What a Molly Maid unit actually sells for
Buyers price cleaning businesses on seller's discretionary earnings — the cash a single owner-operator takes out after expenses and before tax. A Molly Maid unit producing $120,000 in SDE with a real recurring book usually trades between $180,000 and $300,000.
The same operation without a franchise agreement attached would typically trade 30–50% higher. The discount is not about your cleaning quality. It is about the buyer inheriting a royalty plus brand fund royalty and needing franchisor approval to close.
If your unit is owner-dependent — meaning the business stops if you stop — expect the low end, or a job sale rather than a business sale.
The transfer process, step by step
1. Read the transfer clause. Confirm the transfer fee, the approval standard for buyers, and whether the franchisor holds a right of first refusal.
2. Get the books clean. Two to three years of P&Ls that match your tax returns, a customer list with revenue per customer, and your recurring-versus-one-time revenue split. Buyers discount messy books hard.
3. Notify the franchisor in writing. Most agreements require written notice of intent to transfer before you market the business.
4. Find and qualify a buyer. The buyer must meet the franchisor's financial and background criteria, sign a new franchise agreement, and complete brand training.
5. Close. The transfer fee — commonly $5,000–$25,000 — is paid at closing, along with any outstanding royalties, and the franchisor releases you.
Where deals fall apart
Owner dependence. If you personally hold the customer relationships, the schedule logic and the supplier accounts, the buyer is buying a job. Document everything and hand off customer communication at least 12 months before you list.
Customer concentration. If your top five accounts are more than 30% of revenue, buyers discount heavily. Broader, smaller, recurring residential accounts are worth more per dollar of revenue.
Books that do not reconcile. Personal expenses run through the business, cash jobs off the books, or a P&L that does not match the tax return will either cost you 30% of the price or kill the deal in diligence.
Franchisor timing. Approval, training scheduling and paperwork on the franchisor side routinely add 60–120 days that sellers do not plan for.
The alternative most operators actually want
A large share of people searching to sell a Molly Maid unit are not trying to leave the cleaning industry. They are trying to leave the royalty.
The CleanBucks license is the same business without the percentage: a one-time license fee, a protected territory, and a complete operating system — CRM with two-way SMS, lead routing by ZIP, recurring bookings, Stripe billing in your own account, a crew mobile app, automated review requests, and vehicle wrap design. No royalty on revenue, no marketing surcharge, no approval needed to change your prices.
The practical sequence: read your agreement, confirm the post-term non-compete radius, and time the switch so the new brand goes live the week the old obligation ends.