[pullquote cite=” – by Geri Weitzman” align=”right”]Sometimes you just have to create what you want to be a part of![/pullquote]
It was early spring of 2007. There were tremors in the housing markets of California, but no one here worried much about it. Joni and I lived through the February 9, 1971 San Fernando earthquake in Southern California but we never expected anything like that when we moved to Oregon. California is home to earthquakes, even in their housing industry. Their prices routinely grow sky-high, and then get shaken back down to the ground. We’ve learned to ignore it as an inevitable event. Little did we know, within 4 months of Bella Casa’s inception the mother of all quakes would shake the nation’s housing industry.
So much for foresight and good judgment! But if we lacked understanding about the size of the sub-prime quake, we did not lack vision and direction for what we knew would be the brokerage of the future. The colonial era of brokerages was past, and the new era was to be built upon a new model, one we call a professional cooperative.
We began on the 15th of March, 2007, with Mary Jo, Tanya, Joni, Amy, Randy, and Mary. Soon Rena, Olya, and Grace made the move. By March 15, 2008, our first anniversary, Robin joined us as our 30th Realtor® making us the largest brokerage in McMinnville, and among the top three for size in the County. But while size may be a commentary on the attractiveness of our model, alone it may only mean we put on a better party!
Our goal has always been to be the brand of choice for our area, the greater Yamhill County area, one of the most beautiful places on the earth! We are accomplishing this with a sterling reputation, which we value more than gold and the highest level of competent service available for our clients. Since the past is the best predictor of the future, we are very optimistic!