What is an 'Excluded Business' in the context of the Corcoran Franchise Agreement?
Corcoran Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
ense is required under applicable law, excluding Timeshares and real estate services defined as Excluded Businesses. You may be permitted to engage in Real Estate Related Excluded Businesses with our prior written consent, and such businesses must be conducted under another trade name and in a manner (including, but not limited to, segregated workspaces, as we may require, and using a separate telephone number) that eliminates the prospect that the public might believe the business is related to the Corcoran® System in any way (see Section 4.2 of the Franchise Agreement). We have the right to establish policies and standards in our P&P Manual to ensure these activities are kept separate and apart from the franchised business.
You may also use the Marks in connection with the listing, offering, selling, leasing, renting or consulting of commercial real estate and any ancillary personal property related to a commercial real estate transaction authorized under applicable commercial broker licensing laws, which may vary, from time to time based on state laws ("Commercial Real Estate"); however, we do not provide the same level of support and marketing for your use of the System for Commercial Real Estate.
Source: Item 15 — OBLIGATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ACTUAL OPERATION OF THE FRANCHISE BUSINESS (FDD page 62)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Corcoran's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, an 'Excluded Business' relates to specific real estate activities that a franchisee is generally restricted from conducting under the Corcoran brand, unless they obtain prior written consent from Corcoran. These 'Real Estate Related Excluded Businesses' must be operated under a different trade name, distinctly separate from the Corcoran brand, to avoid any public confusion about their affiliation with the Corcoran system.
Specifically, while franchisees can engage in commercial real estate services, 'Excluded Commercial Real Estate' includes activities like structuring debt, involvement in capital markets, syndicated loans or equity financing, and the listing or selling of real estate investment shares. Additionally, the document mentions that franchisees must provide a list of any Excluded Businesses that may be operated from their Corcoran office(s), as required under the Franchise Agreement.
Corcoran retains the right to establish policies and standards in its Policies and Procedures Manual to ensure that these excluded business activities are kept separate from the franchised Corcoran business. This allows Corcoran to maintain the integrity of its brand and prevent conflicts of interest among franchisees. Corcoran also has the right to limit or expand the scope of permissible business activities with advance written notice, giving them flexibility in defining what services franchisees can offer under the Corcoran name.