Customer Highlight: Hill Realty
Walking into the Hill Realty office is like walking into the home of your favorite aunt. Rocking chairs on the front porch, rich hardwoods, big furniture, inspirational quotes scattered like art on walls and tables; pictures of family placed here and there. It’s just as well, because it’s a company that focuses on creating a family-oriented atmosphere of “helping” – both for employees and clients.
The current building on 10th street was built in 2007, and as a small boutique real estate brokerage, there is passion and space for tailored customer service. Hill Realty prides itself on the extra time and effort to “get folks where they want to be, with care.” It’s what drives the culture of the office and allows them to provide consistently impressive results.
When asked if they list non-luxury homes Donnita says, “Oh honey, yes! In order to do the big homes you have to do the little homes. You get the same treatment big house or small. I love seeing the first time homebuyers. There’s nothing like the gratification of a first time homebuyer.”
Speaking of Donnita, you definitely can’t talk about the home of your favorite aunt without talking about the aunt herself. A bonafide fireball, Donnita has been the #1 realtor if choice in our area for 35 consecutive years. Born and raised in Putnam County, she attended Upperman High School and went on to obtain a marketing degree from Tennessee Tech. She leads her small team of agents (Kayla and Kelly) and support staff in ongoing quality work.
“I currently have the finest team I’ve ever had. They are very dedicated and that makes a difference for everyone. Each person supports the whole office. My husband is the office manager and he does a mighty fine job keeping us in line.”
A typical day for the #1 realtor has her rising at 4:30 or 5:00 am to get some time with her Bible before she heads into the office around 6:00 am. Early morning gives her uninterrupted time to get the day going. When the rest of the office comes to life, she’s ready to roll with appointments, listings, and all of the other tidbits – often unplanned – that come with running a business. Sometimes they don’t wrap up the day until 8:00 or 9:00 pm.
“I’m highly energized,” she says. “I have long days but your mind tells you when to stop. Usually when I get home I’m done. I’m out.”
Outside of her life as a realtor, Donnita takes time to refresh by indulging in motivational books and films and is also a wife, mother, and grandmother.
“In our downtime my husband and I try to spend time doing things together. Just him and I. Oh! And I’m expecting a grandbaby in July. This is very exciting. Very exciting to receive the blessings of a little child.”
One of her mantras is thankfulness – as evidenced by the license plate on her car. “When I drive through town I want people to know hey, I’m thankful for them. In life, without gratitude, you’re getting nowhere…if you say thank you a thousand times a day, you gotta feel good!”
The most important thing for the Hill’s personal home? Key word: comfort. “Comfort to me is when you go to your home and know the walls are covered with wonderful memories from family. Go home and see their sweet faces in a picture. That’s comfort to me. Figuring out how blessed you really are.”
When asked for final thoughts, Donnita pauses and thinks for a minute. When she finally speaks, it’s with confidence –
“There are lots of misconceptions about being a realtor. Oh you know, people talk about all the craziness and all the hard work. Really, the dedication and professionalism of the realtor you choose and their integrity goes a long, long way.
Integrity. Do what you’re going to do and then do it. How hard is that? Over-deliver and under-promise. Don’t promise things you’re not going to be able to do. Yeah. Just do the little things that matter to people.”
To contact Hill Realty:
Call 931-520-7009
Visit 818 E 10th St, Cookeville 38501
Browse the web at www.donnitahill.com
For a chance to win this lovely wall plaque:
Just leave a comment at the end of this post tell us what makes a home comfortable for you and you’ll be entered to win! The winner will be announced this Friday.