6.5% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$650K
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 GARAGE LIVING with an independent CPAModeled risk
FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record
The public record puts this brand toward the riskier end of the systems we score — but the evidence is thin, so treat it as a range, not a number.
Risk percentile (range)
83–100 / 100
Directional
Modeled SBA charge-off
26.3%
Observed SBA charge-off
20.0%
Top drivers: Share financed by high-loss lenders (raises) · System size (log units) (raises) · Single-lender dependence (lowers) · Net unit growth (raises). Thin loan history — treat this as a range, not a number. A linear scorecard built from this brand's own disclosure figures plus the federal loan record behind its franchisees; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.
Distress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for GARAGE LIVING. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing GARAGE LIVING's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →GARAGE LIVING franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of GARAGE LIVING franchises closed last year?
In GARAGE LIVING's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 2 of 49 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 4.1% — compared with 9.2% 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 GARAGE LIVING franchise cost?
Per GARAGE LIVING's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $60K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $246K–$324K (Item 7).
What royalty does GARAGE LIVING charge?
GARAGE LIVING charges an ongoing royalty of 6.5% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.
Does GARAGE LIVING disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — GARAGE LIVING makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $1.5M. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.