Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S7534 since 2022
Heroes Lawn Care LLC
Home Services · independent · est. —
Heroes Lawn Care is a residential and commercial lawn-care service offering fertilization, weed control, lawn treatments, and related yard maintenance, often with smart irrigation and pet-waste options. A franchisee runs branded trucks and technicians on recurring service routes.
Heroes Lawn Care LLC net unit count grew +900.0% from 2021–2023 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
20 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
42.9%
vs 9.2% across 42 home services systems
Cost to open
$154K–$199K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
0.0%
15 loans resolved — directional only
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
2021–2023
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2023, 3 of 7 franchised outlets left the system — a 42.9% 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) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Opened | 0 | 5 | 16 |
| Transfers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Outlets at end | 2 | 7 | 20 |
| Net change | 0 | +5 | +13 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 44 SBA-backed loans to Heroes Lawn Care LLC franchisees since 2022. Only 15 have resolved so far — too thin for a reliable default rate, but 0 of them charged off.
—
15 resolved · too thin to rate
—
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
—
default rate × loss severity
$298,795
what recent franchisees borrowed
—
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
—
distinct banks 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 HEROES LAWN CARE LLC BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
Who finances it
the Huntington National Bank
86.4% of this brand's loans
That lender charges off 10.1% of its loans to other franchise brands, vs 14.8% nationally.
Who buys it
10.0%
first-time franchise owners
The rest already owned at least one other franchise. Across the corpus, brands bought mostly by repeat operators charge off at roughly 10% versus 17% for brands sold mostly to newcomers.
Does experience help here?
Not enough resolved loans to split
Computed from 44 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to Heroes Lawn Care LLC 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 $154K–$199K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$154K–$199K
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 Heroes Lawn Care LLC with an independent CPADistress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for Heroes Lawn Care LLC. 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 Heroes Lawn Care LLC's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →Heroes Lawn Care LLC franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of Heroes Lawn Care LLC franchises closed last year?
In Heroes Lawn Care LLC's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2023), 3 of 7 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 42.9% — 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 Heroes Lawn Care LLC franchise cost?
Per Heroes Lawn Care LLC's 2024 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $60K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $154K–$199K (Item 7).
What royalty does Heroes Lawn Care LLC charge?
Heroes Lawn Care LLC charges an ongoing royalty of 6.5% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2024 FDD.
Does Heroes Lawn Care LLC disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — Heroes Lawn Care LLC makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2024 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.