Home Services
Pool Scouts Franchise
Residential and commercial swimming pool and spa cleaning, maintenance, and seasonal opening/closing service. A narrower specialist than most home-services franchises in this dataset -- built around a recurring service-route model closer to lawn care than general handyman or restoration work.
Disclosed in the FDD's litigation section (Item 3)
The FDD's Item 3 discloses two 2024 lawsuits with former franchisees, both settled and dismissed with prejudice in 2025: one where Pool Scouts sued to enforce non-compete covenants (franchisees agreed to pay $240,250), and one where a franchisee alleged fraud in the inducement and RICO violations against Pool Scouts (settled via a $275,000 franchise repurchase).
Every franchisor has to file a document called an FDD before they can legally sell you a franchise. Buried in it are the two things a sales rep won't volunteer: what you'll actually spend to open, and whether existing locations are opening or closing. That's what's below, pulled straight from Pool Scouts's own filing.
What it costs to open
From the filing's investment breakdown -- not a "starting at" number a sales rep quoted you.
Franchise fee
$50,000
Total to open
$96,662–$133,787
Ongoing royalty
8% of gross sales
What you'd actually spend, over time
The upfront cost is only part of it. Plug in what you expect a location to bring in, and see the real total once royalties over a few years are added on top.
Defaulted to a rough home services industry average, not a figure from Pool Scouts's own FDD -- change it to your own estimate.
Total cost of ownership over 5 years
$336,662 – $373,787
Startup investment
$96,662–$133,787
Royalty per year (8%)
$48,000
Total royalty, 5yr
$240,000
When would you break even?
Revenue alone doesn't tell you this -- it depends on what's left after rent, labor, and everything else. Pool Scouts's FDD doesn't disclose a reliable profit figure (most franchisors don't), so this starts from a typical home services profit margin (~15%) and applies it to the revenue you entered above -- adjust the percentage to your own realistic estimate.
Defaulted to a general home services industry benchmark, not a figure from Pool Scouts's own filing -- this is a starting point to adjust, not a promise about what franchisees actually make.
At that profit, you'd break even in about
1.1–1.5 years
Weigh that payback period against what you already know: Pool Scouts is currently losing locations. A long payback period on a shrinking brand is a very different bet than the same payback period on a growing one.
Is Pool Scouts actually growing?
Franchisors have to report, every year, how many locations opened, closed, or changed hands. Most franchise sites never show you this. Here it is:
Locations opened vs. closed, by year
ShrinkingFrom Item 20 of Pool Scouts's FDD, the section franchisors use to disclose real openings and closings.
| Year | Franchised units, start | Franchised units, end | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 71 | 80 | +9 |
| 2024 | 80 | 72 | -8 |
| 2025 | 72 | 71 | -1 |
Most recent year (2025): lost 1 franchised units, ending the year at 71 total.
What you're actually signing up for
The cost and growth numbers above are only part of the picture. These three FDD items are the ones a prospective franchisee tends to weigh most heavily once they're past the sticker price.
Training & ongoing support (Item 11)
8-day Operations Training program (virtual plus in-person in Virginia Beach, VA), free of charge though the franchisee covers travel/lodging. Ongoing support includes phone/internet business-hours support, a 1-2 day advanced training/regional meeting, and a Marketing Fee (2% of Net Revenue) administered by the franchisor.
Territory protection (Item 12)
Franchisees receive a genuinely exclusive territory (up to 10,000 estimated targeted households, defined by zip code) -- one of the stronger territory protections in this dataset. No other franchisee may solicit inside it, and the franchisor won't place a company-owned or another franchised location there either.
Renewal & termination terms (Item 17)
10-year initial term, two 5-year renewal options. No termination-without-cause provision. Disputes go through mediation, then litigation (not binding arbitration) in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the franchisor's home state.
How Pool Scouts compares to other Home Services franchises
Across the 11 home services franchises we've hand-verified so far, the typical range to open runs $168,982–$317,036, with royalties averaging around 7.4% of gross sales (based on the 7 of them that charge a flat %-of-revenue royalty).
$258,100–$480,500 · 7% royalty
1-800 Water Damage$142,903–$312,398 · 10% royalty
PuroClean$108,503–$152,618 · non-%-of-revenue royalty
1-800-GOT-JUNK?$182,300–$303,500 · 8% royalty
Re-Bath$275,875–$606,925 · non-%-of-revenue royalty
Two Men and a Truck$146,950–$512,450 · 6% royalty
Mr. Rooter$152,900–$298,675 · 6% royalty
Servpro$263,305–$385,570 · non-%-of-revenue royalty
Mosquito Joe$150,155–$191,575 · non-%-of-revenue royalty
Weed Man$81,150–$109,400 · 7% royalty
Pool Scouts Franchise FAQ
How much does it cost to franchise a Pool Scouts?
Based on Pool Scouts's own FDD, total initial investment to open one location runs $96,662–$133,787, including the $50,000 franchise fee. Sourced from Pool Scouts Franchising, LLC's FDD filed with the California DFPI (App ID APP00005416), effective July 29, 2026 -- a full registration renewal filing, not a large-franchisor exemption notice.
What is the Pool Scouts franchise fee and royalty rate?
The initial franchise fee is $50,000, and the ongoing royalty is 8% of gross sales, per the filing on record.
Is the Pool Scouts franchise growing or shrinking?
Shrinking. Across 2023–2025, Pool Scouts lost a net 0 franchised locations, per its own annual FDD filings.
Keep going
- Pool Scouts and PuroClean are both home services franchises; Pool Scouts's total investment starts about $11,841 lower than PuroClean's. PuroClean Franchise
- Pool Scouts and Weed Man are both home services franchises; Weed Man's total investment starts about $15,512 lower than Pool Scouts's. Weed Man Franchise
Where this came from: Sourced from Pool Scouts Franchising, LLC's FDD filed with the California DFPI (App ID APP00005416), effective July 29, 2026 -- a full registration renewal filing, not a large-franchisor exemption notice. You can pull the same filing yourself from the California DFPI's public franchise search. Filed July 29, 2026. None of this is investment advice -- get the franchisor's current FDD and talk to a real attorney or accountant before you sign anything.
If you see a different unit count elsewhere: franchisors only have to refile their FDD annually, so the numbers here can run 6–18 months behind a franchisor's own real-time marketing claims -- which often aren't independently verified, and sometimes count signed-but-not-yet-open locations. A gap isn't necessarily an error on either side; it's two different snapshots in time from two different sources.