Corcoran Group forms new affiliate after Global Living fallout
After terminating a franchise agreement with Global Living, The Corcoran Group has launched a new affiliate with 900 agents in Northern California.
Key points:
- The company is also looking at additional affiliations in markets Global Living previously operated in.
- This is the latest move in the messy breakup between The Corcoran Group and Corcoran Global Living, which has resulted in lawsuits and countersuits.
The Corcoran Group has severed its franchise ties to one of its largest affiliates and is working on new franchise agreements to reestablish itself on the West Coast and in Ohio.
Johnna Muscente, vice president of communications at Corcoran, confirmed by email that a few weeks ago the company terminated its franchise agreement with Corcoran Global Living, which has offices in California, Nevada and Ohio.
The company announced on Dec. 16 that it has launched a new affiliate, Corcoran Icon Properties, which is based in Northern California.
The Corcoran Group is also "actively examining options to find the right affiliate in many of the markets that Corcoran Global Living previously operated in," Muscente said.
The newly formed Corcoran Icon Properties will have 24 offices and more than 900 sales associates and staff from established firms, according to the news release. The geographic territory will include the greater San Francisco Bay Area, Humboldt County and Calaveras County.
Corcoran Icon agents will retain access to the tools and services they used at Corcoran Global Living, so they shouldn't experience significant disruptions during the transition.
Corcoran Icon Properties will be led by CEO Randall Kostick and President Steve Belluomini. Kostick has been in the real estate business for over 35 years, while Belluomini was the former President of Thrive Real Estate.
"Forming a new Corcoran franchise with our united NorCal group allowed us to oversee our operations at a local level and position the team for a successful future," said Belluomini. "This is an exciting moment for us, and I'd like to thank a very hard-working group of agents and staff for staying the course and joining us on this new road together."
Severing ties with Corcoran Global Living is the latest step in what has been ugly breakup involving lawsuits and countersuits.
In June, ELI Realty Investments LLC, which is tied to Corcoran Global Living and its CEO, Michael Mahon, filed a complaint in the U.S. Central California District Court alleging the Corcoran Group committed fraud and a breach of contract. Among the allegations, the plaintiffs claimed Corcoran overcharged for its royalty fees and didn't provide agreed-upon training and support.
Weeks later, the Corcoran Group countersued, alleging that Mahon and his companies engaged in fraud through the proceeds of loans provided by Corcoran.
More recently, in September several brokers who had entered into franchise agreements with Mahon sued, alleging fraud and breach of contract.
Corcoran Global Living did not respond to email messages from Real Estate News requesting comment.
One result from all this turmoil is former Corcoran Global Living agents moving on to other agencies, particularly in Southern California, including 125 former agents who joined First Team, Christie's International Real Estate's affiliate for Orange County.