Two entrepreneurs - one a Palm Springs resident with ties to the desert for a decade - have acquired Zephyr Real Estate's offices in Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage. Real estate agent Randy Roy and mortgage executive Mitch Ohlbaum have partnered to buy San Francisco-based Zephyr's desert offices, which are home to about 40 local real estate agents.

"The company size - not too big, not too corporate - and the culture were important to us," said Ohlbaum, a Beverly Hills resident who founded and is president of Los Angeles-based Legend Mortgage Corp.

"We had heard of the Zephyr name and reputation and knew of the connection to San Francisco," said Roy, who was managing Hilton & Hyland's Beverly Hills office 10 years ago when he first bought desert residential property. "I think (Zephyr) is positioned well in the desert."

Zephyr's co-founder, Rick Olds, first established the real estate firm's presence six years ago in the Coachella Valley and has managed the two offices. Zephyr has established a solid reputation in the valley, and Olds' recruiting and training efforts have been key to that, said Sam Schenkl, executive director of the Palm Springs Regional Association of Realtors.

"They've kept a stellar reputation among the buyer and seller community," Schenkl said. "They do a lot of mid-market homes, so they tend to do a lot of volume in Palm Springs and the (Cathedral City) cove."

Olds, who said he avoided selling to a "big, cookie-cutter chain," plans to continue selling real estate but wants to work less so he can enjoy life more. Roy and Ohlbaum hope to continue with Olds' entrepreneurial spirit and grow the real estate firm. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.