@propertiesFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A @properties franchise requires a total initial investment of $64K – $433K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 3.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $64K – $433K
- 39th pct Real Estate
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 25th pct Real Estate
- Royalty
- 3.0%
- 5th pct Real Estate
- Units
- 44
- 28th pct Real Estate
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Real Estate · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Real Estate avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
The system contracted 25% year-over-year. Investigate why units are closing.
10 legal cases disclosed in the FDD. Read Item 3 before signing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $64K – $433K including a $35K franchise fee, 3.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 80/100.
- 10 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3, higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- At World Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- At World Properties, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- At World Properties Holdings, LLC
- CEO title
- Co-CEO
- Michael Golden
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 806 N. Peoria St., Chicago, IL 60642
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.6M
- vs $2.3M prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate as real estate brokerages/agents under the @properties brand, managing residential and commercial property sales, leasing, and related services. They leverage the franchisor's technology, marketing, brand recognition, and support systems while remitting 3-6% of gross revenues as royalties. Day-to-day activities include client acquisition, property listings, showings, negotiations, closings coordination, and team management within their protected territory.
- CEO
- Michael Golden
- Headquarters
- IL
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 5
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $35K | $35K | |
| Initial Training Expenses | $1K | $10K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $0 | $150K | |
| Rent and Security Deposit | $3K | $10K | |
| "For Sale" Signage | $1K | $25K | |
| Office Signage | $250 | $5K | |
| Equipment and Furniture | $8K | $50K | |
| Computers and Software | $3K | $10K | |
| Start-up Supplies and Inventory | $5K | $10K | |
| Insurance | $2K | $25K | |
| Professional Fees | $2K | $5K | |
| Utilities | $350 | $3K | |
| Licensing Costs | $500 | $3K | |
| Data Feed Transmission | $250 | $3K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months | $5K | $90K | |
| Total initial investment | $64K | $433K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $64K – $433K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $90K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 3.0%
- Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $500 |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $1K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Real Estate averages
How @properties Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 44
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 6.8%
- Company-owned
- 41
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 7%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- -25.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -40.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Termination rate
- 2.3%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 6.8%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 17 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
@properties presents HIGH RISK due to 25% YoY unit contraction, undisclosed financials, multiple antitrust lawsuits challenging commission models, and going concern status—indicating both franchisor stability and franchisee viability concerns.
Litigation (Item 3)
Six antitrust putative class action lawsuits filed in late 2023 and early 2024 against Parent, the Company, and Christie's International Real Estate Group related to real estate listing policies alleged to be anticompetitive. Cases pending in federal courts in Georgia, South Carolina, New York (2), Illinois, and Missouri. One case (Umpa) reached final settlement approval in November 2024. Additional non-class action pending: Stuart v. HK Lane Palm Desert involving breach of fiduciary duty and professional negligence claims.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 80 / 100 rating
- 01MED25% unit decline YoY (44 units) indicates systemic franchisee attrition and loss of confidence in the model
- 02MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure (avg revenue/net income) prevents ability to validate ROI on $64k-$433k investment
- 03MEDMultiple antitrust class actions (6+) targeting real estate commission structures create regulatory/legal risk to core business model
- 04HIGHGoing Concern = False signals potential franchisor financial distress or viability concerns
- 05HIGHHigh litigation exposure across professional liability, fraud, and failure-to-disclose claims suggests operational/compliance issues within franchisee network
- 06MINORWide investment range ($64k-$433k) with no corresponding revenue disclosure raises questions about unit economics transparency
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Counties, zip codes, or other geographical designations |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Illinois |
| Litigation count | 10 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Six antitrust putative class action lawsuits filed in late 2023 and early 2024 against Parent, the Company, and Christie's International Real Estate Group related to real estate listing policies alleged to be anticompetitive. Cases pending in federal courts in Georgia, South Carolina, New York (2), Illinois, and Missouri. One case (Umpa) reached final settlement approval in November 2024. Additional non-class action pending: Stuart v. HK Lane Palm Desert involving breach of fiduciary duty and professional negligence claims.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 13 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- @properties System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: @properties System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
20 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
@properties · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a @properties franchise?
The total investment to open a @properties franchise ranges from $64K – $433K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do @properties franchise owners earn?
@properties does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is @properties's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for @properties (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many @properties franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, @properties has 44 total units in the United States, including 3 franchised units and 41 company-owned units.
Is @properties a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates @properties as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 80 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.