POULSBO — Seven years ago, Carter Dotson and Jim Laws were partners in the Windermere Real Estate office in Kingston. “He and I have been friends for years and years,” Dotson said.

A couple of years later, the two branched off — Dotson, to acquire Windermere franchises in Poulsbo and Silverdale and form Windermere Real Estate West Sound; Laws, to concentrate on his Windermere franchise on Bainbridge Island, reportedly one of the top performing franchises in the Windermere network.

Now, Laws, who has worked with Windermere for 30 years, is selling his Bainbridge franchise to Dotson, bolstering his former partner’s profile in Kitsap and increasing the number of agents in Windermere Real Estate West Sound from 101 to 134.

“I’ll be staying on but in a very limited role,” said Laws, who added he wants the freedom to enjoy more leisurely pursuits. “It’s time. Working in a real estate office is a time-consuming business. It will be nice to have some freedom [to do other things], but it will be interesting leaving during a most productive year.”

The acquisition was approved by Windermere’s corporate office and takes effect on Jan. 1, Dotson said. Terms were not disclosed.

The Windermere Bainbridge Island office is located at 840 Madison Ave. North, in a building that is separately owned by Laws. The office will continue to lease space there, Dotson said.

Dotson said he doesn’t anticipate many changes to the Bainbridge office. “‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ comes into play,” he said.

Windermere Real Estate West Sound is owned by Dotson, his wife Tori, and Michael Pitts. Their Kingston, Poulsbo and Silverdale offices had 302 active listings as of Oct. 8 and, in 2013, had 1,340 closed sales. That averages to more than one closed sale per agent per month. “We’re on a pace to exceed what we did last year,” Carter Dotson said.

Laws’s office had 280 closed sales last year – not big in numbers compared to Dotson’s offices, but “you have to look at transactions per agent and dollar volume per agent,” Laws said.

Dotson said of Bainbridge, “That office is one of the top performing offices in the Windermere network. To be a part of that is exciting. Hopefully, we will enhance what they have accomplished.”

Laws purchased the Bainbridge franchise in 2001 from Ed Kushner. At the time, Laws owned Windermere Property Management in Seattle; Dotson once worked for Laws in Seattle.

The acquisition makes sense, Laws said. “We’re all in Kitsap County. It kind of ties all loose ends,” he said. “Carter and Mike are the new guard. It’s good for Bainbridge to have youth and it’s all in all a great thing for this company. They can make countywide decisions, which is good.”

The acquisition has significance to Dotson that goes beyond business. He grew up on Bainbridge Island, graduated from Bainbridge High School, went to Western Washington University, then worked for Windermere in other states. When he married and started a family, “I realized how wonderful this place was and wanted to get back,” he said.

Future goals: “Certainly, at some point, we would like to reenter the Bremerton market,” Dotson said. A Windermere franchise there closed a year or so ago.

Meanwhile, he hopes to find ways to enhance the individual agent’s experience. “One of the things I’ve enjoyed about Windermere is it’s very agent-centric,” Dotson said. “They’re the ones who make this company run.”

WINDERMERE REAL ESTATE WEST SOUND
— Carter Dotson, designated broker
— Michael Pitts, general manager
— Tori Dotson, co-owner

Opened in 2007:
Windermere Real Estate – Kingston
26569 Lindvog Road NE, Kingston
www.windermerekingston.com
Staff: 19 agents, two listing assistants, one office manager, one administrative assistant/notary, one weekend receptionist

Acquired in 2009:
Windermere Real Estate – Poulsbo
18570 Highway 305, Poulsbo
www.windermerepoulsbo.com
Staff: 36 agents, one office manager, one receptionist, one Internet coordinator

Acquired in 2009:
Windermere Real Estate – Silverdale
9939 Mickelberry Road NW, Silverdale
www.windermeresilverdale.com
Staff: 46 real estate agents, one office manager, one receptionist

Acquired effective Jan. 1, 2015:
Windermere Real Estate – Bainbridge Island
840 Madison Ave. North, Bainbridge Island
www.windermerebainbridge.com
Staff: 33 real estate agents, one office manager, one receptionist, one listing coordinator, one listing assistant, one advertising coordinator, one marketing assistant

The company also owns:
Windermere Property Management/West Sound
9939 Mickelberry Road NW, Silverdale
www.windermereforrent.com
Staff: Three property managers