What sections of the Counselor Realty Franchise Agreement address the opening of the franchise?
Counselor_Realty Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
[Item 12: TERRITORY]
The Franchise Agreement authorizes you to establish and operate one Counselor Business at a single Office location within a designated geographic area (the "Territory"). You must obtain our written consent prior to opening or operating any additional Office locations. If the population in your Territory at the time you sign the Franchise Agreement is less than 10,000, your Initial Fee will be $7,500; if the population is 10,000 or more, your Initial Fee will be $15,000. Population figures are determined using then-current census data. You must select a site for your Office within 180 days after you sign the Franchise Agreement. After you notify Counselor of a proposed site for your Office, Counselor has 30 days to review the site and to notify you whether or not it consents to your operation of the Business at that site. If Counselor rejects the site you propose, you will have an additional 60 days to locate a site that is acceptable to Counselor. If you fail to do so, the Franchise Agreement will automatically terminate and Counselor will refund your Initial Fee, less Counselor's expenses associated with reviewing the proposed site(s). After Counselor consents to an Office site you propose, you must open your Business at that site within
six months. If you fail to do so, the Franchise Agreement will automatically terminate and your Initial Fee will not be refunded. Counselor may, in its sole discretion, grant extensions of the deadlines described above.
1. FRANCHISE.
1.1 Grant.
- (a) We grant you a non-exclusive license to use the System and the Marks to operate one real estate brokerage business (the "Business") at a single site you select, and to which we consent (the "Office"), within the geographic territory designated in Exhibit A to this Franchise Agreement (the "Territory"). You must obtain Counselor's written consent prior to opening or operating any additional Office locations.
- (b) You may apply to open one or more additional offices within your designated Territory (an "Additional Office") by submitting a request to Counselor describing the location of such proposed Additional Office as well as any additional information Counselor may require or request, along with one-time fee of $750 for each Additional Office location (the "Additional Office Application Materials"). After Counselor's receipt of such Additional Office Application Materials (including the one-time fee), Counselor will have 30 days to review the Additional Office Application Materials and proposed Additional Office location and notify you whether or not Counselor consents to your opening of such Additional Office location. Any Additional Office we consent to must comply with all requirements of the Franchise Agreement and then-current System standards.
- (c) You may apply to open one or more additional offices outside of your designated Territory (an "Extension Office") by submitting a request to Counselor describing the location of such proposed Extension Office as well as any additional information Counselor may require or request, along with a one-time fee of $750 for each Extension Office location (the "Extension Office Application Materials"). After Counselor's receipt of such Extension Office Application Materials (including the one-time fee), Counselor will have 30 days to review the Extension Office Application Materials and proposed Extension Office location and notify you whether or not Counselor consents to your opening of such Extension Office location. Counselor's consent to any Extension Office location will be contingent on you and Counselor reaching a mutual agreement as to the minimum number of sales agents that will operate from the Extension Office. Any Extension Office we consent to must comply with all requirements of the Franchise Agreement and then-current System standards.
Source: Item 9 — FRANCHISEE'S OBLIGATIONS (FDD pages 16–17)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Counselor Realty Franchise Disclosure Document, multiple sections within the Franchise Agreement address aspects related to opening a franchise. Item 12 discusses the franchisee's authorization to establish and operate one Counselor Business at a single Office location within a designated geographic area. It also states that the franchisee must obtain Counselor Realty's written consent before opening or operating any additional Office locations.
Specifically, Item 12 outlines the process for site selection, requiring franchisees to select a site within 180 days of signing the Franchise Agreement. Counselor Realty then has 30 days to review and approve or reject the proposed site. If rejected, the franchisee has an additional 60 days to find an acceptable site. Failure to secure an approved site within these timeframes can lead to termination of the agreement and a refund of the initial fee, minus expenses. Once a site is approved, the franchisee must open the business within six months, or risk termination and loss of the initial fee.
Item 22, Section 1.1(a) of the Franchise Agreement also addresses the opening of the franchise, stating that Counselor Realty grants the franchisee a non-exclusive license to use the System and the Marks to operate one real estate brokerage business at a single site that Counselor Realty consents to, within the designated Territory. Furthermore, Section 1.1(b) and (c) outlines the process for opening additional offices, whether within the designated territory (Additional Office) or outside of it (Extension Office), requiring a request, a one-time fee of $750, and Counselor Realty's consent.