Scott Swanson
Of The New Era
If you’re house hunting around Sweet Home, you may have noticed an increase in Heritage Northwest real estate signs and a corresponding decrease in those of Mountain View Realty.
The reason is the two are now one and the same.
Mountain View, which has operated in Sweet Home since it was founded in 2000 by Sherri Gregory and Jacki Nicklous, merged with Heritage Northwest, based in Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 1.
Don Robertson, who owns Heritage Northwest along with Joanne Nelson, predicted that there will be a “real natural fit” between the two. He said Heritage Northwest will maintain the Sweet Home office at 401 Main St., Suite A, which has been Mountain View’s headquarters.
“Mountain View has always run a really good ship and we’ve had a real good relationship with them on a professional basis,” Robertson said. “We’ve known Jacki and Sherri since they started. ”
Gregory agreed.
“The weirdest thing is my business was never for sale,” she said. “The two of us have always helped each other. He gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
Robertson said he wanted to quell a rumor that Mountain View was failing.
“They have been the most successful office in Sweet Home and they still are,” he said. “We actually approached them. They didn’t approach us. It took a little convincing.”
Heritage Northwest was the top-seller of Linn County properties in 2004, while Mountain View was in the top 10, Robertson noted.
He said nothing will change at the Sweet Home office except that it will have “a different sign in the front yard. Customers won’t see an awful lot of difference as far as services are concerned,” he said.
Agents, phone numbers and the address will stay the same, though a couple of Heritage Northwest agents who live in Sweet Home are likely to move to the Sweet Home office and Robertson said a couple of others may join the office as well.
Gregory said the change will allow her to focus on “what I do and love to do ? sell real estate. “Some people can’t believe it,” she said. “They figured we’d be around for ever and I did too. But it’s a great opportunity for all of us ? for my family, for my clients and for my agents.”
Robertson, himself a Sweet Home native and 1969 graduate of Sweet Home High School, said he foresees positive changes for Sweet Home, particularly with the economic boom that is going on in Lebanon.
He said he expects the Lowe’s distribution center to trigger a larger influx of companies that typically follow Lowe’s.
“Lowe’s will positively impact the East Linn County unemployment rate,” he said. “I see a lot of people moving here.”