This week 9,191 businesses were listed in our price band this week across 12 states, and Florida had the most of them. Behind a lot of those listings is an owner heading toward retirement, while the careers of the professionals who might buy them look shakier than they did a few years ago. Of the 9,191 listings, 5,430 published both a price and a profit figure; we scanned 5,231 of those, and 4,083 cleared our credibility screen, so what follows is a short list pulled from a very large pile. Our examples assume 10% down, which is a modeling assumption and not a lender's quote, so treat every deal below as a place to start digging.
THIS WEEK'S TOP DEALS
7 deals cleared our filters. Ranked by score.
Deal #1: NASSAU COUNTY HIGH-VOLUME FRANCHISE GYM
NY · Health & Wellness
Asking: $549,000 | Revenue: $1,184,384 | Cash Flow: $220,000
Rev Multiple: 0.46x | CF Multiple: 2.50x | Score: 8.0/10
Green Flags:
DSCR 2.81x — clears the 1.25x lender floor 2.2x over, self-financing at current rates
Full revenue and cash flow disclosed — financials available to underwrite
Repeat or recurring clientele reported — demand that returns without a sales push; verify it isn't one relationship
Franchise system — proven operations playbook, national brand recognition, lender-friendly structure
Operates without owner's daily presence — lower key-person risk at transition
A 27,000 sq ft gym on a major Nassau County commercial corridor, with roughly 3,100 recurring members and about $76,000 a month in membership collections. The seller calls it fully absentee-owned with a full-time manager in place, which is the part to test hardest, because a gym this size runs on the manager. About $1,000,000 of equipment comes included, owned free and clear, so the asset base is real, and a new five-year lease with a five-year option gives you a runway. Against that, the lease runs $21,880 a month, so ask whether the stated $220,000 cash flow is struck after that rent. We first featured this gym in #010 under an earlier listing at $649,000; it is back under a new listing at $549,000.
Deal #2: SEMI-ABSENTEE FULL-SERVICE MASSAGE/WELLNESS SPA
FL · Health & Wellness · 3 years in operation
Asking: $699,999 | Revenue: $711,707 | Cash Flow: $340,152
Rev Multiple: 0.98x | CF Multiple: 2.06x | Score: 7.7/10
Green Flags:
DSCR 3.40x — clears the 1.25x lender floor 2.7x over, self-financing at current rates
48% cash flow margin — 48% of every revenue dollar reaches the owner
Full revenue and cash flow disclosed — financials available to underwrite
Semi-absentee per the listing — owner involvement is part-time; confirm the hours on the first call
Clearwater massage and wellness spa where five therapists do the table work and the owner never touches a client, running the phones and schedule from Friday to Sunday for about 15-20 hours a week. It reports $711,707 in 2025 revenue and $340,152 in cash flow at a $699,999 ask, and the listing says an SBA lender pre-qualification letter is already in hand. The sharp edges are the spa's short three-year history and a listed rent of $4,459 per annum that looks too low for 2,600 square feet, so confirm what that figure covers before leaning on the margin.
Deal #3: TOP‑RATED TECH SALES AND REPAIR BUSINESS
FL · 5 years in operation
Asking: $578,000 | Revenue: $530,032 | Cash Flow: $239,998
Rev Multiple: 1.09x | CF Multiple: 2.41x | Score: 7.6/10
Green Flags:
DSCR 2.91x — clears the 1.25x lender floor 2.3x over, self-financing at current rates
45% cash flow margin — 45% of every revenue dollar reaches the owner
Full revenue and cash flow disclosed — financials available to underwrite
Franchise system — proven operations playbook, national brand recognition, lender-friendly structure
Franchise resale of a tech sales and repair shop in St. Johns County with a protected territory, a Mon-Sat storefront in a 1,107 sq ft strip center, and a team of three. The listed $239,998 in cash flow is adjusted to a full-time owner/operator, so a buyer who hires a manager should expect less than that. The leasehold rent reads as $3,178 per annum, which is low enough for a storefront that it needs to be confirmed against the lease. The system offers three weeks of free training and says no repair experience is needed, which suits an operator coming from a corporate background who can run a service desk and a P&L without ever picking up a soldering iron. The scored DSCR is 2.91x, and the 2.41x cash flow multiple leaves room for that debt service to hold even if the adjusted number softens.
