Opening process
How does the EXIT Realty opening process work under the 2025 Wisconsin FDD?
The 2025 disclosure says EXIT Realty offices typically open about two to three months after the Franchise Agreement is signed. That estimate is not a promise. The controlling contract requires the office to be open and operating by a Compliance Date no later than 120 calendar days after signing, while site acquisition, licensing, permits, insurance, training, suppliers, and buildout remain applicant or third-party dependencies.
Sources: 2025 EXIT Realty Upper Midwest FDD, cover and Item 11, pp. 14–19; Franchise Agreement §§3.1, 4 and 9.11; FTC Franchise Rule Compliance Guide.
Qualification
Who must qualify before an EXIT Realty franchise can be awarded?
The decisive professional gate is a valid real estate broker’s license for the state containing the Protected Territory. The Franchise Agreement conditions the grant on obtaining and maintaining that license, and the FDD states that the franchisee or approved designee must be the licensed broker. For a Wisconsin office, applicants should confirm current requirements with the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services.
Exhibit A-1, the Request for Consideration, asks about assets, liabilities, capital sources, financing, equity partners, broker-license history, business ownership or management, desired opening timing, and relevant skills. It authorizes credit, consumer-report, background, criminal, and anti-terrorism-law checks. The reviewed FDD does not state a minimum net worth, liquid-capital threshold, credit score, education requirement, or mandatory prior brokerage-ownership period, and submitting complete information does not guarantee approval or award.
Entity ownership adds contract conditions. The entity must be authorized and in good standing, hold the required broker license, operate primarily as the EXIT business, provide organizational and capitalization documents, and use a legal name that does not contain “EXIT.” One individual signing the agreement must own or control at least 51% of voting equity and at least 51% of total equity. All equity holders must execute the Personal Guaranty; a spouse may also be required to sign in a community- or marital-property state.
The franchisee—or the entity’s officer, member, director, partner, or broker of record—must devote substantially full-time efforts. The office must be supervised on premises by a manager who has completed EXIT training, has no relationship with an EXIT competitor, and signs required confidentiality and restrictive-covenant documents.
Sources: 2025 FDD, Exhibit A-1 and Items 15–16, p. 22; Franchise Agreement §§2.1, 9.1, 9.2 and 14.2.
Verified roadmap
What must happen between inquiry and opening?
The sequence below separates applicant actions, subfranchisor decisions, and outside dependencies. It does not assume that licensing, financing, site search, and entity formation occur one after another; several can proceed in parallel, but all must be resolved before the office begins business.
Submit the Request for Consideration
Action: Disclose ownership, finances, funding source, licensing, experience, partners, and target opening date; authorize listed investigations.
Actor: Applicant.
Next dependency: Regional review and a discretionary decision to continue.
Confirm the license and ownership structure
Action: Identify the licensed broker of record, finalize the individual or entity applicant, and prepare guaranties and organizational records.
Actor: Applicant, licensing authority, and counsel.
Blocker: No valid broker license or an entity that cannot satisfy the 51% control rule.
Receive and review the current FDD
Action: Review the FDD, Franchise Agreement, territory schedule, guaranty, state addenda, and opening obligations.
Timing: At least 14 calendar days before signing or making a required payment under the federal rule.
Next dependency: Resolve material changes and state-specific requirements before execution.
Finalize territory terms and sign
Action: Verify the Protected Territory map, density classification, Sales Representative quotas, Compliance Date, and approved ownership; sign and pay the nonrefundable Initial Fee.
Actor: Franchisee and EXIT Realty Upper Midwest.
Timing: Quotas must be supplied at least seven calendar days before execution.
Select and obtain site consent
Action: Locate a commercial office inside the Protected Territory, submit it for review, and secure leasehold or fee title with appropriate contingencies.
Actor: Franchisee finds the site; subfranchisor approves or disapproves.
Timing: Decision within 30 days after receipt of the request.
Build, equip, license, and insure the office
Action: Adapt prototype plans, complete permitted work, install approved sign and equipment, activate MEMO-compatible technology, obtain memberships, and deliver insurance certificates.
Actor: Franchisee, landlord, contractors, suppliers, insurer, and authorities.
