Realty firm marks decades of growth

All it took was a case of the doldrums to start a legacy.

In February 1981, Paul Wachholz retired from his career as a commercial banker.

"After about 10 days, I got bored," he said with a grin.

So on Feb. 21, 1981, Wachholz started a real estate business. He and Robert "Nad" Nadvornick were the only employees. Their office: a couple of rented spaces above Wheeler Jewelry on Main Street in Kalispell.

At that time, new utilities were being installed on Main Street, Wachholz said. The street was dug down 6 or 8 feet. To get to their second-story office, he and Nadvornick could go through the Ford Building around back or come in through a window in the alley.

From that humble beginning, Wachholz's company has grown to a nine-office corporation with 18 staff members and 118 real estate agents. Coldwell Banker Wachholz and Co. observed its 25th anniversary on Tuesday.

To celebrate their quarter-century run, the company is focusing on giving back to the area, Chief Operating Officer Tom Burk said.

"We're trying to be a real public contributor to the community," he said, especially helping area schools.

In each of Coldwell Banker Wachholz's nine markets, the firm contributed to reading needs in schools, Burk said. In Columbia Falls, for example, the company helped schools buy books for reading programs.

"Education is what has changed this company," he said. "We believe in education across the board. That's very important to us."

Twenty-five years isn't all the company is celebrating, though. Last week, at the International Coldwell Banker Conference in San Francisco, Wachholz accepted the Chairman's Circle, awarded to the top 100 offices in the Coldwell Banker world.

Of more than 3,000 Coldwell Banker offices nationwide, Coldwell Banker Wachholz was No. 59. The Kalispell office was also the No. 1 Coldwell Banker company in Montana in 2005, Wachholz said - maybe the No. 1 real estate company in the state.

"I don't think any other company sold more real estate than we did," he said.

Not bad for a company that started with just two people who climbed through a window to get to work.

It was in 1985 that Wachholz joined the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. He submitted an application in 1985 and competed with seven companies across the country to win the franchise.

After Wachholz visited Coldwell's headquarters in southern California, he won the bid. Even under the umbrella of the larger company, though, the Kalispell business belonged entirely to him.

Wachholz wasn't satisfied with just one office, though.

"When people come to the Flathead Valley, they don't know where they're going to land," he explained.

People might spend three days looking at property in Bigfork, then swing up to Whitefish for dinner one night and fall in love with that town, he said. Wachholz wanted customers to have that freedom and still be able to work through his company.

"Our goal, then, was to fly our flag in every community so we didn't lose that business," he said.

Wachholz's first attempt at expansion bombed when he tried to open an office in Whitefish. His first mistake, he said, was hiring agents unfamiliar with the Whitefish market.

His second mistake was failing to realize the towns in the valley weren't used to working together as closely as they are now.

"They didn't know what the heck a Kalispell real estate company was doing in Whitefish," he said.

Wachholz tried again, though, and in 1989 he bought Coldwell Banker Pioneer at 105 Baker Ave. in Whitefish.

"We were successful right away," he said.

More offices followed, and today, Coldwell Banker Wachholz has offices in Kalispell, Whitefish, Bigfork, Columbia Falls, Lakeside, Plains, Eureka, Big Mountain and Missoula.

The most recent is the Missoula office, which opened in 2004. By that time though, Wachholz no longer owned the company.

He had hoped one of his children would join him in the business and ultimately take it over. Instead, they all started their own businesses.

"I had no continuation with my family," he said.

So he started looking to sell. Soon he met Kirk Scoggins, a native of Florida who had fallen in love with the Flathead Valley. In 2002, Wachholz sold the company to Scoggins.

At around the same time, Wachholz met Burk. Burk had 25 years of experience in real estate and had recently moved his family to the Flathead Valley from Calgary, Alberta.

"I almost thought it was godsend that those two showed up in my life at the same time," Wachholz said.

Scoggins was in a perfect position to own the company, he explained, and Burk was in position to serve as chief operating officer.

Burk became the chief operating officer and managing broker in 2002. Even though it's been less than four years, he says he's seen many changes in the Flathead Valley's real estate market already.

"It's been amazing," he said. "We've seen real estate markets take off."

While other real estate companies in the valley have been successful as well, Burk is proud of what has happened at Coldwell Banker Wachholz in those four years - growing more than 300 percent since he came on board.

It may be the bias of his heritage, but Burk credits the "robust Canadian dollar" for much of the Flathead's growth.

"This is a market that has always been Canadian-driven," he said.

Places like the Flathead Valley, with public lakes and mountains to settle around, aren't commonly for sale in Canada, he said.

And when they are, prices are very steep.

"This is an affordable place for them to relocate," he said. "They've always influenced the markets and they're clearly influencing it again."

It's not just Canadians filling the valley, though.

"We've seen a whole new kind of buyer come in to this market," Burk said.

This new buyer is the 55-and-older "active adult," he said. "They're looking for a place to land."

These people have made their money living in urban areas all their lives, and now they want to settle in a place where they can enjoy their earnings, he said.

The socioeconomic status of people moving to the valley is very diverse, Burk added.

"It's not just the rich Californian coming in with more money than brains," he said.

Wachholz attributes the area's popularity to the fact that changing seasons don't play as big a role as they used to. The Flathead Valley is no longer just a summer vacation destination, thanks to four-wheel-drive and year-round recreational opportunities.

"In the world of recreational real estate, we're still a very good bargain," he said.

After 25 years in the business, Wachholz still pitches that good bargain, too. Even though he no longer owns the company, Wachholz remains a practicing real estate agent.

"And I'm having fun," he said, smiling.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.