3 Coldwell Banker Real Estate Offices Sold as Franchises
Three formerly company-owned Coldwell Banker real estate offices in Ventura County have been sold to a Santa Monica company that will operate them as Coldwell franchises.
In a related move, the Coldwell Banker unit in Camarillo has moved into the Lamb Realty office in that city and Lamb, a fixture in Camarillo real estate since the 1970s, has shut down its Camarillo operation.
The countywide realignment affects about 100 real estate agents in Ventura, Camarillo and Simi Valley.
“We still consider the Ventura County offices very much a part of Coldwell Banker, even though we no longer own them,” said Marita Moskos, Coldwell’s director of marketing. “Our income from franchise sales is quite meaningful.”
The three Coldwell offices have been sold to CMC Residential Inc. for an undisclosed price, Moskos said. She said the units, which will now be called Coldwell Banker Residential Affiliates, will continue to receive marketing and operating support from the parent company, even though they are independently owned.
A fourth Coldwell office in Ventura County, in Westlake Village, is not affected by the deal, Moskos said. “That office works closely with our Valley operation, so we have chosen to retain it.”
Moskos said the former manager of Lamb Realty’s Camarillo office, Stephanie Schieltz, has been named head of the Coldwell affiliate there, which will be called Coldwell Banker Town and Country.
Neither Schieltz nor officials of Thousand Oaks-based Lamb were available to explain why the Lamb office was closed.
Two years ago, Lamb’s president, Ray E. Lamb, and four of his agents were fined a total of $42,500 as a result of deals in which buyers inflated the prices of homes so they could obtain larger loans on the properties. For a time, the company’s license was lifted but it was allowed to continue operating under close state supervision.
Lamb, which still operates in Oxnard, eastern Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, had about 40 agents in its office on Daily Drive in Camarillo. Coldwell had 22 agents nearby on Lantana Street. Most of those who worked at both offices will now be based at the Daily Drive location, Moskos said.
In addition, Coldwell has 21 agents in Ventura and 18 in Simi Valley.
Ruth Thomas, manager of the Simi Valley unit, said she doubted that the lackluster housing market prompted the sale of the offices.
“Business has been improving,” she said. “We’ve sold quite a few houses to first-time buyers this summer.”
Moskos said that nationwide Coldwell has 410 company-owned offices and 1,700 affiliate units.