Deal #4: LIGHT MANUFACTURING AND CATALOG PRODUCTS
FL · Manufacturing · 14 years in operation
Asking: $499,000 | Revenue: $1,196,420 | Cash Flow: $249,621
Rev Multiple: 0.42x | CF Multiple: 2.00x | Score: 7.5/10
Green Flags:
DSCR 3.50x — clears the 1.25x lender floor 2.8x over, self-financing at current rates
21% cash margin — healthy for a Manufacturing business in this price range
Full revenue and cash flow disclosed — financials available to underwrite
East Tampa catalog-gift business that imports specialty items and ships them from a leased warehouse, doing $1.2M in revenue on $249,621 of cash flow. Two full-time employees, a manager in place and customers who reorder year after year are real assets, but the listing's detail page calls it owner-operated, so get the owner's actual hours before assuming the manager runs it. The $499,000 ask covers roughly $260K of inventory and $380K of equipment by the seller's own valuation, so you are paying close to hard-asset value for a cash-generating business. Importing and warehouse experience is the skill that pays here, and the seller says the business can be relocated if the current space doesn't suit.
Deal #5: FRANCHISE SANDWICH SHOP
TX · Retail · 7 years in operation
Asking: $575,000 | Revenue: $834,700 | Cash Flow: $233,778
Rev Multiple: 0.69x | CF Multiple: 2.46x | Score: 7.5/10
Green Flags:
DSCR 2.85x — clears the 1.25x lender floor 2.3x over, self-financing at current rates
28% cash margin — healthy for a Retail business in this price range
Full revenue and cash flow disclosed — financials available to underwrite
Documented loyal customer base — acquisition value survives ownership transition
Franchise system — proven operations playbook, national brand recognition, lender-friendly structure
A Philly cheesesteak franchise resale in a strip mall on one of east Dallas's busiest streets, open since 2019 and, by the seller's account, the only specialist in that cheesesteak niche in its trade area. At $575,000 for $233,778 in cash flow (2.46x), the economics are strong, and the owner already runs it on under 10 hours a week, with marketing handled by corporate. The listing flags catering and POS-driven inventory control as untapped upside, which is exactly where a hands-on operator from a process-driven background would earn their premium. One real hurdle: franchise training is in Ohio, though it may be waived for experienced buyers.
Deal #6: FRANCHISE BUSINESS
TX · Food & Beverage · 6 years in operation
Asking: $550,000 | Revenue: $800,229 | Cash Flow: $235,418
Rev Multiple: 0.69x | CF Multiple: 2.34x | Score: 7.5/10
Green Flags:
DSCR 3.00x — clears the 1.25x lender floor 2.4x over, self-financing at current rates
29% cash margin — healthy for this price range
Full revenue and cash flow disclosed — financials available to underwrite
Franchise system — proven operations playbook, national brand recognition, lender-friendly structure
A one-unit Asian soup and stir-fry franchise in North Dallas, sold as a resale after the owner, who opened it in early 2020 with no restaurant background, cited health reasons. The proprietary sauce arrives from corporate and the menu is deliberately short, which is what let a first-time owner get consistent output. The listing also claims a direct competitor across the street folded in under five months, which is worth testing with the landlord and neighbouring tenants. Priced at 2.34x cash flow on $235,418, the numbers clear the lender floor easily, but the working owners are a husband-and-wife team, so confirm what the cash flow looks like once a paid manager replaces them.
Deal #7: PREMIER SURFACE REPAIR FRANCHISE IN HIGH-GROWTH DFW CORRIDOR
TX · 5 years in operation
Asking: $630,000 | Revenue: $1,034,280 | Cash Flow: $264,095
Rev Multiple: 0.61x | CF Multiple: 2.39x | Score: 7.5/10
Green Flags:
DSCR 2.94x — clears the 1.25x lender floor 2.3x over, self-financing at current rates
26% cash margin — healthy for this price range
Full revenue and cash flow disclosed — financials available to underwrite
Franchise system — proven operations playbook, national brand recognition, lender-friendly structure
Surface-repair franchise in Dallas County that refinishes tubs, countertops, cabinets and tile for homeowners, apartment communities, hotels and property managers, at $630,000 for $1,034,280 in revenue and $264,095 in cash flow. Dallas is an expensive market, but you are paying 2.39x cash flow for a business with a diversified repair customer base and an exclusive territory, and the 2.94x DSCR leaves room for the loan and a manager's salary. The inventory is only $3,000 against $111,891 of fixtures, so you are buying a brand, a territory and a customer list, not a stockroom. The franchise has operated since 2021 and the seller cites relocation, so check how much of the repeat commercial work depends on the current owner's relationships.
