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Blake Brown and Michael Billings were on different career paths when they met through their significant others in 2005.

Brown’s wife, Jami, and Billing’s fiancée, Leslie, introduced the men, establishing a partnership that would ultimately lead to the opening of Brown & Billings Commercial Real Estate Services.

Brown had been working his way up through the ranks of Executive Real Estate Services (ERS), a division of now-defunct Regency Homes, which collapsed in April 2008. Billings was employed as a sales representative with U.S. Cellular Corp. while finishing work for his degree at the University of Northern Iowa.

In 2006, ready for a transition, Billings accepted a commercial property management and sales position at ERS. But shortly after he joined the firm, the soon-to-be partners found themselves taking heat over unfinished projects and fielding calls from subcontractors who hadn’t been paid, prompting them to make a move.

“Towards the end, a lot of things that were happening with Regency ultimately affected ERS,” Brown said. “They treated us very well,” but it came to the point where it became almost impossible to close a deal. “It was a tough decision,” he said, adding that the partners’ relationship with Regency’s principals went beyond the office. “We made the decision to leave, because we didn’t want our reputation tarnished.”

In January, with their goals aligned, the men left ERS to open the brokerage in an existing Iowa Realty residential office in Waukee, a building formerly owned by Regency that both Brown and Billings had once managed for their previous employer.

A good fit

Jane Crawford, manager of Iowa Realty’s Waukee branch at 80 E. Laurel St., said housing the two commercial agents has diversified the office, giving it more of a “full-service” flavor. By throwing commercial in the mix, Crawford said, she is confident that the agency can serve any client who walks through the door.

At first, Brown and Billings thought they would be the odd men out in the residential sales office, Brown said. But the relationship has worked out well.

“They are kind of an example of the diversity that Iowa Realty’s resources bring, in that they had been working for ERS and they didn’t want to come into what I am going to call the traditional commercial office,” said Kevin Crowley, Iowa Realty Commercial’s chief operating officer. “Part of our business is just getting away where you create a niche and edge for yourself in the market.”

For Brown and Billings, that “niche” is in Waukee, where they have been working hard to brand their business while building face-to-face relationships with their 64 residential counterparts.

“Our Waukee office has changed the way we market ourselves,” said Brown, 27, adding that sharing the space has led to solid referrals for both the commercial and residential sides of the business.

“That diversification, I think, is a big benefit to Iowa Realty,” said Billings, 26.

“These two young men have been a great addition to the team,” said Crawford, who has watched Brown & Billings’ portfolio grow from a couple of listings to more than 35 since opening in January. “I feel very fortunate to have them here,” she said.

Moving on

Though Brown had worked exclusively on Regency-owned properties during his seven-year stint with ERS – at one point managing 2.5 million square feet of the company’s commercial property management portfolio – he was unable to bring any Regency listings with him when he left, he said, meaning the brokerage had to start practically from scratch.

Kurt Mumm, president of Ruhl & Ruhl Commercial Co.’s West Des Moines office, said his company picked up about 40 of ERS’s listings in March, following the Regency-related company’s collapse. “We did not buy ERS,” Mumm said. “We simply took over their property management accounts and contracts.” ERS was operated by Robert Myers, a son of Regency’s co-founder, the late Michael Myers.

In spite of starting out with a negligible book of business, Brown & Billings worked fast to bulk up its client roster, adding about 10 listings in June.

“We are extremely busy right now,” Billings said.

In April, the firm landed one of its largest clients, Midwest Check Cashing Inc., and MM Finance LLC, an Omaha-based financial services company operating as EZ Money Check Cashing. In addition to negotiating and renewing leases for EZ Money, the partners are also responsible for finding suitable locations for relocations and expansions in a six-state area.

“Tenant representation has gotten more important,” Brown said, adding that a major focus of the brokerage is educating potential clients on how to save money by finding good deals in a tenants’ market.

Carving a niche

In an effort to promote future development opportunities in Waukee, which are expected to increase with the proposed extension of Alice’s Road and eventual construction of an Interstate 80 overpass that will connect Waukee and West Des Moines, Brown & Billings last month hosted a luncheon at a former Medicap Pharmacy building about one block north of their office.

“Once (the extension) happens, it’s going to open up Alice’s Road as the new Hickman (Road),” which currently provides the only access into the city from the east, Brown said. “We stand to benefit pretty heavily,” as does the city of Waukee, he added.

About 40 people attended at the July 22 luncheon, which was intended to promote Waukee’s new YMCA under construction across the street.

“I think it will certainly spark some activity,” Brown said of the Y’s new 73,000-square-foot facility, which is expected to attract 800 to 1,000 visitors a day. The new Y was the initial reason Brown & Billings pursued the listing of the 2,000-square-foot office building at 105 N. Warrior Lane. “It seems to make sense to educate people on what the YMCA is going to bring to the area,” he said.

“They have really focused on working hard in the Waukee community,” Crowley said of Brown and Billings and he said it will be interesting to see how the commercial agents, whom he referred to as “bright, young and energetic,” brand themselves for success.

“They are doing some really fun, unique things,” he said. “I think it is fun to watch them try to make a go.”