Mike James
San Jose Main Realtor takes over city's Coldwell Banker
Mike James knew it was a challenge
By Kara Chalmers
About a month ago, Coldwell Banker's real estate office in Saratoga approached Mike James, the manager of the company's San Jose Main office, to take the helm at the new Oak Creek location on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road.
James knew he was accepting a big challenge. The reason for the vacancy was the departure of former managing broker Carol Burnett, who left to become a vice president at Alain Pinel Realtors in April. She had taken with her about 30 Coldwell Banker agents.
"She took a number of agents with her, so the challenge would be to rebuild the office, although we still have many great agents here," James said. James brought three agents from San Jose Main with him.
"It's wonderful," James said about the new position. "There are fantastic people."
For the last two years, James was in San Jose. During his time there, the office doubled its business, James said. Before that, he was a real estate agent for 10 years in the Bay Area.
He originally lived in Southern California, where he owned a swimming pool business, and then moved to Lake Tahoe, where he owned a linen supply business.
But real estate was calling and he entered the business in 1988. He said his mother was a real estate broker in Southern California, and he realized the profession would be a perfect fit for him.
"I've always liked working with people and it's something new every day," James said. "So it's certainly exciting."
He first worked for Masters Group, a small independent real estate company based in San Jose. He later joined Cornish & Carey Residential Real Estate, which was eventually acquired by Coldwell Banker. At Cornish & Carey, James became a member of the Top 100, an honor that only 1 percent of real estate professionals companywide enjoy.
In Saratoga, James will oversee all sales and general operations of the Saratoga Oak Creek Office, which has 50 agents. Coldwell Banker owns and operates 78 offices in Northern California with a combined total of 3,100 sales associates.
"I really don't see a lot of differences outside of different prices of homes, so it is a little different clientele," James said of the differences between San Jose and Saratoga. "The agents I have in this office are mainly top-producing agents, which I had in the San Jose Main office as well, just not as many."
James and his wife, Janet, live in San Jose. They have four children and three grandchildren.
"My whole life is work," James said. "Every once in a while I'll get out and golf, but pretty much my life is my job and I really enjoy it."
Karen Trolan, Coldwell Banker's senior vice president and Silicon Valley regional manager, said she thinks James could face any challenges in the new position.
"The great thing is he completely turned a good office into a great office. He can take those same leaderships strengths and they are already proven."
She said she thinks the office will be even more successful, productive and more service-oriented to their clients because of James's personality. "He has the qualities of a leader and is supportive of his agents and was a top agent himself," she said.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