MARKET PULSE — Week of November 01, 2026
9,191 businesses were listed in our price band across 12 states this week. 5,430 of them (59%) published both price and profit — the only ones that can be scored. We feature 7.
The inventory:
Average asking price (listings we scanned): $306,112 | Median: $255,000
Scanned 5,231 of the 5,430 scoreable listings (96%); the credibility screen then removed 1,148 — 408 missing a required financial, 227 implausible financials, 215 byte-identical financials (whole cluster dropped), 154 licensure-locked, 58 no stated asking price (band only), 52 sold/unavailable listings, 29 near-duplicate relistings, 5 non-acquisition (franchise-development & recruitment ads)
Price distribution: 39% under $200K · 34% $200–400K · 16% $400–600K · 11% over $600K
Where the deals are:
Florida led with 2,281 listed in our price band, followed by Texas (1,498), California (1,333)
The Sun Belt states we search (Florida, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina and Georgia) held 54% of the businesses listed in our price band
Deal quality this week:
Best multiple among featured deals with fully disclosed financials: 2.00x (meaning about 2.0 years to pay back the purchase price from cash flow alone)
Strong week for deal quality — the top 7 averaged 7.6/10 on our scoring model. A high score flags a candidate worth a first call, not a confirmed buy — verify each one's numbers before you move.
One thing to watch: Five of this week's seven featured deals are franchises, and the two that aren't are the Clearwater massage spa and the Hillsborough County light manufacturer. The Nassau County gym, the St. Johns County tech repair shop, the Dallas surface repair business, and both Texas food concepts all come with a franchisor attached. That changes what you are buying: a franchisor typically holds approval rights over the sale, collects a transfer fee, and can restrict what you change about the business. It also changes how you read the asking prices, because several of these list between $549,000 and $630,000 and the franchise agreement, not the seller's pitch, determines how much of that is transferable value. Before spending time on any franchise, request the current Franchise Disclosure Document, the transfer fee schedule, and written confirmation of the approval process and timeline. Also ask how many years remain on the franchise term and what the renewal terms are, since a short runway can erode the value you're paying for. The two independents carry no franchisor risk, but they still need a landlord to approve a lease assignment, so ask about that early.
THE WATCHLIST
What's become of the deals we've featured before.
💰 High-End Med Spa — asking reduced to $300,000 (from $500,000) since we featured it (#001).
💰 Recurring Revenue Lawn And Landscape Services Business — asking reduced to $179,999 (from $239,999) since we featured it (#001).
⏳ Profitable Established Recession-Resistant Home Services Franchise — still listed 12 weeks after we first featured it (#007).
⏳ Own A Mobile Drug Testing Business — still listed 12 weeks after we first featured it (#007).
THE DEAL BREAKDOWN
20+ Year Established Home Improvement Company
FL · 22 years in operation
This week we dissect one deal in depth — chosen for what it teaches, not its rank in this week's list — Score: 7.5/10. Here's everything you need to decide if it's worth pursuing: the numbers, the financing structure, what to verify in due diligence, and the bull and bear cases.
The numbers at a glance:
Asking price: $749,000
Revenue: $1,067,080
Cash flow: $289,183
The SBA financing structure:
Down payment (10%): $74,900 — what you need out of pocket at close
SBA 7(a) loan: $674,100 at ~10% (assumed), 10-year term
Monthly debt service: $8,908
Monthly take-home after debt service: $15,190
Annual take-home: $182,284
Cash-on-cash return: 243% Listing indicates seller financing is available — the lender structure above is the comparison baseline; the seller's terms are theirs to state.
Screening criteria:
Criterion | Target | Actual | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
CF multiple | <3.0x | 2.59x | Pass |
Revenue multiple | <2.5x | 0.70x | Pass |
DSCR (SBA 1.25x floor) | ≥1.25x | 2.71x | Pass |
Cash margin | ≥15% | 27% | Pass |
Years in business | ≥5 | 22 | Pass |
Financials disclosed | Full | Full | Pass |
Verdict: Worth the First Call — financials hold up and the lender math works; a high score flags a candidate, not a confirmed buy.
