What is Counselor Realty's consent to an Extension Office contingent upon?
Counselor_Realty Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
ds.
You may apply to open one or more additional offices outside of your designated Territory (an "Extension Office") by submitting a request to Counselor describing the location of such proposed Extension Office as well as any additional information Counselor may require or request, along with a one-time fee of $750 for each Extension Office location (the "Extension Office Application Materials"). After Counselor's receipt of such Extension Office Application Materials (including the one-time fee), Counselor will have 30 days to review the Extension Office Application Materials and proposed Extension Office location and notify you whether or not Counselor consents to your opening of such Extension Office location. Counselor's consent to any Extension Office location will be contingent on you and Counselor reaching a mutual agreement as to the minimum number of sales agents that will operate from the Extension Office. Any Extension Office we consent to must comply with all requirements of the Franchise Agreement and then-current System standards.
Before you sign the Franchise Agreement, you and Counselor will negotiate a schedule for the minimum number of real estate sales agents who must operate from your Office. If you fail to satisfy the agreed-upon schedule, or to maintain the minimum required number of agents in the Office on an ongoing basis, you may lose the exclusive right to operate a "Counselor" office in the Territory, your Territory may be altered (as determined by Counselor in its sole discretion), or Counselor may terminate the Franchise Agreement. See below and Item 17.
You will not receive an exclusive territory. You may face competition from other franchisees or Franchisor-owned outlets, or from other channels of distribution.
Source: Item 12 — TERRITORY (FDD pages 21–23)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Counselor Realty's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Counselor Realty's consent to an Extension Office is contingent upon the franchisee and Counselor Realty reaching a mutual agreement regarding the minimum number of sales agents that will operate from the Extension Office. This agreement must be in place before Counselor Realty will consent to the Extension Office location. One of these sales agents must be a supervising broker.
This condition means that a prospective franchisee cannot simply open an Extension Office after paying the $750 fee and submitting the required application materials. Counselor Realty retains the right to negotiate the staffing level of the Extension Office, and their consent is dependent on reaching a mutually acceptable agreement on this matter. This gives Counselor Realty control over the scale and potential impact of the Extension Office on the broader franchise network.
The FDD also states that the minimum number of sales agents required for an Extension Office is separate from, and in addition to, the minimum number required for any other office locations the franchisee operates. Failure to maintain the agreed-upon minimum number of sales agents in the Extension Office can result in Counselor Realty requiring the franchisee to close the Extension Office or even terminating the Franchise Agreement. This highlights the importance of carefully considering the staffing requirements and potential costs associated with operating an Extension Office.