Blocker: Local approvals, construction, financing, or supplier lead times.
Complete required training and staffing setup
Action: The franchisee and broker of record or administrator complete the next scheduled five-day management course to EXIT’s satisfaction before opening.
Timing: A one-day follow-up course is due within 60 days after initial training if offered.
Next dependency: Trained on-premises supervision and approved Sales Representative agreements.
Open by the Compliance Date
Action: Begin operating only at the approved site with the required license, insurance, systems, sign, supplies, and staffing arrangements in force.
Timing: No later than 120 calendar days after the agreement date.
Blocker: The reviewed contract discloses no automatic extension right.
Timing evidence
Which disclosed periods can affect the critical path?
These periods use different triggers and should not be added into a single 224-day estimate. The chart shows relative length only: the federal disclosure period runs before signing, site review starts after a site request, follow-up training starts after initial training, and the opening deadline runs from the agreement date.
Disclosed process periods, in calendar days
Bar length is scaled to the 120-day contractual opening limit.
Interpretation: The 120-day deadline is the controlling outside limit; shorter periods are separate review or completion windows, not guaranteed stage durations.
Sources: 16 C.F.R. §436.2 and the current federal disclosure rule; 2025 FDD Item 11; Franchise Agreement §§3.1 and 9.11.
Failure to open and commence business within 120 days is listed as a default without a right to cure. The subfranchisor may declare the agreement null and void or terminate it, and the Initial Fee and other amounts paid are not returned. The reviewed agreement does not disclose a contractual extension right, so any accommodation should be documented before signing rather than assumed.
Site and territory
What must be approved before the office lease and buildout are safe to advance?
The franchisee—not the subfranchisor—must find and obtain the site. The office must be in the Protected Territory, and EXIT Realty Upper Midwest may evaluate competition, market conditions, customer sources, building suitability, traffic and transportation, adjacent businesses, and comparative market advantages. Site consent is distinct from territory designation, lease execution, construction approval, and permission to begin operations.
| Territory classification | Minimum disclosed office size |
|---|---|
| Rural density | 750 square feet |
| Low density | 1,000 square feet |
| Medium density | 1,500 square feet |
| High density | 2,000 square feet |
The lease or purchase should account for local zoning, occupancy, building, sign, and other approvals, but the FDD does not provide a universal permit list or promise municipal timing. The agreement requires the franchisee to obtain building and other required permits, comply with local ordinances, install all required equipment and fixtures, and obtain approval of exterior-sign specifications before committing to a sign contractor.
The Protected Territory gives exclusivity for establishing an EXIT-branded office, while other EXIT franchisees may list, sell, represent clients, market online, or provide real estate services inside that territory. Territorial exclusivity may also be lost or modified if contractual performance standards, including Sales Representative quotas, are not maintained.
Sources: 2025 FDD, Items 7, 11 and 12, pp. 10–20; Franchise Agreement §§2.2–2.3, 3.1 and 9.4.
Training and readiness
What must be complete before EXIT Realty can begin operating?
The agreement requires the franchisee and the individual serving as broker of record or office administrator to attend and complete the next scheduled five-day franchisee management course to EXIT’s and the subfranchisor’s satisfaction before opening. Training may be held in Mississauga, Atlanta, another selected location, or online. Approved attendees are not charged tuition, but the franchisee pays travel, lodging, meals, and related expenses.
A cancellation after registration triggers $500 if notice is under 30 days and $1,000 if cancellation occurs within 10 days. If offered, a separate one-day course must be completed within 60 days after the five-day course. Training completion is a contractual requirement, but the FDD does not describe a separate opening inspection, certificate, or formal opening-authorization form; the buyer should obtain a written pre-opening deliverables list from the regional office.
Valid state real estate broker license and required local regulatory standing.
Approved site inside the Protected Territory and occupancy rights secured.
General liability and errors-and-omissions coverage, each with at least a $1 million aggregate, plus certificates delivered before business begins.
Approved trade style, assumed-name filing, exterior sign, and any domain or social-media names.
MEMO-compatible hardware, Windows 11 or newer, high-speed internet, and Chrome or Edge.
