Editorial
Front Page - Friday, January 14, 2011
Real estate agent loves living, working in Dunlap
David Laprad
Kevin Wohl lives and works in Dunlap, Tenn., a city of about 5,000 in beautiful Sequatchie County. With its impressive mountain views, scenic rivers and laid-back country living, Wohl couldn’t be happier with the place he and his wife call home.
- David Laprad
In his wildest dreams, Kevin Wohl never imagined he’d become a real estate agent. Now he spends his days making dreams of homeownership come true for first-time buyers.
Wohl lives and works in Dunlap, Tenn., a city of about 5,000 in beautiful Sequatchie County. With its impressive mountain views, scenic rivers and laid-back country living, Wohl couldn’t be happier with the place he and his wife, Nan, call home.
“I like the small town values. Sequatchie County was the fastest growing county in southeast Tennessee over the past decade, but we’re still a little drink water town, and that’s fine,” he says.
As a real estate agent, Wohl enjoys working with clients who are purchasing their first home, especially people who are moving to Sequatchie or a surrounding county from elsewhere.
“First-time homebuyers need a lot of guidance, and I like taking people through the process, looking out for their interests, finding a good deal for them and making sure their eyes are open to what the costs will be,” he says.
Wohl lists properties as well, but prefers working with buyers. He’s been working with clients from Louisiana for the past couple of months, and believes he’s close to selling them on
the area.
“We started working together online a couple of months ago, and they’re completely enamored with the area. One of the reasons I like working with buyers is I can expose them to the beauty of this area and tell them about what we have in the way of restaurants, hospitals and industry,” he says.
In particular, Wohl likes discussing the Civil War history in which the area is steeped and the coke oven museum that’s drawing history buffs to Dunlap. But he’s not pushy, and is content to work with clients for as long as they need.
“I don’t rush anyone. I’ve worked with people for up to a couple of years. I’ve even had clients who couldn’t qualify for a loan, and then came back to me after getting things straightened out,” he says.
For Wohl, a big part of the appeal of being a real estate agent is how it puts him in a position to lend a helping hand.
“I like digging deep to find out how much a home has sold for in the past, what might be a fair value, and the amount for which other similar homes in the area have sold,” he says.
One of the reasons Wohl is fond of Dunlap is its similarities to the town in which he grew up: South Fallsberg, New York. Before making his way to the Sequatchie Valley, though, Wohl made a pit stop in Florida.
“I was living in southeast Florida when I met my wife. To move her down from Ohio, we drove through the Smokies, which I’d never done. And as I looked at the mountains and the vistas, I thought it would be great to one day have a small cabin away from the heat and humidity of Florida. And that’s how the seed was planted,” he says with a mild New York accent.
When Wohl and his wife saw a commercial for some property in Fall Creek Falls, they hopped on a plane, surveyed the land and the surrounding area, and made an offer, which the seller accepted. From that point on, trips from Florida to Tennessee became a part of their monthly itinerary.
“When we bought the property, I said, ‘This is it.’ We liked the general area; we liked the small town feel,” he says.
Wohl and his wife discovered Dunlap when they broadened their online search. After spending some time in the area, Wohl told his wife it would take them five years to get their affairs in order, and then they’d move. That was 2005.
That same year, Hurricane Wilma hit Florida. The Wohls moved to Tennessee the following April.
“We’d had enough of the heat, humidity, high taxes, hurricanes and congestion of people. We also love experiencing the four seasons,” he says.
Wohl also loves selling real estate, even though he’d never pictured himself doing it. His life changed in 2004, though, when he was involved in a devastating car accident and had to leave a lifelong career in the restaurant and catering business behind.
“I was out of it for a while, and then I was in a wheelchair because I couldn’t walk. When I got out of the wheelchair, [my doctors] told me I’d never be off my cane,” he says.
Wohl proved them wrong and purchased several investment properties and a couple of apartment units. In the process of selling those, he realized he loved driving around, looking at land and new homes and helping people. With that in mind, Wohl went to real estate school, and in 2006, he received his license.
Wohl smiles wide as he recounts his first sale and how it gave him the wrong impression about selling real estate.
“My first sale went quickly. It was one of my own properties, so not only did I get the commission, but we realized an increase in the price we’d paid. And I said, ‘My goodness, this is a really easy business!’ I’ve since been proven wrong.
“It requires a lot of time, energy and continuing education, and you have to keep up with the changes in the real estate laws and mortgage rates, and be aware of the product that’s available in your community.”
In addition to enjoying his new career, Wohl loves the life he and his wife have made together in southeast Tennessee. They travel to Chattanooga about once a week to buy groceries, take in a show and eat out, and never miss Riverbend. They also like traveling, going on cruises and spending time with friends. Wohl is also known for putting on a great fireworks show.
Wohl’s sense of humor comes out as he explains two other things in which he takes pleasure.
“I do virtually all of the cooking in my house. I think my wife knows how to boil water, and that’s it. I like to create different things and come up with new recipes,” he says.
Wohl also golfs though he says he picked it up too late in life to become good at it.
“I own golf clubs, I own golf balls, I know where the courses are and I can score, but what I do can’t be called golf. When I break 100, it’s a great day. For me, it’s about the camaraderie and the friendships I forge with people on the course,” he says.
Wohl might not have a high opinion of his golf game, but his clients at Century 21 Professional Group think highly of him, as many of them have passed his name on to others in need of his services. Since positive word of mouth is the lifeblood of the real estate business, Wohl can look forward to many years of helping others achieve their dream of owning a home in the beautiful Sequatchie Valley, just as he does, and making a good life there for themselves, just as he has done.
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