1-800 WATER DAMAGE Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a 1-800 WATER DAMAGE franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
1-800 WATER DAMAGE discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it B.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Gross Sales data for 78 franchisees (2025). Top 25% avg $1.95M; median $481K. Bottom 25% avg $133K. Excludes operating costs, owner salary, and other expenses.
What a 1-800 WATER DAMAGE franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $59,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 10% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 2% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 12% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $142,903 – $312,398 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty tiered 7-10% Gross Sales. Monthly minimum $500. Brand marketing 2% Gross Sales. Multiple ancillary fees.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
1-800 WATER DAMAGE system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 160 |
| Ceased operations | 25 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 25 |
| Transferred to new owners | 7 |
| Closure rate | 15.6% of outlets |
25 terminations & 15 net outlet decline in 2025. Bottom 25% franchisees avg only $133K.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2026. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is 1-800 WATER DAMAGE worth it? — how it compares to 29 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 12% of sales | steeper than 73% of restoration & remediation franchises |
| Startup cost | from $142,903 | pricier than 60% of peers |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade B | more honest than 83% of restoration & remediation franchises |
| Closure rate | 15.6% of outlets | worse than 86% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 1 | more litigious than 60% of peers |
Benchmarked against every restoration & remediation franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a 1-800 WATER DAMAGE
The franchisor's framing: Gross Sales data for 78 franchisees (2025). Top 25% avg $1.95M; median $481K. Bottom 25% a… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
1-800 WATER DAMAGE franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a 1-800 WATER DAMAGE franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $142,903–$312,398, including a $59,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do 1-800 WATER DAMAGE franchise owners make?
- Gross Sales data for 78 franchisees (2025). Top 25% avg $1.95M; median $481K. Bottom 25% avg $133K. Excludes operating costs, owner salary, and other expenses. We grade this disclosure B for honesty.
- What are the 1-800 WATER DAMAGE franchise fees?
- 1-800 WATER DAMAGE's FDD discloses a $59,000 initial franchise fee, a 10% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 12% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Royalty tiered 7-10% Gross Sales. Monthly minimum $500. Brand marketing 2% Gross Sales. Multiple ancillary fees.
- What is the 1-800 WATER DAMAGE franchise profit margin?
- 1-800 WATER DAMAGE does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Gross Sales data for 78 franchisees (2025). Top 25% avg $1.95M; median $481K. Bottom 25% avg $133K. Excludes operating costs, owner salary, and other expenses. Recurring fees alone take about 12% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the 1-800 WATER DAMAGE franchise failure rate?
- 25 terminations & 15 net outlet decline in 2025. Bottom 25% franchisees avg only $133K.
- How many 1-800 WATER DAMAGE locations are there?
- 1-800 WATER DAMAGE's FDD reports 160 total outlets, with 25 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 7 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does 1-800 WATER DAMAGE have complaints or lawsuits?
- 1-800 WATER DAMAGE discloses 1 legal matter in Item 3 of its FDD. Item 3 covers the franchisor's litigation history, which is the closest thing to a public record of how it treats franchisees — read the case descriptions, not just the count.
- Is a 1-800 WATER DAMAGE franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. 1-800 WATER DAMAGE scores B on disclosure honesty, carries about 12% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 1 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Source: WI DFI Franchise Registration (2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with 1-800 WATER DAMAGE or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.