Can anyone give me an idea of how much it costs to purchase a RE franchise such as Keller Williams, Coldwell Banker, Century 21, etc..

Initial fees vary according to region of the country and the size of the metro area. In my locale, around 25K initial fee, and then annual percentage fees after that.

And of course you normally need to have a background that demonstrates your likely ability to succeed with the franchise -- which usually means several years of experience buying and selling real estate.

That's just a generalization of what I've observed locally. I'm sure that the initial fee may be higher or lower for other areas of the country. Of course, each company has a contact person who will be more than happy to discuss franchise opportunities with you.

Good luck.

re max in oakland was 45K to get started plus 10% of gross profits. Absolute rip off in my opinion

I had a C21 franchise straight out of brokers' school. I paid 10K, my renewal was 100.00 I'm also in a rural area.

Yeah... I gotta say that the assertion that you need some years of experience to get a franchise has not been what I have seen.

I know of at least two offices that were started with folks who had absolutely no experience whatsoever. I am sure this will vary from franchise to franchise but I can tell you that C21 and Prudential seem to be willing to sell a franchise to anyone who has the brokers license - and whose franchise fee checks won't bounce.

R