A franchise agreement contains ten core provisions: the grant of rights, your protected territory, the term and renewal conditions, every fee you will owe, training and support obligations, brand and operating standards, advertising requirements, transfer and resale rules, termination triggers, and dispute resolution. Those ten sections decide what you control, what you owe, and what happens if either side wants out. The Franchise Disclosure Document explains all of it in plain language first. The franchise agreement is the contract that makes it binding for the life of your business.
Reviewing these documents is a large part of my job at College Hunks Hauling Junk®. Almost nothing in a well-run franchisor’s agreement should surprise a candidate who read the FDD closely, and the reason to read the agreement anyway is precision. The FDD summarizes. The agreement controls.
What is a franchise agreement?
A franchise agreement is the binding contract between a franchisor and a franchisee that grants the right to operate a business under the franchisor’s brand and system in exchange for fees and adherence to standards. It is signed once, at the end of the buying process, and it governs the relationship from that day forward.
Two documents get confused constantly. The FDD is a disclosure document required by the Federal Trade Commission, and a franchisor must give it to you at least 14 days before you sign anything or pay anything. The franchise agreement is normally attached to that FDD as an exhibit. You read the FDD to decide. You sign the agreement to commit.
What information is included in a franchise agreement?
Every franchise agreement covers the same ten areas, whatever the industry. The wording varies widely. The subject matter does not.
| Provision | What it controls | What to check before signing |
|---|---|---|
| Grant of rights | Which brand and which concept you are licensed to operate | Whether the license covers one concept or more than one |
| Territory | The geographic area you may operate in and how protected it is | How the boundary is defined, and what the franchisor may still do inside it |
| Term and renewal | How long the agreement runs and the conditions for a second term | Renewal fees, refresh requirements, and whether renewal is automatic |
| Fees | Initial fee, royalty, brand or marketing fund, technology, and per-transaction fees | The base each percentage is calculated on, not just the percentage |
| Training and support | What the franchisor must deliver, and what it explicitly will not | Whether site selection and lease negotiation are included |
| Brand and operating standards | Uniforms, vehicles, systems, approved suppliers, customer experience | How much discretion you keep on pricing and vendors |
| Advertising | Required local spend and contributions to a national fund | The local minimum and how national fund money is allocated |
| Transfer and resale | Whether you can sell the business, and the franchisor’s approval rights | Right of first refusal and transfer fees, because this is your exit |
| Termination and default | What either side can do to end the agreement early | The cure period you get before a default becomes a termination |
| Dispute resolution | Arbitration or litigation, governing law, and venue | Which state’s law applies and where you would have to appear |
The transfer clause is the one candidates skim and later wish they had not. Those terms set what your business is worth on the day you sell it, and a franchise you cannot transfer cleanly is worth less than one you can.
How is a franchise agreement different from the FDD?
The FDD is written to inform you. The agreement is written to be enforced.
An FDD runs 23 numbered Items covering litigation and bankruptcy history, fees, estimated initial investment, the obligations of both parties, financing, renewal and transfer terms, outlet counts, and financial performance in Item 19. Several of those Items summarize language that lives in the agreement, and where the two differ in emphasis, the agreement is the operative document. That is why a franchise attorney reads them side by side.
Item 19 deserves its own pass, since it is the only place a franchisor may present financial performance information. See the Item 19 revenue picture for our system, and franchise requirements and process for how the review sequence runs.
Which clauses deserve the most attention?
Five provisions account for most of the friction that surfaces later in a franchise relationship.
- How territory is defined. Population, zip codes, and radius behave differently. Ask what rights the franchisor keeps inside your area, including national accounts and online ordering.
- The base for every percentage fee. A royalty on gross sales and one on net sales are different obligations. Confirm which applies and what is excluded.
- Transfer and right of first refusal. Your exit is worth understanding on day one, not in year seven.
- Cure periods on default. Find out how much notice you get, and which defaults have no cure period at all.
- Whether you are personally liable. Many agreements ask the owner to stand behind the entity’s obligations. Know that before you sign.
What does a College Hunks franchise agreement commit you to?
Ours follows the same ten-part structure as any other. The specifics below are all disclosed in our 2026 FDD, in writing, before a candidate signs anything.
| Provision | The commitment |
|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $75,000 for the combined Hauling Junk and College Hunks Moving® concepts in one zone, or $55,000 for a single concept |
| Territory | A designated zone of approximately 300,000 to 400,000 population |
| Royalty | 7% of Gross Sales, and 8% on sales generated outside your designated territory |
| Brand Development Fee | 2% of Gross Sales |
| Technology Fee | 1% of Gross Sales |
| Sales & Loyalty Center appointment fee | 6% on junk jobs and 5% on moving jobs that our national call center books for you, with no fee on business you generate yourself or that customers book online |
| Initial training | 5 to 15 days of mandatory training, included for up to two management personnel |
| Not included | Site selection assistance and lease negotiation assistance |
| Veteran incentive | $7,500 off the initial franchise fee at 51% or greater veteran ownership, maintained through the initial term |
| Financial qualification | Net worth of $200,000 or more |
Total estimated initial investment for the combined concepts runs $203,100 to $355,500 per the 2026 FDD Item 7, and the full investment breakdown shows where every line lands. The appointment fee is worth a second look, because it applies only when we bring you the job. That design is deliberate, and how the franchise model works covers why.
One term candidates should hear early rather than late: this is an owner-operator model, and the agreement expects the owner to be actively engaged in leading the business and the team. On the support side, every owner gets a dedicated Marketing Coach and Franchise Business Coach for the life of the franchise, which is contractual rather than aspirational. There is more on the training and support owners get.
Should you have an attorney review the franchise agreement?
Yes, and specifically a franchise attorney rather than a general business lawyer. Franchise law is its own body of federal and state regulation, and an attorney who reads these agreements weekly will spot in an hour what a generalist can miss entirely.
Ask the franchisor directly what is negotiable. At most established brands, royalty and marketing fund percentages are fixed across the system, because charging one owner less than another creates problems no franchisor can defend to the rest of its owners. Development schedules, opening timelines, and territory boundaries are where flexibility more often lives. A franchisor who refuses to discuss any of it is telling you something useful about the relationship ahead.
Ready to look at the actual document?
A good franchisor wants you to read the agreement closely, because an owner who understood the commitment on the day they signed is the owner still building five years later. If you are weighing whether a College Hunks franchise fits your goals, the fastest way to answer the questions above is to read our FDD and agreement yourself. Talk to our Franchise Development team and see if your market is still open. We read every inquiry, and there is no pressure, just answers.
Financial information shared in this content is drawn from Item 19 of the 2026 CHHJ Franchising, L.L.C. Franchise Disclosure Document (Issuance Date: April 30, 2026). See Item 19 for material assumptions, the underlying data set, and full required disclosures. Past performance does not guarantee future results. New franchisees may earn less.
This information is not an offer to sell or solicitation to buy a franchise. A franchise offering can only be made through the delivery of a Franchise Disclosure Document. Certain states regulate the offer and sale of franchises; if you are a resident of one of these states, we will not offer you a franchise unless we have complied with applicable pre-sale registration and disclosure requirements in your state.
College Hunks Hauling Junk®, College Hunks Moving®, and the H.U.N.K.S logo are registered trademarks of CHHJ Franchising, L.L.C. © 2026 CHHJ Franchising, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
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