Windermere Services of Northern California announced this week a partnership and merge of the Schubb Group, a three-office real estate brokerage specializing in REO properties.

The Schubb Group operates out of Northern California offices in Pleasant Hill, Stockton, and Nice. The brokerage’s 2009 sales volume totaled $62 million.

Based in San Ramon, Windermere Services Northern California provides services for all of Windermere Real Estate in the Northern California region. Seattle-based Windermere Real Estate has over 350 offices in the western part of the country.

Gretchen Pearson, founder and owner of Windermere Services Northern California and broker/owner of Windermere Welcome Home, has been building up the company’s presence in the region since 2004, with a current office count of 19.

The franchise group supports its associated brokers with various services, including marketing systems and tools, recruiting programs, networking events, referrals, training, and Internet tools.

The Schubb offices will take the Windermere Welcome Home name and David Schubb, current broker/owner, will become the president of the new Windermere default services division operating out of the newly acquired business.

“Substantially increasing our market share in the East Bay and Central Valley with productive offices plus getting the skills of David and his team in a time when the default services business is in rapid shift, is a real boon for us,” Pearson said. “His connections, reputation, and expertise in REO management and disposition spans 30 years, which we’re going to tap, in the way of training and mentorship for our network.”

Schubb added, “As the price point and quality of REO homes increases, asset managers want agents with more support and more resources. Partnering with Windermere Welcome Home provides us with the support and resources and an extraordinary opportunity to further strengthen our current relationships and open even more doors in the Bay Area, the state, and nationally.”

The Schubb Group has worked with many lenders such as Fannie Mae and Bank of America, and asset management companies such as Lender Processing Services and First American REO, who have outsourced the management of their Northern California properties to the group.

“Lenders, banks, and asset management companies are shifting their broker selection process and are demanding higher standards of service and attention to detail,” Pearson said. “In general, the industry has had sloppy volume issues but now that the economy is cycling through, and with the mandates from Washington for preservation rather than ejection, the landscape is changing. David and his group have a stellar reputation and great track record in this complicated sector of the business and through our new default services division, we hope to bring our combined skill sets to companies that seek a high standard of REO services.”

Services offered by Windermere’s new default services division include REO, trustee sales, broker price opinions (BPOs), short sales, auctions, property management, and property preservation.