Is the Initial Franchise Fee for Counselor Realty refundable?
Counselor_Realty Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
fees periodically for rights licensed or services provided to others.
5. FEES.
5.1 Initial Franchise Fee. We acknowledge receipt from you of an Initial Franchise Fee in the amount of $____________. Except as provided in Section 1.2, the Initial Franchise Fee is nonrefundable.
5.2 Base Monthly Fee. You must pay us a Base Monthly Fee of $371. At the beginning of each month, we will send you an invoice for the Base Monthly Fee, and you must pay us that fee on or before the 20th day of such month.
5.3 Continuing Agent Fees. The Base Monthly Fee above includes the first 5 agents operating through your Office. You must pay us a monthly Continuing Agent Fee in an amount equal to $53 per licensed agent for the sixth through 15th licensed agent operating through your Office; $37 per licensed agent for the 16th through 35th licensed agent operating through your Office; and $32 per licensed agent for the 36th and each additional licensed agent operating through your Office. For purposes of clarity, if you have 50 licensed agents operating through your Office for a certain month, your Continuing Agent Fee for that month would be $1,750 ($53 multiplied by 10, plus $37 multiplied by 20, plus $32 multiplied by 15). For purposes of calculating the Continuing Agent Fee pursuant to this Section 5.3, the number of agents operating through your Office for any given month shall be the number of licensed agents listed as operating through your Office with the Minnesota Department of Commerce on the first day of the applicable month. At the beginning of each month, we will send you an invoice for the amount of the Continuing Agent 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. If Counselor has consented to any Additional Office locations or Extension Office locations, any licensed agents operating from any such Additional Office locations or Extension Office locations will be counted in the number of agents operating through your Office for purposes of this Section 5.3.
5.4 Advertising Fees.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 32)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Counselor Realty's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the initial franchise fee is generally nonrefundable. However, there is one specific circumstance under which a refund may be available.
If a prospective Counselor Realty franchisee is unable to secure an approved site for their office within 180 days of signing the Franchise Agreement, the agreement can be terminated. Following this, Counselor Realty will refund the initial franchise fee, but will deduct any expenses they incurred while reviewing the proposed site or sites.
It is important to note that if a site is approved by Counselor Realty, the franchisee then has six months to open their business at that location. Failure to open within this timeframe will result in the forfeiture of the initial franchise fee. These conditions highlight the importance of thorough site selection and timely execution when establishing a Counselor Realty franchise.