Does Counselor Realty reserve the right to receive fees for rights licensed to others?
Counselor_Realty Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
vertising 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)
Based on the 2025 Counselor Realty Franchise Disclosure Document, Counselor Realty does retain the right to collect fees related to rights they license to others, specifically concerning website services. Franchisees are required to pay a Website Set Up Fee to cover Counselor Realty's costs for establishing a webpage for the franchisee's office on the Counselor Realty website. This fee applies not only to the initial office but also to any Additional Offices or Extension Offices the franchisee may operate with Counselor Realty's consent.
In addition to the initial set-up fee, franchisees must also pay a monthly Website Fee. This fee is calculated as $75 for each office location, including Additional and Extension Offices. Furthermore, there's an additional charge of $25 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 websites, the Website Fee would be $325 ($75 plus $25 multiplied by 10).
It's important to note that Counselor Realty retains the discretion to increase the amount of the monthly Website Fee during the term of the Franchise Agreement. Franchisees are invoiced monthly for these fees and are required to pay them by the 20th day of each month. This fee structure ensures that Counselor Realty is compensated for providing and maintaining website services and optional agent websites, which are valuable resources for franchisees in operating their real estate brokerage businesses.