Start a AR Homes Franchise in 2025

Franchise 500 Rank: N/R Not ranked last year

Initial investment: $535K - $2.2M

Units as of 2025: 37 19% over 3 years

Arthur Rutenberg, the founder of AR Homes, started his journey in the realm of one-of-a-kind custom home designs back in 1953. What started as a humble endeavor has now blossomed into a custom-luxury home building franchise. AR Homes prides itself on offering customers both innovative, award-winning designs and a personalized buying experience.

Known for its commitment to refined materials, impeccable craftsmanship, and leading design, AR Homes has a network of over 40 franchises spread across ten states.

Why You May Want to Start an AR Homes Franchise

AR Homes strives to offer its clients expert advice from local professionals with acute knowledge of the latest market and building practices. Clients can preview high-quality model homes, with the final product being backed by a builder's guarantee. Boasting hundreds of designs ranging from 2,000 to 7,000 square feet, future homeowners can plan alongside designers and builders to customize a perfect house with powerful architectural design technology and transparent pricing.

AR Homes values cutting-edge home designs, a passion for quality materials and expertise, and a devotion to providing a personalized and pleasant customer experience. If you're looking to get building as a strong leader in collaborative, localized company culture, then you may have knocked on the right door.

What Might Make an AR Homes Franchise a Good Choice?

Thanks to state-of-the-art design and budgeting software, customers may receive as much hands-on experience as they wish. What's more, franchisees will likely get access advantages such as first-rate business intel, strategy, resources, and proprietary tools.

If you are awarded a franchise, you are backed by comprehensive training and support programs; AR Homes franchisees come from diverse backgrounds, yet are united by a dedication to luxury home design and building. If you're looking to become the next AR Homes franchisee, you will have to sign a term agreement of 10 years and accept the royalty fee.

Though on-the-job training varies, franchisees can expect several dozen hours of classroom training. Meanwhile, AR Homes offers a suite of ongoing and marketing support, including field operations, security and safety procedures, site selection, ad templates, social media, email marketing, and much more.

How To Open an AR Homes Franchise

To be part of the AR Homes team, you should make sure you're financially ready for an initial investment made up of a franchise fee and other startup costs. In addition, you should prepare yourself for ongoing fees that will include royalty fees. Franchisees will also need to meet the company's set net worth and liquid capital requirements.

Before making any financial commitment or signing an agreement, you must perform your due diligence and establish if this is the right opportunity for you. As part of your due diligence, you may want to speak to existing franchisees and ask the AR Homes franchising team questions.

Once you've staffed, established local contacts, and opened for business, you may have just laid the foundation for many luxury homes to come.

Company Overview

About AR Homes

Industry	Services (Other)
Related Categories	Miscellaneous Services, Home Building
Founded	1990
Parent Company	AR Franchising Inc.
Leadership	Don Whetro, CEO
Corporate Address	160 Fountain Pkwy. N., #210 St. Petersburg, FL 33716-1410
Social	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest

Business Overview

Franchising Since	1991 (34 years)
# of employees at HQ	65
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises in the following US states: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming
# of Units	37 (as of 2025)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a AR Homes franchise.

Financial Requirements & Ongoing Fees

Here's what you can expect to spend to start the business and what ongoing fees the franchisor charges throughout the life of the business.

Initial Franchise Fee Definition: The initial fee paid to a franchisor to join their system What you need to know: Found in Item 5 of the FDD, this may be a flat fee, or may vary based on territory size, experience, or other factors.The franchise fee is an up-front (one-time) cost that a new franchisee pays to the franchisor. This fee is usually due at the signing of the franchise agreement and covers the right to use the franchisor's trademarks, name, and related business systems.	$65,000
Initial Investment Definition: The total amount necessary to begin operation of the franchise What you need to know: The initial investment includes the franchise fee, along with other startup expenses such as real estate, equipment, supplies, business licenses, and working capital. This is outlined in a chart in Item 7 of the FDD, showing a range of possible costs from low to high.	$535,000 - $2,190,000
Net Worth Requirement Definition: The minimum net worth you must have in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company What you need to know: Net worth is the value of a person's assets minus liabilities. Assets include cash, stocks, retirement accounts, and real estate. Liabilities include items like mortgages, car payments, and credit card debt.	$2,000,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$450,000
Royalty Fee Definition: A ongoing fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis. What you need to know: Most franchisors require franchisees to pay an ongoing royalty fee, which is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD. This fee is typically a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales, but may also be a flat weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	3.5%-4.25%
Ad Royalty Fee Definition: An going fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis to support advertising or marketing efforts. What you need to know: This may also be called advertising fee, marketing fee, brand fund fee, and more, but the basic purpose is the same-- to support promotion of the brand systemwide. As with the royalty fee, it is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD, and can be a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales or a weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	0.25%
Term of Agreement Definition: The length of time your franchise agreement will last. What you need to know: Franchise terms are typically anywhere from 5 to 20 years in length, but are sometimes instead dependent on factors such as the term of your lease. Once your term is up, you may have the option to renew your agreement, typically for a smaller fee than the original franchise fee.	10 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

Financing Options

Some franchisors offer in-house financing, while others have relationships with third-party financing sources to which they refer qualified franchisees.

Third Party Financing	AR Homes has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: inventory

Training & Support Offered

Franchisors offer initial training programs and a variety of ongoing support options to help franchisees run their businesses.

On-The-Job Training	Varies
Classroom Training	151-159 hours
Ongoing Support	Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Field Operations Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Support	Ad Templates Social Media SEO Website Development Email Marketing

Operations

Additional details about running this franchise.

Is absentee ownership allowed?	No
Can this franchise be run from home/mobile unit? Definition: The business can be run from your home and/or a vehicle, and it is not necessary to have a retail facility, office space, or warehouse.	No
Can this franchise be run part time? Definition: This business can be run by the owner on a part-time basis (less than 40 hours per week) and/or as a side business; it is not necessary for the business to be open/run full-time.	No
Are exclusive territories available? Definition: An exclusive territory is a fixed area in which you are given the right to operate and in which no other units of the same franchise may be opened. What you need to know: Territory size may be based on factors such as radius, population size, zip codes, and more. Details can be found in Item 12 of the FDD.	No