What requirements must a Counselor Realty Extension Office comply with?
Counselor_Realty Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
ce. 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. During the term of the Franchise Agreement, Counselor will not itself establish or operate a "Counselor" office, or license another to establish or operate a "Counselor" office within the Territory. However, both Counselor and other "Counselor" franchisees are free to enter into, and to provide residential and commercial real estate brokerage services within, your Territory, and you are free to provide real estate brokerage services in territories in which other franchisees' "Counselor" offices are located. Continuation of your rights in the Territory is contingent on your achieving and maintaining the minimum sales agent schedule agreed upon by you and Counselor, and on your payment of continuing agent fees based on that schedule. See Item 6. Counselor is engaged in the real estate brokerage business and reserves the right to establish and conduct this business at any location except as described above.
If Counselor has consented to any Additional Office locations, any sales agents operating out of any such Additional Office locations will be counted as part of the number of sales agents operating from your Office for purposes of Section 1.3(a). If Counselor has consented to any Extension Office locations, you must maintain the mutually agreed-upon minimum number of
sales agents operating from such Extension Office (which must be agreed to before Counselor consents to any Extension Office location). One of these sales agents must be a supervising broker. The minimum number of sales agents required to be operating in any such Extension Office is separate from and in addition to the minimum number of sales agents that are required to operate from any of your other Office locations (including any Additional Offices). If you fail to satisfy and maintain the minimum required number of sales agents in the Extension Office on an ongoing basis, Counselor may (in its sole discretion) elect to have you close the Extension Office or terminate the Franchise Agreement. If Counselor has consented to any Extension Office, you will not receive any territorial protections with respect to such Extension Office.
Source: Item 12 — TERRITORY (FDD pages 21–23)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Counselor Realty's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, any Extension Office that Counselor Realty consents to must comply with all requirements of the Franchise Agreement and the then-current System standards. Before Counselor Realty consents to an Extension Office location, the franchisee and Counselor Realty must reach a mutual agreement regarding the minimum number of sales agents that will operate from the Extension Office. One of these sales agents must be a supervising broker. The minimum number of sales agents required for an Extension Office is separate from the minimum number required at other office locations, including Additional Offices.
If a Counselor Realty franchisee fails to maintain the minimum number of sales agents in the Extension Office, Counselor Realty may elect to have the franchisee close the Extension Office or terminate the Franchise Agreement. If Counselor Realty consents to an Extension Office, the franchisee will not receive any territorial protections for that Extension Office. Both Counselor Realty and other licensees may provide real estate services near the Extension Office, and Counselor Realty may establish or license another to establish a Counselor Realty office nearby.
However, if Counselor Realty proposes to license another to establish a Counselor Realty office with a territory that includes the Extension Office location (a "Territory Opportunity"), the franchisee will have a right of first refusal. To exercise this right, the franchisee must notify Counselor Realty in writing within 30 days of receiving notice of the Territory Opportunity. Counselor Realty may condition the franchisee's participation on compliance with terms such as executing a franchise agreement, paying fees, and meeting eligibility requirements.
In summary, opening and maintaining a Counselor Realty Extension Office involves meeting specific agent number requirements, adhering to the Franchise Agreement and System standards, and understanding the lack of territorial protection, while also offering a potential right of first refusal for new territory opportunities.