Four Corners merges with Charlotte real estate firm
A young Mount Pleasant commercial real estate firm will shed its independence to tap the resources of a larger, well-established, Southeastern company.
Four Corners Land & Investment Real Estate said it is merging with Lat Purser & Associates Inc. , a Charlotte firm with offices in Raleigh and Jacksonville. The signage at the local company's Belle Hall office is expected to change today.
With 45 employees and nearly 50 years in the business, Lat Purser offers commercial real estate brokerage services while owning and managing income-producing property portfolios throughout the Southeast.
By contrast, Four Corners was formed by a handful of brokers who left the downtown Charleston firm of Colliers Keenan of Charleston in early 2007. With Edward Oswald as the firm's "environmental science" guy, who was formerly with Newkirk Environmental Inc. , the firm has a bent on issues that are unique to Lowcountry land development such as sand mines, timber management and wetlands, said Four Corners founder Terry Ansley.
The firm initially tried to focus on land deals, but with less development in this economy, it has been offering more standard real estate services.
Meanwhile, Lat Purser had been looking to expand into the Charleston market for several years. It got to know the market after purchasing a part of the BB&T building on Meeting Street in a deal that Ansley brokered. The Queen City firm also owns the King Street building that houses the Pottery Barn on the ground floor.
Chief Executive Lat Purser III, whose father founded the namesake company, said he sees the Charleston real estate market prospering in the long run because of its expected population growth.
Listing, camera, action
When a slideshow of still photos isn't enough, there's ViewThisHome.com. Started by Keller Williams Charleston Island Realty agents Ken Earnhardt and wife Darlene Smith about a year ago, the site features video clips of properties for sale. As of last week, the site had about 25 videos posted of South Carolina properties, mostly in coastal areas like The Isle of Palms.
"We envisioned a comprehensive video Web site for agents and consumers to post video and search for video in a professional environment without the distraction that some video hosting Web sites have," Earnhardt said in a statement.
