In late 2008, West Jefferson-based ERA Mountain Select Properties of Ashe was preparing to close their

doors after operating for two years. But Irene Sobol, a real estate agent with the company, knew that the company had a group she wanted to keep together.

"We had an excellent group," said Sobol. "We feel like we're family, and when we made the change we all wanted to stick together."

Walt Peterson, owner of Mountain Select Properties, said that the business closed because of the lack of sales in the latter part of 2008.

"The sales weren't there, the market wasn't there and the income wasn't there," he said. But like Sobol, he knew that there was something special about the group of agents he had assembled.

"Most of the team had worked with me when I was co-owner of Regency Properties," said Petersen. "When I opened Mountain Select Properties, everybody came with me. We added a couple of new agents over the course of the two years that agency was open, but what I had hoped for was an opportunity to keep all of the same agents."

With that in mind, Sobol decided to start a new agency: High Country Realty of North Carolina. Located at 920 South Jefferson Avenue beside Makoto's, the business opened their doors on April 1.

"it was exactly what I had hoped for," said Petersen. He added that "we absolutely, 100 percent support each other. We would do anything for each other . . . I have never had an organization or a group of people working with me who were as committed to each other."

Sobol said she thought it was the perfect time to open a real estate business and, when talking with fiancé James Mislang, the two decided to open High Country Realty.

"Right now is the best time to be buying because the interest rates are at there lowest," said Sobol, "and that's what kept us really going.

"I feel that this market's going to turn around," she said. "I think it has hit bottom as much as it can and there's nowhere to go but back up again."

Whatever the market does, Sobol said that the firm's goal is simple: to keep clients happy so they keep coming back. She noted that communication and dedication are, in her opinion, the two key elements.

"We can provide them with dedication and follow-up communication," she said. "I hear too many times, 'I called but no one got back to me.' … I think the biggest reason for a lot of folks not working with an agent or sticking with an agent is because of the lack of communication."

She noted that they treat all listings the same, no matter how big or small.

"I don't care if the transaction is a small, $6,000 piece of property or an $800,000 home," she said. "Our whole thing is you work just as hard for the $6,000 buyer as you do for the $800,000 buyer, and you have to have that same attitude and give it your best shot."

Sobol noted that all of the agents have the same phone numbers that they did with Mountain Select Properties, but John Edmonds is the new broker-in-charge.

Sobol said that the group hopes to continue "with sales and getting listings" so that "each and every one of us can have a successful, ongoing business."

To find out more about High Country Realty of North Carolina, call (336) 846-6875 or click to www.highcountryrealtync.com.