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Agents of change(Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (IA) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 18--WATERLOO -- Commercial real estate agent Jack Nooren misses the ocean. Nooren, originally from the Netherlands, spent most of his life near the North Sea before moving to Waterloo about a decade ago. He said his desire to reconnect with a salty body of water was his primary motivation for deciding to leave Waterloo in the coming months. He is planning to head for the sunny shores of San Diego, where he hopes to join a major real estate brokerage, though his plans have not solidified. "Over the last few years my family and I have been contemplating, somewhat quietly, to make a move to be in close proximity to the ocean and made that really one of our goals," said Nooren. "It just this spring happened that we found exactly what we wanted, exactly what we were looking for, and made somewhat of a spur-of-the-moment decision contingent on keeping the company going." Prior to the move, Nooren sold his Waterloo companies to former employees. Nooren agents Jim Sulentic and Chris Fischels purchased Nooren Commercial Group and re-branded the company as Sulentic-Fischels Commercial Group. Senior residential agent Dick Kimball purchased Nooren Realtors and will retain the name of the company. Sulentic said his name -- commonly associated with Waterloo Industries -- has enough recognition to counteract the loss of the Nooren brand. Sulentic's grandfather founded WI, and his uncles and late father took turns as president. "With Jack heading to California, we wanted to start with our own identity," said Sulentic. "It is in no way a slight to Jack or his name." Kimball, meanwhile, said he wanted to retain the Nooren brand because the name was "well recognized in the community." "I thought the name was one of the more valuable assets," said Kimball, who was the first employee of Nooren Realtors. Sulentic and Fischels purchased the Nooren building at 3510 Kimball Ave. in Waterloo, which now sports a Sulentic-Fischels Commercial Group sign outside. In a move planned before Nooren's decision to leave Waterloo, Nooren Realtors moved into a renovated office space on the second floor of the building. Kimball is leasing the space from Sulentic and Fischels for an undisclosed amount. Both companies have retained the full staffs employed under Nooren. Nooren himself will stay on as an agent with Sulentic-Fischels Commercial Group despite his move to California. Nooren said his desire to remain active in Iowa is twofold. First, he owns several developments in the state, including a few under construction, and he plans to continue playing an integral role in the development of those projects. Second, he hopes to find investors in California with interest in investing in capital projects in the Cedar Valley. Though Nooren had been in talks with Sulentic, Fischels and Kimball since early spring, all parties wanted to wait to make an official announcement until the individuals and companies who had listings with Nooren's companies could be contacted. Those listings could not be sold from Nooren to the new companies, so the prospective sellers had to be contacted about possible retention. Sulentic and Fischels were able to retain the majority of Nooren's 70 listings, and Kimball held on to most of the residential listings. Nooren said his decision to move to California was not influenced by a January reprimand issued by the Iowa Real Estate Commission for a deal Nooren brokered in the fall of 2005. The state fined Nooren $5,000 and required he attend 16 hours of classes. He also reached an out-of-court settlement with the aggrieved parties. According to court records and the summary of charges issued by the IREC, the incident revolved around two transactions brokered by Nooren involving the property currently occupied by Power Pavers Inc. at 5838 W. Cedar Wapsi Road in Cedar Falls. The first transaction was for the sale of the property from former owners H&D LC to Robert Fischels -- father of Chris Fischels -- for $750,000. The second transaction took place eight days after the first deal with Fischels and prior to the first deal closing. In this transaction, Nooren brokered a deal for Robert Fischels to sell the property to Power Pavers for $1 million. According to Nooren, rumors he lost his license to practice real estate brokerage in Iowa as a result of the incident are unfounded, and the timing of his move is a coincidence. The Iowa Real Estate Commission charged Nooren with two counts of Iowa code violations for failing to present an offer to the appropriate party and failing to diligently exercise reasonable skill and care in providing brokerage services to all parties. "It's quite unfortunate that rumor did get started. I paid the fine and there was a two-day class required, which has been taken. So my license is in full compliance with the state," said Nooren. Nooren considered retaining ownership of his companies despite making the move to California, but "felt that absentee ownership was not the way to go." Both Sulentic-Fischels Commercial Group and Nooren Realtors have retained the familiar phone numbers of 234-5000 and 232-5000, respectively. Nooren Realtors is still found on the Web at www.noorenrealtors.com, but Sulentic-Fischels Commercial group is developing its own Web site to be located at www.sulenticfischels.com. Contact Drew Andersen at (319) 291-1418 or [email protected]. To see more of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wcfcourier.com/. Copyright (c) 2008, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |