All franchise agreements look scary, there are few in the industry including the franchise attorneys on both sides that would not agree with that. After all most of these franchise agreements with attachments (the entire FDD) are well over 250 pages. I know in my franchise company they were and this was nearly 10-years ago. One question I always asked myself was; "If I was a franchise, would I have signed one of these?"
And the answer I guess is that if that was the only alternative, I guess I'd have too. Of course, there is a reason why these franchise agreements are so large, encompassing and sound a bit vindictive. You see, franchisors make the documents or rather hire expensive franchise attorneys (around $300 per hour) to write them up.
Many franchisors I've talked to have over $35,000 in just legal fees to prepare all this horse dung. Maybe that was too abrupt and politically incorrect, but that is always how I felt about it and as a franchisor, well, let's just say I always called an ace an ace and a spade, a spade. The reality is that most all franchise agreements are similar and it is more important how the franchisor enforces the document and gets along with the franchisees than it is how scary the document looks.
Still, you are advised to have a real "Franchising" attorney look it over before you sign it and yes you are going to have to pay these expensive lawyers the going rate to do it too. But do not wimp out on this part of your due diligence or compare other franchise agreements and franchise business opportunities in the same industry to get the best value for you and your family. Buying a Franchise is a serious investment.
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