Bring Out Your Dead - But I’m Not Dead Yet!

A story that started out as an obituary for yet another casualty of the housing downturn now plays more like a scene from Monty Python.

On December 23rd, The Arizona Republic reported “Major real estate broker shuts down“:

RE/MAX 2000, based in Gilbert, is closing its 13 offices around the Valley. An attorney for owner Robert Kline told 12 News Sunday the company was not generating enough sales to meet its expenses because of the Valley’s depressed housing market. As for the timing of the closing, attorney Dax Watson said, “We felt it wouldn’t be fair to our clients to wait.”

On December 24th, Business Week covered the reported shut down with a statement from Re/Max 2000 founder Robert Kline, who said the decision to close became clear when he couldn’t afford to pay overhead expenses.

“The market has impacted us tremendously, and it was something we basically had no control over,” Kline said. “We cannot any longer invest our personal resources into the business.”

Later that day, the attorney that represents Kline stated that RE/Max 2000 wasn’t dead yet, according to another AZ Republic story.

“It appears there may be some opportunity to save Re/Max 2000 and work through some of these issues,” Watson said in a telephone interview with the owners on Monday.

No doubt that newly detected pulse was directly related to Re/Max International founder and chairman Dave Liniger’s decision to fly to Phoenix on Christmas Eve, where he then met with the owners planning to shut down one of his franchises.

According to the Phoenix Business Journal:

“He got down here quickly,” said Jack Farrar, a spokesperson at Re/Max’s corporate headquarters in Denver. “He wanted to talk to the agents.”

Farrar also assured customers that all current contracts would be processed.

“All contracts that are in place will not be affected and no escrow money has been compromised,” he said.

“No escrow money has been compromised.” WOW. The fact someone felt the need to assure clients that no crime was committed has got to be unsettling, particularly to those agents that told The AZ Republic that they are owed $111,000 in commissions.

Agent Steve Russell works with his mother, Sandy Koeppen, also an agent, and between them they say they are owed $11,000.

“My kids didn’t even end up with any Christmas presents,” Russell said. He told his four children they’d have to wait until he does a closing with another company.

Today Phoenix agent Jonathon Dalton reports that ReMax 2000 plans to keep 5 offices open, and that attorney Dax Watson asked the Arizona Department of Real Estate to conduct an audit to further assure all involved that funds are present and accounted for properly.

Rumor has it that when Robert Kline was asked this morning how things were going after a crazy week, he replied, “I’m feeling better. Think I’ll go for a walk.”