Wagar Associates lets agents go
The Aspen Times
Aspen, CO Colorado
ASPEN ” Rich Wagar Associates no longer has any associates.
Wagar, who started the firm in 1996, let his nine agents go Thursday.
Wagar said he plans to merge his office with another real estate firm, which has not yet been determined. In the meantime, he said he plans to work alone, along with an assistant, at his South Spring Street office.
“I want more time in my life with friends, family and my clients,” he said. “No more management.”
Wagar said the slowing of the real estate market also was a factor in his decision.
His brokers, which include Shael Johnson, Jeff Pogliano, Kari Anderson, Chris Hanson and Robert Zupancis, Jacquelyn Daly, Monty Laud and Hans Schwartz, are now free agents.
When Wagar let go of his part-time brokers last year, he told his full-time associates that a merger might happen within in the year. But closing the company down was not something that the brokers anticipated.
“I think it was a surprise to everybody,” Johnson said, adding she is uncertain what she’ll do next but is confident that she and her colleagues will recover.
“All of the agents are seasoned so I don’t think they’ll have a problem finding a place to hang their licenses,” she said. “It’s always sad when the door closes but then more open up.”
Wagar began his real estate career in Aspen with Fitzgerald Real Estate in 1970. He also worked with Dick Butera at Aspen Club Properties and Joshua and Co. before opening Rich Wagar Associates. He has a personal volume totaling more than a half-billion in sales in the area.
