Does the Counselor Realty Franchise Agreement outline website fees?
Counselor_Realty Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Advertising Committee" that manages your Regional Advertising Group. Advertising Fees will be due and payable by the 20th day of each month.
5.5 Website Fees.
- (a) You must pay us an initial Website Set Up Fee, in an amount equal to the costs incurred by us in setting up a webpage for your Office on Counselor Realty, Inc.'s website. If we have consented to any Additional Office locations, you may request to have us set up a separate webpage or subdomain for any such Additional Office on Counselor Realty, Inc.'s website and, if elected, you must pay us a Website Set Up Fee for such webpage, in an amount equal to the costs incurred by us in setting up any such webpage. If we have consented to any Extension Office locations, you must pay us a Website Set Up Fee, in an amount equal to the costs incurred by us in setting up a webpage for each such Extension Office on Counselor Realty, Inc.'s website. Any agents operating out of an Additional Office location may be listed on the webpage for such Additional Office location and your other Office locations for no additional charge.
- (b) You must pay us a monthly Website Fee in an amount equal to $75 for each Office location (including each Additional Office and Extension Office), plus $25 for
each licensed agent choosing to have an optional agent website provided by Counselor. For purposes of clarity, if you have 10 agents who choose to have the optional agent website, your Website Fee would be $325 ($75 plus $25 multiplied by 10). The amount of the Website Fee may be increased during the term of this Agreement by Counselor from time to time in its sole discretion. At the beginning of each month, we will send you an invoice for the amount of the Website Fee you owe us for the current month, and you must pay us the amount of such Continuing Agent Fee on or before the 20th day of such month. The monthly Website Fee will apply to any agents operating out of any Additional Office locations or Extension
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 32)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Counselor Realty's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the Franchise Agreement does outline website fees. Counselor Realty requires franchisees to pay an initial Website Set Up Fee, the amount of which is equal to the costs incurred by Counselor Realty in setting up a webpage for the franchisee's office on Counselor Realty's website. If a franchisee has Additional or Extension Offices, they may request separate webpages or subdomains for those locations on Counselor Realty's website, which would also require a Website Set Up Fee equal to the costs incurred. Agents operating out of Additional Office locations can be listed on the webpage for the Additional Office location and other Office locations at no additional charge.
In addition to the initial Website Set Up Fee, franchisees must pay a monthly Website Fee of $75 for each office location, including Additional and Extension Offices. There is also an additional $25 monthly fee for each licensed agent who chooses to have an optional agent website provided by Counselor Realty. For example, if a franchisee has 10 agents with optional agent websites, the monthly Website Fee would be $325 ($75 plus $25 multiplied by 10). Counselor Realty retains the right to increase the amount of the Website Fee during the term of the Franchise Agreement at its sole discretion.
The monthly Website Fee applies to agents operating out of any Additional Office locations or Extension Office locations who have elected to have an optional agent website. The webpages and subdomains created by Counselor Realty include an IDX home search option for each market that the agent directly serves with listing reciprocity among Counselor Realty and its franchisees; however, local MLS fees are the agent's responsibility. Leads generated from Counselor Realty's website for listings in the region of the franchised office will be directed to the franchisee's office, unless the lead is for a listing by an agent with a Counselor Realty webpage/subdomain, in which case the lead will be directed to that agent. If there is more than one franchisee in the region, Counselor Realty will determine how to share or split the leads between the affected franchisees.