What's working for this deal:
DSCR 2.71x — clears the 1.25x lender floor 2.2x over, self-financing at current rates
27% cash margin — healthy for this price range
Full revenue and cash flow disclosed — financials available to underwrite
Franchise system — proven operations playbook, national brand recognition, lender-friendly structure
Quality of earnings — normalize before you trust the number:
[ ] Owner compensation: is market-rate replacement salary already subtracted from SDE?
[ ] One-time items: any non-recurring revenue (PPP, insurance claim, one-off contract) inflating the figure?
[ ] Personal expenses: vehicle, phone, travel, family payroll run through the business?
[ ] Capex: is equipment aged and likely to need replacement in years 1-3?
[ ] Working capital: what's the normalized WC requirement at closing?
The bull case: The business has been trading for 22 years, runs with five employees including office management and technicians, and the listing says the owner's day-to-day involvement in field work is limited. That is the setup a corporate operator can step into: the revenue is entirely service work, the customer base mixes residential and recurring commercial accounts, and inbound leads come from paid search, local service ads and hundreds of reviews. At $749,000 and 2.59x cash flow, the stated 2.71x DSCR clears the 1.25x floor by a wide margin, and the listing names headroom to grow by adding services and technician capacity and pushing the marketing channels already working.
The bear case: The biggest risk is that a business with 22 years of history, a retiring owner and a franchise banner may depend on that owner's relationships, licences and technician loyalty in ways the listing does not spell out. Because it is a franchise, ask for the franchise agreement early to check transfer approval, fees and any territory limits, and confirm who holds the trade licences and whether they stay on. The strip-center lease expires on 1/30/2028, so negotiate a renewal or extension as a condition of closing. Finally, verify the $289,183 cash flow against tax returns and bank statements, since the lender will underwrite from those rather than the listing.
Key questions for the first call:
What's included in the stated cash flow — are owner salary, personal expenses, and one-time items already normalized out of SDE?
What's the customer concentration? Does any single client represent >20% of revenue, and are contracts transferable to a new owner?
Will key staff stay post-acquisition, and are any of them critical to operations or customer relationships?
What does the trailing 3-year revenue trend look like — growing, flat, or declining — and what drove any significant year-over-year changes?
Next steps if you're interested:
Request 3 years of tax returns and P&Ls — match them against the stated SDE
Get a Preferred SBA Lender on the phone before submitting an LOI
Schedule a call with the seller to work through the key questions above
Sign the LOI only after financials verify and seller motivation is confirmed
Sector Scan: Five of Seven Are Franchises, and the Seller Isn't Selling You the Brand
Read the slate top to bottom and a pattern shows up. The tech repair shop, the sandwich shop, the surface repair franchise, the Dallas food franchise and the Nassau County gym all sit on a franchisor's system. Franchise resale is its own sector, and it prices, finances and fails differently from an independent shop.
Why it works for buyers
A system is already built. Pricing, training, vendor terms and marketing come with the brand. That lowers the odds you fail on operations you've never run.
Lenders know the category. Franchise resales are familiar paper, which helps financing.
Absentee setups exist. The Nassau County gym's seller calls it fully absentee-owned with a full-time manager, which is the claim a career-changer wants to hear.
Cheap on asking multiple. Across these five, asking multiples run from 2.34x to 2.50x seller-stated cash flow. Those are the sellers' asks, not what anyone paid.
What to watch for
You're buying a contract, not just a business. The franchisor usually has to approve the transfer, and the franchise agreement controls term, renewal, royalties and required remodels. Get the franchise disclosure document and the resale terms before you spend on diligence. A listing's cash flow is only as durable as the agreement beneath it.
The cash flow may not be net of the franchisor. Ask whether stated cash flow is after royalty and ad-fund payments, and whether the owner's own labor is priced in. Cash flow isn't reliable until those lines are confirmed. The tech repair shop's 45% margin and the gym's 19% margin differ for a reason you need to find.
Leases do the heavy lifting. All five run on leased premises. The Nassau County gym states rent of $21,880 per month, which is a large fixed claim on its $1,184,384 in revenue. Ask what the lease term is and whether it assigns to a buyer.
Brand health isn't in the listing. A system can be growing or shedding units. Call other franchisees in the system, not the ones the franchisor suggests.
