What is an 'Extension Office' for a Counselor Realty franchisee?
Counselor_Realty Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
rements of the Franchise Agreement and then-current System standards.
- (c) 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.
1.2 Site Selection. You must select a site for your Office within 180 days after you sign this Agreement. After you notify us of a proposed site for your Office, we will have 30 days to review the site and to notify you whether or not we consent to your operation of the Business at that site. If we reject the site you propose, you will have an additional 60 days to locate a site that is acceptable to us. If you fail to do so, this Agreement will automatically terminate and we will refund your Initial Franchise Fee, less our expenses associated with reviewing the proposed site(s). After we consent to an Office site you propose (if at all), you must open your Business at that site within six months. If you fail to do so, this Agreement will automatically terminate and your Initial Franchise Fee will not be refunded. We may, in our sole discretion, grant extensions of the deadlines described above. Our consent to a site is not a guarantee or assurance as to the availability, suitability or prospects of an Office or Business.
1.3 Territory.
- (a) While this Agreement is in effect, as long as you satisfy and maintain the minimum Office sales agent requirements set forth in Exhibit A to this Franchise Agreement, we will not ourselves establish or operate a "Counselor" office, or license another to establish or operate a "Counselor" office within the Territory. However, both we and other "Counselor" licensees may enter into, and provide residential and commercial real estate brokerage services within, the Territory; we do not grant you any exclusive right to operate a "Counselor" business in the Territory.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 32)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Counselor Realty's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, an 'Extension Office' is an additional office location that a franchisee may apply to open outside of their designated territory. To open an Extension Office, a Counselor Realty franchisee must submit a request to the franchisor, describing the location and any other required information, along with a one-time fee of $750 for each location. Counselor Realty then has 30 days to review the application and notify the franchisee of their decision.
Counselor Realty's consent to an Extension Office is contingent upon reaching a mutual agreement with the franchisee regarding the minimum number of sales agents that will operate from that location. The franchisee must maintain this agreed-upon minimum number of agents, with at least one being a supervising broker. Failure to maintain the minimum number of sales agents could result in Counselor Realty requiring the franchisee to close the Extension Office or even terminate the Franchise Agreement.
It's important to note that franchisees do not receive territorial protections for Extension Offices. This means that Counselor Realty and other licensees can provide real estate brokerage services nearby, and Counselor Realty can even establish or license another office in the vicinity. However, if Counselor Realty intends to license another office with a territory that includes the Extension Office's location, the franchisee has a right of first refusal for that territory opportunity. The franchisee must also keep and provide the information, reports, books, and records concerning the Extension Office.