Sewer Scope is a franchise system built around one job done one way. The roadmap calls for 50 operating territories inside 5 years. Chicago (4-5 territories possible) and Atlanta are the two metros prioritized after the current four. Patrick handles franchise development directly.
The US home-inspection industry generates roughly $4.6 billion in annual revenue across about 22,000 firms (IBISWorld, US property inspection services). Sewer scope is the ancillary inspection most likely to add line-item revenue per transaction. It is also the inspection most likely to swing a deal, which is exactly why agents care about who runs it.
The US Census tracks roughly 4 to 5 million existing-home sales per year (US Census, new residential sales) and roughly 84 million owner-occupied housing units, of which 38% were built before 1980 (American Housing Survey). That is the population that should be scoping on purchase by default.
Most plumbers treat scope as a lead-gen funnel for repair work. That treatment is exactly the opening for a category specialist who refuses to bid the repair. Sewer Scope has been operating that opening in Indianapolis for years. The thesis is now portable.
"One job, done one way, fifty territories. The narrowness is the unit economics." Patrick Grayson, founder
Most home-services franchise pitches need a thick brochure to justify the cost stack. Sewer Scope needs four bullets.
One sewer camera rig, one laptop, one seat. Capital outlay is a fraction of a multi-trade plumbing franchise. A new operator can be running revenue inside the first 60 days post-territory grant.
The home transaction itself is the demand engine. Roughly 4 to 5 million existing-home sales per year. For pre-1980 homes in any metro we operate, scope is the default add-on. Demand floor is set by the housing market, not by marketing spend.
Every realtor who refers one scope refers the next four, on the next four transactions, on the same schedule. Vendor relationships compound. The CAC on transaction #5 is near zero.
The workflow is standardized. The report format is standardized. The on-truck tech can be a hire, not the operator. Patrick himself runs Indianapolis hands-off through Michael. The same model is portable to every territory.
A territory runs on a small set of inputs. Average scope ticket. Scopes per month. Realtor-vendor ratio at maturity. Patrick is happy to walk through the full model on the call.
Indianapolis lands $200 to $300 per residential scope. National Angi data brackets $250 to $500 depending on access and footage (Angi, HomeGuide). $220 is our portable average for modeling purposes.
67 five-star Google reviews on the Indianapolis profile after several operating years. That review velocity is the trust signal that lets the next territory open without paid ads. A new metro that maintains the standard gets there too.
About 70% of Indianapolis leads come from real-estate agent or home-inspector referrals. The remaining 30% come from direct buyer search. A new territory that earns the realtor side of that mix is structurally cheaper to operate.
After the current four metros (Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Denver, Fort Wayne), the next two priority markets are Chicago and Atlanta. Both fit the model.
Chicago. Roughly 4 to 5 territories possible at the metro level. Heavy pre-1980 housing stock through Cook County, with Orangeburg-era construction concentrated in the city of Chicago and the older inner suburbs. The realtor referral economy is strong, with high transaction volume per agent.
Atlanta. Single growing metro with strong recent transaction velocity. Newer construction skews the housing-age math younger than Chicago, but the high-volume real-estate market still produces scope demand from buyer's-due-diligence add-ons even on newer homes.
Operators in either market who want to run a Sewer Scope territory should email Patrick directly. He works the territory map with you.
The network has grown best when the operator already has one of three working pieces in place. We are not looking for a specific resume. We are looking for someone who can install the standard inside their existing footprint.
1. Real-estate services operators. Existing brokerage relationships, title-company relationships, or a referral book inside the local housing market. The shortest path to a 70% referral mix is to start there.
2. Home-inspection book owners. Adding scope to an existing home-inspection menu is a natural extension. Same buyer, same option period, same delivery channel. Most home inspectors do not run sewer cameras today, which is exactly the opening.
3. Second-act operators. Owner-operators looking at sewer scope as a focused second business after exiting a larger trade. Short equipment list, fast ROI, hands-off operator possible. The model rewards focus.
If you fit one of those three, or if you have a tenth idea we have not thought of, talk to Patrick. The conversation is short. The map is real.
No franchise development team to navigate. Patrick handles every inbound directly. Drop your market, your background, and what you are trying to build. He responds inside one business day.
Subject line: your metro. Body: one paragraph on your background, one paragraph on what you are trying to build, one sentence on why now. That's the entire application.
Email Patrick directly →