Editorial
Front Page - Friday, October 22, 2010
The Equestrian Realtor, Jan Thompson, high in the saddle
Erica Tuggle
As “The Equestrian Real-tor,” Jan Thompson knows about not only every kind of property you can imagine, like land and lots, starter homes, multi-million dollar homes and residential condos, but she also knows the specific needs those with horses are looking for in a property.
Thompson’s love of horses began when she went “horse crazy” at three-years-old and began drawing horses, watching them in movies and dreaming of owning her own. She developed a love and knack for knowing property young, too, buying her first piece of property, an 80-acre old homestead in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, at 21 years old. She lived there 10 years raising horses, and broke and trained all the horses herself.
Family drew her back to Chattanooga, and indeed Chattanooga seems to have had a drawing effect on her ever since as she has lived here four different times beginning in the early 1950’s with her first move to Chattanooga with her family from her birthplace of Louisiana. This makes her an excellent first hand source for relocation clients.
Thompson had her real estate license in Florida in the mid ’80s, but decided to take her career in another direction with a job at an international staffing company in sales and management. There, she learned about managing offices, budgets, staff and most importantly, customers: something that would be key to her future career in real estate. With this career, all her business came from customers, and so they were the most important things to focus on, she says.
“You understand that customers come first and have to understand their needs and desires and make them happy,” she says. “The goal is to make sure my customers are satisfied and we have a good understanding between us.”
Part of the way she does this and retains the relationships with her clients over the years is being in touch with them. She says communication is key, and accommodating them by working weekends and evenings is not out of the ordinary.
“At some point, I have to shut the phone down,” she says. “That’s the hardest thing with me in just stopping because I just continually work until I go to bed at night. It’s what it takes to keep the business going. It’s imperative to keep my customers happy so I can have continued business.”
Now Thompson is firmly nestled in Chattanooga, and here to stay, she says. She has had a real estate license in Tennessee and Georgia since 2005 and is familiar with selling and listing properties in Cleveland, Ringgold and other surrounding areas. Thompson is an active member of the local Women’s Council of Realtors and served as their treasurer last year. She is a member of the Homebuilder’s Association and plans to become more involved in the Chamber of Commerce.
Thompson says she started developing “The Equestrian Realtor” brand as a niche because she doesn’t think people understand everything that is involved with raising horses. Since then, she has had clients and other Realtors contact her for help on recommending properties. Thompson says she has also used the Real Estate Partners Web site as part of her promotion of her brand as well.
There are many things to know about having a property
suitable for horses, she says. Things like how many acres it takes per horse to graze, the importance of fencing and the material it is made out of, the type of stalls depending on if owners will be breeding the horses and, for people that are showing horses, the necessary hookups for the wash rack and lighting.
Thompson says she finally got her first horses when she came back from studying at the Middle Tennessee State University to live on a place in Ooltewah as the caretaker. This place had acreage and a huge barn, so she went out and bought two horses, and that’s where it all started in the early ’70s, she says. She also bought a horse when she moved to Ozark Mountains and raised a foal out of her. That makes for three generations of horses and a total of four horses that Thompson now owns on her land in McDonald, Tenn.
Thompson says the reason she likes horses is that they are soothing, like therapy, for her.
“If I’ve had a rough day, I can pull up and sit with the horses and feel better,” she says. “They are big, gentle animals. They’re beautiful.”
Thompson says that working with Real Estate Partners has allowed her to become more diversified in her business and the properties she sells. She has a huge variety of homes and clients, but works for one just as professionally and aggressively as for any of her clients.
She likes the professionalism, aggressiveness and use of cutting edge technology at Real Estate Partners, a company owned by women that makes these technology investments so professionals like her can work anywhere, she says. This locally owned boutique company has filled a niche in its area and is No. 1 in the marketplace for downtown and in the area of townhomes and condominiums in all Metro Chattanooga areas, according to the CAR Web site.
Thompson contributes to this standard in many ways, like being particular about her photographs and how she writes up a client’s property. She advertises online and in magazines, and participates in the special events that Real Estate Partners hosts. She recently was involved in the Wine Over Water weekend open house that brought in over 100 people.
Thompson says, “Hopefully, I will be able to withstand the market and make this my livelihood for years to come.”
Free time is scarce for Thompson with all the work she has to do in maintaining her property, but she makes time for
riding and being with the animals she loves as the most important thing she does for relaxation.
|
|