RE/MAX sees new leadership

With the New Year, it means some new activity at RE/MAX All-Star, REALTORS®. Forrest Coleman-Weisz explained he purchased 50 percent of the business shares and as of Jan. 1 took a more active role in leadership. There are a lot of new policies going into effect, and a lot they're going to be doing differently, he said, for the community and to reinforce the real estate market as a whole in the county.

"It's a good transition. It's something I've been working up to for 10 years."

Coleman-Weisz has been licensed since 2006, but noted he's been helping with the family business - general real estate - since he was about 10, so he's got a solid 20 years in the industry, unofficially. He further explained his mother, Jody Coleman, called him in 2008 and pitched the idea of opening a Thermopolis office, which he thought was a great idea.

They moved here, bought a building and opened the office, with the understanding he would one day take over, though he didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

A common misconception in the real estate industry, Coleman-Weisz said, is that all real estate agents are out for themselves. One of the policies he wanted to put in place regards how they can help the community.

"It's one thing that a lot of business owners, in my opinion, look over. And others do a fantastic job. In my opinion, one of RE/MAX's failings in the last 10 years has been the inability to help reach out into the community a little bit further. But we, as real estate agents, have a duty to help our respective markets."

He added if businesses shut down it has a negative impact on the real estate market, so agents should be doing their part to promote economic growth.

"For the most part," Coleman-Weisz said, "it's going to be a bigger focus on community. When I moved here I knew I wanted to build something, and I finally get the opportunity to reach out to the community and see what we can do to reinforce this little town and keep it moving forward."

The change in leadership doesn't mean a change in staffing, and Coleman-Weisz explained everyone at the office works as a team which helps reinforce the ideal they want to get people in homes and make sure things are done correctly. "Even if one of us is gone, you have four more people at your disposal."