This morning I went out and interviewed with 2 franchise brokerages (whose branches are privately owned as most of you may well know).

Franchise Taxes, Secretary of State, IRS Filings)Lawyer, Accountant, Bookkeeper...and you'll need a special evaluation process for YOUR country based on the US Tax Rules/Israel Tax Rules and Currency Exchange Rates.As you can see, going this route is not easy but doable. 

I'm retired from a management position with a local Pepsi~Cola franchise where I was employed for 24 years.

I lost a huge amount of cash mid 2000's when I first was Interested in getting into RE, Went into a franchise instead, Bad move...

It is not secured by the business, which is a very specialized franchise (no guarantee a foreclosing entity would be approved as a franchisee by the franchisor, among other complications).

The CA franchise tax is hard to avoid, even when forming an LLC out of state.

Why not buy 3 Subway franchises?  

That's why you see all major corporations/franchises sell the real estate to an investor and then NNN lease it back.Many small businesses don't necessarily get that though.So starting off with that, the seller's accountant confirmed it would be a good move for them.

If you even look at CA the wrong way they will want their minimum $800 franchise tax.

The deal is a percentage of sales lease with a widely known class A franchise in the restaurant/food industry (sale lease back).