Kelseys close brokerage, join McComb Realty

GREELEY — Loyal Kelsey and Associates, a discount real estate brokerage in Greeley, has closed its doors after 11 years of business.

Loyal and Luwanda Kelsey, the husband-and-wife team that founded the business in 1987, have joined McComb Realty Service Inc. of Greeley.

Despite a decade of many successes, $13.5 million in business conducted in 1998, and a reputation for having Northern Colorado’s largest discount real estate brokerage, the Kelseys decided they no longer wanted the responsibility of running their own business and wanted time to travel; money was no longer important to them, Loyal Kelsey said.

“The timing was right. We have been successful,” he said.

The discount brokerage, which conducted its business almost exclusively in the Greeley area, listed and sold properties for 4 percent less than other brokerages in the region while offering the same services for 1 percent to 2 percent less commission than their competition.

Kelsey and Associates had seven employees at its peak, five when it closed its office at 2028 Ninth St. in Greeley. The Kelseys have sold the Ninth Street property, but not the business, which officially closed down Feb. 1.

They believe they can do just as much business through referrals at McComb as they did working full-time out of their office, without all the headaches of running a business, Loyal Kelsey said.

“We’re very happy to have them,´ said Rich Sitzman, managing broker at McComb. “They’ve done a lot of business and satisfied a lot of customers.”

McComb was founded in 1979 but changed ownership in 1994 when Sitzman and his wife, Mary, bought the business from founder Bob McComb. The Sitzmans worked at McComb prior to the purchase.

McComb, located at 928 13th St., Suite 4, provides complete real estate brokering services, including residential, rural and commercial properties along the Front Range and throughout the northeastern Colorado area. Unlike many other real estate brokerages, where agents come and go, McComb has had a stable employee base, Sitzman said.

With the addition of the Kelseys, McComb, which had not increased its roster since 1992, now employs a total of five people, with plans to hire two more employees in the coming year.

McComb’s recent expansion is a response to the current state of the real estate market.”The market is extremely good right now, with a lot of inventory available. We have expanded inventory significantly by adding the Kelseys,” Sitzman said. “We needed people to help with increased business.” As former owners of a family-run business, the Kelseys were exactly the type of Realtors McComb was looking to hire, Sitzman said.

“It happens every day; agents change companies all the time,” he said. “We turned down other Realtors who weren’t the type we were looking for; these are two we are pleased to have.”

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