Becoming an Epcon Franchise Builder is a serious commitment, and you will probably have questions prior to joining.

While there are many ways to grow a home building business, we’ve found that many home builders hit a brick wall in their businesses and either need to scale their production volume or diversify their product portfolio. Epcon Franchising provides a business blueprint for home builders to capitalize on a large and underserved segment of the new home market, 55+ home buyers, allowing them to build smarter and scale faster.

The cost of building a home is not projected to decrease in the coming years. Home builders looking to find innovative ways to cut costs in home construction may want to consider the benefits of a national accounts program. Doing so could multiply buying power and give access to cost discounts and rebates not able to be obtained otherwise.

When real estate development slows, or the economy as a whole takes a downturn, it can be tempting to change course along with it. But savvy home builders know that riding the waves of home building involves holding steady during the dips. For home builders that are looking to enter a new demographic or increase their sales velocity, working with a franchise can be a great benefit. Epcon Franchise Builders can dive right into the 55+ market and get support with land, marketing, sales, purchasing, product development and construction.

Whereas other builder franchise concepts charge royalty rates between four and five percent of gross revenue and often collect these amounts during construction, we charge point-of-closing royalty payments starting at just 2% of gross revenue and do not collect any of it until the house has been completed and transferred to the end buyer. Furthermore, the rate reduces quickly as your volume grows – all the way down to just 1% of gross revenue for all closings above an annual level of fifty. Full information on the point-of-closing royalty structure is discussed in Item 6 of the FDD, so please review the full details there.

Our FDD lays out two examples of estimated initial investments. Example 1 estimates between $1,115,200 to $1,464,200 if you are going to build a project of 30 homes by purchasing developed lots from a land developer. Example 2 estimates between $3,322,700 to $4,918,115 if you are going to build a project of 30 homes by purchasing raw land and self-developing the homesites. Please review the full details of these expected investment scenarios in Item 7 of the FDD.

Epcon Communities Franchising exists first and foremost to support our franchisees. Our team of franchising, real estate, and design professionals are here to help our franchisees through the real estate acquisition, site development, construction, and sales processes. Our affiliate homebuilding company has decades of experience in building the best of what is popular with today’s 55+ buyers, and we bring that level of expertise to your company from the moment you join us for your orientation. In addition to the support and collaboration you will receive from us, you will also have the opportunity to learn from your fellow franchise builders, who are always happy to share best practices and help you along the way.

Item 11 in the FDD details Epcon’s Assistance, Advertising, Computers Systems and Training provided to franchisees.

Yes, we have a lengthy list of preferred national account partners. Many of them participate in our annual national conference and vendor fair, offer preferred pricing to Epcon franchise builders, provide rebates on each house you build, and even provide additional discounts or free goods on model homes. You may find more details on these programs in Item 8 of the FDD.

When you sign your agreement with us, in some instances you will be given what we call an “Initial Market Area.” The geographic size of this area will vary based on a number of factors, but it will give you a certain period of exclusivity that will allow you to research, identify and procure an initial project location without competition from another Epcon builder. Once you have procured this site, you will sign a “Market Area Agreement,” which will define a final area of exclusivity that will continue for a certain period of time (provided you are not in default of your agreement with us). Detailed information on territory considerations such as this can be found in Item 12 of the FDD.

Epcon does not require the franchisee to participate personally in a full time capacity in the development and construction of an Epcon Communities business. Epcon does, however, recommend that an individual with an ownership interest in the company directly participate in the day-to-day operations, and our franchise agreement gives us the ability to require a full-time Director of Operations to manage the franchise business when we feel it is necessary. Please refer to Item 15 of the FDD for more detailed information on your participation obligations.

So long as what you are building today is not competitive with the types of homes and communities we build, you are generally not restricted in the types of goods and services that you choose to offer outside of your Epcon Communities project. In fact, prior to joining our system, many of our current franchise builders were either custom or production builders themselves, and some of them have chosen to continue those legacy businesses alongside their Epcon franchise projects. Please refer to Item 16 of the FDD for full details on the restrictions we place on what our franchisees may sell.

Yes, because we feel it is important for our prospective franchise builders to have a full picture of the opportunity, we provide historical information on sales prices, options prices, lot premiums, and sales pace for both corporate-owned and franchise-owned projects completed during the last year. Please refer to Item 19 of the FDD for our financial performance representations.

Yes, in fact, we encourage you to do so. The FDD contains a list of all current Epcon Franchise Builders, complete with their market locations and contact phone numbers.

Whereas other builder franchise concepts charge royalty rates between four and five percent of gross revenue and often collect these amounts during construction, we charge point-of-closing royalty payments starting at just 2% of gross revenue and do not collect any of it until the house has been completed and transferred to the end buyer. Furthermore, the rate reduces quickly as your volume grows – all the way down to just 1% of gross revenue for all closings above an annual level of fifty. Full information on the point-of-closing royalty structure is discussed in Item 6 of the FDD, so please review the full details there.

Epcon Communities Franchising exists first and foremost to support our franchisees. Our team of franchising, real estate, and design professionals are here to provide support for our franchisees through the real estate acquisition, site development, construction, and sales processes. Our affiliate homebuilding company has decades of experience in building the best of what is popular with today’s 55+ buyers, and we bring that level of expertise to your company from the moment you join us for your orientation. In addition to the support and collaboration you will receive from us, you will also have the opportunity to learn from your fellow franchise builders, who are always happy to share best practices and help you along the way.

Item 11 in the FDD details Epcon’s Assistance, Advertising, Computers Systems and Training provided to franchisees.

Yes, we have a lengthy list of preferred account partners. Many of them participate in our annual conference and vendor fair, offer preferred pricing to Epcon franchise builders, provide rebates on each house you build, and even provide additional discounts or free goods on model homes.

When you sign your agreement with us, you will be given what we call an “Initial Market Area.” The geographic size of this area will vary based on a number of factors, but it will give you a certain period of exclusivity that will allow you to research, identify and procure an initial project location without competition from another Epcon builder. Once you have procured a location for your first project, you will sign a site-specific “Market Area Agreement,” which will define a final area of exclusivity that will continue for a certain period of time (provided you are not in default of your agreement with us). Detailed information on territory considerations such as this can be found in Item 12 of the FDD.

Epcon does not require the franchisee to participate personally in a full time capacity in the development and construction of an Epcon Communities business. Epcon does, however, recommend that an individual with an ownership interest in the company directly participate in the day-to-day operations, and our franchise agreement gives us the ability to require a full-time Director of Operations to manage the franchise business and/or a full-time sales consultant when we feel it is necessary. Please refer to Item 15 of the FDD for more detailed information on your participation obligations.

So long as what you are building today is not competitive with the types of homes and communities we build, you are generally not restricted in the types of goods and services that you choose to offer outside of your Epcon Communities project. In fact, prior to joining our system, many of our current franchise builders were either custom or production builders themselves, and some of them have chosen to continue those legacy businesses alongside their Epcon franchise projects. Please refer to Item 16 of the FDD for full details on the restrictions we place on what our franchisees may sell.

Yes, in fact, we encourage you to do so. The FDD contains a list of all current Epcon Franchise Builders, complete with their market locations and contact phone numbers.