This week's franchise listings against each other
Deal | Asking | Cash flow | CF multiple | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Johns County tech repair | $578,000 | $239,998 | 2.41x | 45% |
Nassau County franchise gym | $549,000 | $220,000 | 2.50x | 19% |
Dallas sandwich shop | $575,000 | $233,778 | 2.46x | 28% |
Dallas-area surface repair | $630,000 | $264,095 | 2.39x | 26% |
North Dallas franchise | $550,000 | $235,418 | 2.34x | 29% |
The tech repair shop shows the highest margin at 45%, but its cash flow is adjusted to a full-time owner-operator, so part of that margin is your own labor. The North Dallas franchise asks the lowest multiple. Both are sellers' claims to test, not bargains to grab. The question is what the multiple hides: remaining franchise term, lease exposure, or a cash-flow figure that adds back costs the franchisor won't let you cut.
The honest caveat
Franchise resales feel safer than independents, and that feeling is the risk. You inherit the franchisor's rules and cost structure, and the brand can decline under you. The listings above are mostly thin on those details, so treat each as a first question, not an answer.
What to do
Before any call with a seller, request the franchise agreement and current disclosure document, then ask the franchisor in writing what transfer approval and fees look like. If the franchisor can't be reached or won't answer, walk away.
Financing Edge: When 3x Coverage Still Won't Clear SBA Underwriting
Look at this week's slate. Deals #1, #3, #5, #6 and #7 are franchise resales. The Nassau County gym shows a DSCR of 2.81x against the 1.25x floor. The St. Johns County tech repair shop shows 2.91x. The Dallas sandwich shop shows 2.85x. The North Dallas franchise shows 3.00x. The Dallas surface repair franchise shows 2.94x.
Under SBA SOP 50 10 8.1, an initial acquisition needs historical coverage of at least 1.25 to 1. These deals clear it by more than double. That is a cushion. It is not an approval.
What the cushion actually buys
Coverage is one gate among several. A big margin helps in three ways: it absorbs a bad first year, it gives you room if a lender haircuts the seller's cash flow, and it improves your standing when other parts of the file are thin. Our examples assume 10% interest, a 10-year term and 10% down. That is an assumption, not a quoted rate. Even so, the Dallas surface repair franchise carries $89,915 a year of modeled debt service against $264,095 of seller-stated cash flow.
But strong coverage rests on the seller's number. A lender will test that number against tax returns. The wide cushion is partly the listing's claim, and the claim is what underwriting checks.
Where franchise resales get stuck
Coverage says nothing about whether the deal can legally transfer. Franchise resales add gates that a conventional business purchase doesn't have:
Franchisor approval. The franchisor typically has to approve you as the new owner. No approval, no transfer, and no lender will fund around that.
Transfer fees and training. These are charged on top of the asking price. None of these listings states them, so none are in the figures above.
Franchise agreement terms. Remaining term and renewal rights matter. A short remaining term with uncertain renewal undercuts what the lender is financing. The listings don't give these details.
Equity injection. The rule requires at least 10% of total project cost, and it can't be reduced for an initial acquisition. Fees you hadn't counted raise the project cost, and therefore the check you write. The $54,900 down on the Nassau County gym is a floor on a priced-at-ask project, not a final number.
The tests that don't care about your DSCR
Every one of these deals is leased premises, so the lease matters as much as the franchise agreement. Landlord consent and assignment terms can stall a closing. The Nassau County gym's listing states rent of $21,880 per month, so that is real money to confirm and to understand against the margin the listing shows. The other leased listings give no usable rent figure for the whole block, so ask for the lease early.
Also check eligibility. Since March 1, 2026, SBA 7(a) requires all owners and required guarantors to be U.S. citizens or nationals living in the U.S. A green card holder is ineligible. That is a gate no coverage ratio fixes.
Finally, if a seller offers a note to bridge the equity requirement, it counts for at most half of the injection and only if subordinated and on full standby for the life of the loan. A seller who expects to be paid monthly breaks that structure.
What to do this week
Pick the franchise deal you like best. Before you ask a lender about coverage, ask the broker for the franchisor's transfer requirements, the transfer fee, the remaining agreement term and the lease assignment terms. Then put those costs into your project total and recompute your 10% equity check. If any of them shrinks the cushion or blocks approval, you want to learn that before you pay for a quality-of-earnings review.
Disclaimer: Nothing here is financial or legal advice. Always do your own due diligence. Verify all financial data with sellers and your advisors before making any offers.
The Exit Ramp is a weekly deal curation service for professionals exploring small business acquisition. We scan hundreds of listings so you don't have to.
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