A long-time Denver RE/MAX Alliance Realtor was recently fired for reports of her removing Black Lives Matter signs from the yards of the city’s Hilltop neighborhood where she sells homes, KUSA-TV reported.
Denice Reich had worked for RE/MAX Alliance since 1973 and specialized in the area’s luxury market.
RE/MAX Alliance Owner Chad Ochsner said on Aug. 3 his office received multiple emails and voice messages about Reich’s actions. It turns out there were also multiple posts on the neighborhood’s Nextdoor, a social media platform for residents of a particular neighborhood, naming Reich as someone who had been removing Black Lives Matter signs from the lawns of residents.
“Upon learning that, we called her in and after some questions, we had a conversation about it,” Ochsner told Inman. “And at that time, I made the decision to part ways with Denice.”
“Denice obviously still has the right to conduct her real estate business with another company,” Ochsner added. “But, at RE/MAX Alliance, we will not condone someone who takes another person’s property and who trespasses in doing so.”
When Inman spoke with Reich, she admitted to removing the signs because, “they were offensive to me,” and added that she returned them several hours later.
Denice Reich
“I am so appalled that people are so brainwashed,” Reich added. “And these ‘vanity plates’ — that’s what I call them — are to express the white guilt in the suburbs. These people do nothing. I give a scholarship every year to college track, which is only for Black women.”
For Ochsner, it’s not about politics, but just about Reich’s poor judgement.
“For me, for our company, it had nothing to do with the politics,” Ochsner said. “I don’t care if one of our Realtors was stealing Trump signs, or Black Lives Matter signs, or high school graduation signs from a rival high school. I cannot tolerate the trespassing and the theft.”
“She was a prominent RE/MAX Realtor in Denver for a long time and made a poor judgement call,” Ochsner added. “And, unfortunately, in this time and age right now, everything is highly politicized, so I think that’s why this has brought so much attention.”
