A best and worst of franchising list is tricky to put together. The methodology is just as important as the objective of the ranking. For the FORBES “best” and “worst” in franchising, FRANdata considered demand for the franchise brand, success of existing franchisees and franchisor support from the perspective of “lender friendliness”. This brings up another factor we reviewed, transparency and the average investment.
As important as these criteria are, they can also appear nebulous, and indeed some are difficult to measure. In fact, we used proxies. Starting with demand, FRANdata examined a brand’s growth rate over the 2008 to 2012 period.
In the rankings there were 3 Real Estate franchise firms mentioned all of them appeared in the “Worst” column.
It still baffles my mind that Maine Association of Realtors was against pro-franchisee legislation in Maine, when their members are in fact franchisees. Particularly when there are so many bad actors in real estate franchising.
No. 3 Commission Express
Works as a pay advance for realtors, turning unpaid commissions into cash.
Average Initial Investment: $231,900
Initial Training Hours: 30
Growth rate: –15%
Continuity: 41%
Franchisor Support: C
No. 6 Avalar
Provides training and HR support for expanding real estate and mortgage businesses.
Average Initial Investment: $188,250
Initial Training Hours: 4
Growth rate: –13%
Continuity: 34%
Franchisor Support: D
No. 9 ERA Real Estate
Walks clients through buying and selling a home, finding an agent and a mortgage.
Average Initial Investment: $133,800
Initial Training Hours: 17
Growth rate: –12%
Continuity: 41%
Franchisor Support: D