Courtesy / Surette Real Estate
A Waterville real estate company dropped Century 21 from its name and business model and is now known as Surette Real Estate.
Updated: May 22, 2023
Waterville real estate firm going independent
Courtesy / Surette Real Estate
Tina Clifford and Jeff Jolicoeur said their company no longer needs to rely on the resources of an international company to buy and sell homes.
A locally owned and operated real estate company in central Maine said it dropped Century 21 from its name and its business model and is now known as an independent company called Surette Real Estate.
The owners of Surette, founded in 1978 and based in Waterville, said the change is a sign of changing times and would allow for more independence for its clients.
“Technology has changed so much over the past 45 years, and the role of Realtors and brokers has changed with it,” said Tina Clifford, a partner at Surette. “No longer do we need to rely on the resources of an international company to buy and sell homes.
“Today, the role of a Realtor is to know the ins and outs of the process, from legal to financing, and from contract to closing,” she continued. “We all have access to what’s available on the market for buyers, and we can use those same resources to get in front of the right buyers for our sellers. But most importantly, it’s about the relationships with our clients, so we know we are doing the best job we can for them, whether they are buying or selling.”
Jeff Jolicoeur, the firm's president, said it has nearly 20 agents.
“Being independent, we will have more control than we used to over what works best for our clients, our team and our region,” he said. “We can look at things purely through the lens of what works best for people in central Maine.”
Name recognition is the biggest benefit to working with a franchise, said Clifford.
“Having been in business here for 45 years, we have that,” she said. “People around here already know the Surette name, and we will continue working hard to make sure that name recognition sticks.”
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