Can Counselor Realty grant extensions to the site selection or opening deadlines?
Counselor_Realty Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
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.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 32)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Counselor Realty's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Counselor Realty may grant extensions to the site selection and opening deadlines at their discretion. A franchisee must select a site for their office within 180 days of signing the Franchise Agreement. After the franchisee notifies Counselor Realty of a proposed site, Counselor Realty has 30 days to review the site and notify the franchisee whether or not they consent to the operation of the business at that site. If Counselor Realty rejects the site, the franchisee has an additional 60 days to locate an acceptable site.
After Counselor Realty consents to a site, the franchisee must open their business at that site within six months. Failure to meet these deadlines can result in the termination of the Franchise Agreement. If the agreement is terminated due to failure to find a site, Counselor Realty will refund the initial franchise fee, less expenses associated with reviewing the proposed sites. However, if the agreement is terminated due to failure to open the business within six months of site approval, the initial franchise fee will not be refunded.
It is important to note that Counselor Realty's consent to a site does not guarantee the availability, suitability, or prospects of an office or business. This means that even if a site is approved, the franchisee still bears the risk of the site not performing as expected. Prospective franchisees should carefully consider these deadlines and the potential for needing an extension, as well as the implications of not meeting the deadlines, before entering into a Franchise Agreement with Counselor Realty.