It’s been a rough year or so in Los Angeles County for commercial real estate brokerage Sperry Van Ness.

In August 2008, eight offices of the Irvine company were sold to Guardian Management LLC, a Portland, Ore., real estate investment firm. The deal made Guardian the largest franchisee of Sperry Van Ness.

But things fell apart quickly.

A real estate source with knowledge of the situation said that Guardian got into disputes with brokers over commissions and paying other fees to employees. As things worsened, several brokers left the firm, according to the source. Guardian, which had owned local offices in West Los Angeles, Woodland Hills, Pasadena and Long Beach, closed all but its West L.A. and Phoenix offices in early 2009. Those two offices were shuttered in February.

“That transaction was not successful and resulted in numerous disputes between Sperry Van Ness and the new owner which have been resolved and the franchises terminated,” said Kevin Maggiacomo, chief executive of Sperry Van Ness, in a statement to the Business Journal.

However, David Rich, who has long worked with Sperry Van Ness and ran the L.A. region for Guardian, plans to open a Sperry Van Ness office April 1 in West Los Angeles. In an e-mail interview, Rich said the new operation will have no connection to Guardian.

“In 1999 I built the West Los Angeles office from the ground up with just four agents. By 2007, the office had more than 70 agents and consummated nearly $800 million in annual sales volume. I see tremendous opportunity to replicate this growth trajectory,” he said.

Rich has signed a lease for office space in Brentwood in the same building that housed Sperry Van Ness’ West L.A. office when it was owned by Guardian. Rich also plans to open other offices in Los Angeles County.

Maggiacomo said Sperry Van Ness is in the process of registering a franchise with Rich.

It is unclear how many local brokers have left Sperry Van Ness for other firms in the last year. According to Rich, there were about 45 brokers in West Los Angeles at the beginning of Guardian’s tenure. At least one high-profile West L.A. broker, multifamily expert Kitty Wallace, left the firm and joined Colliers International in January. Rich will start with 15 agents formerly of Guardian’s office.

Maggiacomo and Rich declined to comment on Guardian’s alleged disputes with brokers over commissions. Guardian did not return calls seeking comment.

Investors Poll

Mark Larson started conducting a quarterly poll of commercial real estate investors in October 2006 as a way to track the sentiment of buyers. Back then, the economy was still booming and responses were appropriately bullish.

Predictably, things have changed.

Larson, vice chairman of Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services, said the most recent poll shows that many investors believe it will take another 18 months before the market gains traction.

“If you look at economic indicators, that’s probably true,” he said.

The poll, conducted about six weeks ago, received about 1,200 responses from investors nationwide. Among the findings: Nearly 82 percent of respondents said that prices for commercial real estate have not begun to stabilize. But Larson was most surprised to find that 73 percent of respondents had not purchased commercial property in more than a year.

“What it tells me is that a lot of the private investors think we haven’t hit the bottom and they might be right,” he said.

But Larson believes that means private investors shouldn’t stay on the sidelines, because once the bottom is reached, institutional buyers with deeper resources will be in the market.

Apartment Sale

An eight-unit apartment building in Brentwood has been sold for $3.08 million after the buyer offered to pay more than $200,000 over the listing price.

The property at 326 S. Gretna Green Way was sold by the Macri Family Trust to Heckerman Investments LLC on Feb. 22, according to CoStar Realty Information Inc., a real estate data provider.

Broker Kitty Wallace, who represented both parties, said the fully leased property was listed in November, but the seller was not anxious to sell it. Wallace brought an initial offer from Heckerman to the family trust, but it wasn’t interested. However, the buyer was determined.

“The buyer really loved the property and threw out a Hail Mary and said, ‘What do they want to sell it for?’” recalled Wallace, of Colliers International.

Ultimately, the sale price was $228,000 more than the listing price. Wallace said the building, constructed in 1941, is in good condition and does not need any significant remodeling.

The buyer and seller could not be reached for comment.