Independent Contractor Operations

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

Independent Contractor Operations [Abstract]

8. Independent Contractor Operations

The Roto-Rooter segment sublicenses with 69 independent contractors to operate certain plumbing repair and drain cleaning businesses in lesser-populated areas of the United States and Canada. We had notes receivable from our independent contractors as of March 31, 2016 totaling $1.7 million (December 31, 2015 - $1.8 million). In most cases these loans are fully or partially secured by equipment owned by the contractor. The interest rates on the loans range from 0% to 7% per annum and the remaining terms of the loans range from 2.5 months to 5.4 years at March 31, 2016. We recorded the following from our independent contractors (in thousands):

Three months ended March 31,

Pretax profits