Branded materials and required supplies sourced through Approved Suppliers or an approved alternative.
MLS and customary broker-association memberships established for the Protected Territory.
Written approved-form agreements for each Sales Representative and a trained on-premises manager.
Sources: 2025 FDD Items 7–8, 11 and 15–16; Franchise Agreement §§9.3, 9.4, 9.7 and 9.11–9.13.
Responsibility map
Who controls each opening dependency?
The agreement assigns most execution risk to the franchisee. Franchisor or subfranchisor assistance includes plans, manuals, software access, training, and specified approvals; it does not guarantee financing, a suitable site, lease terms, permits, contractor performance, employees, or a particular opening date.
Applicant / franchisee
EXIT / Upper Midwest
Third parties
The FDD states that EXIT and EXIT Realty Upper Midwest do not provide direct or indirect financing and do not guarantee the franchisee’s note, lease, or other obligation. Local registration and state-law requirements should be checked with the relevant regulator; for the reviewed offer, the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions is the state franchise regulator.
Format differences
Does EXIT Realty disclose a multi-unit, conversion, or area-development opening path?
The reviewed FDD discloses one Franchise Agreement for one Protected Territory. It does not include a Development Agreement, Area Development Agreement, multi-unit schedule, mobile format, home-based format, or nontraditional format. Item 11 notes that converting an existing facility can affect the two-to-three-month typical opening period, but conversion is not presented as a separate agreement or franchise format.
A second office inside the same Protected Territory requires prior written consent. Item 12 says no additional franchise fee is charged for multiple offices within the territory, while Franchise Agreement §3.2(B) says a second location or branch is subject to all agreement terms, fees, and royalties. Because those statements can affect the opening decision, the buyer should obtain a written fee and approval schedule identifying exactly what applies to the proposed branch.
An office outside the Protected Territory requires another Franchise Agreement. The current agreement provides no option, right of first refusal, or automatic development right for another location, and the franchisee and guarantors must be in compliance before acquiring another EXIT franchise.
Buyer verification
What should a prospective franchisee verify before signing or committing to a site?
Use the current FDD for the region and state where the office will operate. EXIT uses regional subfranchisors, so the legal seller, territory documents, state addenda, training logistics, and contacts may differ from the Wisconsin offer analyzed here.
Confirm the legal franchisor or subfranchisor, FDD issuance date, state effectiveness, and all amendments.
Match the Protected Territory map, density classification, Initial Fee, and Sales Representative quotas to the final agreement schedules.
Verify who will be broker of record, who attends training, and who provides full-time and on-premises supervision.
Do not commit to a lease, sign contractor, trade style, domain, or branded materials before the required written approvals and contingencies are in place.
Confirm the exact date on which the 120-day period starts and the inserted Compliance Date; ask whether any written extension is available before signing.
Request a current pre-opening checklist showing documents required to demonstrate license, insurance, permits, training, systems, and office readiness.
Resolve the Item 12 and §3.2(B) branch-office fee language in writing before planning a second office.
Contact current, former, and signed-but-not-opened owners listed in Item 20 about site approval, training dates, buildout delays, and the regional opening process.
The federal minimum is 14 calendar days between delivery of the FDD and signing or required payment. A franchisor’s unilateral material change to the standard agreement can trigger an additional seven-calendar-day review period. State law may add requirements, so the actual transaction calendar should be verified rather than calculated from this article.
Final synthesis
What is the verified path to an EXIT Realty opening?
The verified path is application and investigation, broker-license and ownership qualification, federal FDD review, territory and agreement execution, site consent, lease or purchase, permitted office setup, insurance and systems activation, required training, and opening at the approved site. The FDD supplies an official typical estimate of two to three months and a contractual maximum of 120 calendar days, not a guaranteed opening date.
The most important applicant-controlled dependency is securing an approvable, properly licensed and equipped office while completing training before the Compliance Date. The most important franchisor or third-party dependency is timely site review plus landlord, licensing, permitting, contractor, supplier, and insurer performance. The key unresolved issue is whether any written extension or branch-office fee treatment will apply; neither should be assumed from informal discussions.