What do franchises do for me?

When an independent owner / operator signs up for a franchise they are primarily buying into a marketing plan. In the case of something like McDonalds that plan comes with a commitment for uniformity. If you buy a Big Mac anywhere in the country you can be pretty sure of what you will get. Because of differences in real estate laws from state to state real estate franchises can’t provide the kind of uniformity that McDonalds can provide.  However, all real estate franchises in a particular state have to follow the laws of the state that they are in. Independent (non franchise) real estate brokers have to follow exactly the same state laws.  So what benefits arise from working with a franchise real estate office?  Well you get the privilege of contributing to the overhead of maintaining the franchise. A typical franchise arrangement might require that 6% of any commissions earned by that office go towards franchise fees.  The bulk of the fees collected then may be used to advertise the franchise brand itself.  So when you sign up with a franchise and you see their ad on television you can proudly say “Hey I helped pay for that ad. Did you like it?”