It’s been a bit crazy around the office for the last couple of days. We went to a company meeting yesterday morning and found out that Century 21 Hecht Realty, after selling real estate around Lake Norman since the early seventies, is merging with Coldwell Banker United. That was quite a shock to all of us at Century 21 Hecht, since we’ve always maintained a core of very loyal agents and employees. All of us agents have also spent considerable time extolling the virtues of the Century 21 brand in listing and selling real estate. However, the current slow economy and real estate market is causing many changes in what we thought was normal in our lives, and this is just another change made to accommodate the situation.
I’ve always had respect for the Coldwell Banker name, having handled quite a few transactions with agents from their local offices. The two brands are actually owned by the same company (Realogy) and share lots of tools and management philosophy, so the changes we’ll experience are minimal. In fact, the Mooresville CBU people will be moving to our great office location at Exit 36 on I-77 in Mooresville.
Ultimately, real estate offices are largely defined by the culture that exists in each company and office. From talking to other CB United agents, I believe that we share the same culture, that is, one of mutual respect and support. In other words, we believe it is best for our agents to help each other succeed through providing solutions to problems, advice and guidance whenever one agent can help another. This makes for a great place to work, and it makes for agents who provide excellent service to their clients. I know also that not all real estate offices work that way. Some are in the “every man for himself” mode, and I guess that’s fine if that’s what you want. For me, I want to be part of something- a group of people with whom I’m proud to be associated and would recommend to anyone for their skill and experience.
We’ll get through this change from gold to blue. It’ll take a few weeks to make all the changes, but we’ll still be providing the best service in the Lake Norman area under a fine, but different banner.
