Heidi Yanna lived an idyllic life until she became a Realtor. Stories about her childhood create a picture of a wondrous time, and she not only enjoyed working in sales prior to getting into real estate, she had FUN. But events that took place following 9/11 pushed her life in a new direction, and today, she has a new career listing and selling residential properties.
She described being a Real-tor as “the hardest job you’ll ever have.” But she’s not backing down from the challenge.
The early years
Yanna grew up Lenox, Mass., a small resort community where the Westinghouses and Vanderbilts once spent their springs and autumns, and where the Boston Symphony “summered.” Many of the large estates near her home had been turned into private schools where the parents of Yanna’s friends worked as caretakers, and where she was able to spend her idle time. This gave Yanna an endearingly skewed perspective of the world.
“I got to play in the house in which Edith Wharton had lived. And I thought it was that way everywhere,” she says.
When Yanna wasn’t romping around with her friends, skiing, or catching James Taylor or Alabama in concert, she was spending time with her grandfather, a Realtor who sold summer and lakeside properties.
“I’d go with him when he’d show a house. I loved doing that. He’d take me to a property beside one of the lakes, and the water would be beautiful,” she says.
In time, Yanna graduated from high school, earned an associate degree, and took a job selling pneumatics and hydraulics. But even though she’d taken on the nuts and bolts of the business world, she once again wound up in places few people have the opportunity to go.
The in-between years
Yanna sold pneumatics and hydraulics in Massachusetts for several years, then followed her family to Orlando, Fla., and continued in the same line of work. The company for which she worked helped to develop new attractions at Disney World, and from time to time, Yanna had the opportunity to be the first person to ride something. Sometimes, she said, “OK!” Other times, she said, “No way.”
“I was the first to ride Star Tours. But I refused to ride the Tower of Terror,” she says, referring to the “Star Wars” themed attraction and the freefall simulation, respectively.
Yanna loved working behind the scenes at Disney World, but she was just as happy back at the office, where she’d do business with a variety of people. One day, she’d meet with the president of purchasing at a large corporation to discuss a major deal, and the next, take care of a bus driver who walked in with a broken hose.
While living in Orlando, Yanna met a man and married him. Her life then took an unexpected turn when he accepted a job in Calhoun, Ga. The two of them then transferred to Huntsville, Ala., where Yanna sold picture frames for several years. Then, less than one month following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, her husband lost his job. When he secured a new position in Chattanooga, the couple moved to Chickamauga, Ga., where Yanna took her sales career in a new direction.
The real estate gig
Once Yanna had settled into her new surroundings, her husband asked her what she wanted to do. She said real estate.
It seemed like the natural thing to do. She had warm memories of looking at properties with her grandfather, she was good at dealing with a variety of personalities, and she had the sales chops to succeed.
Yanna met Derryl Hark-leroad, an agent with Prudential in Fort Oglethorpe, while her mother-in-law was looking at houses. He helped her to confirm her desire to become a Realtor. Harkleroad also convinced Yan-na to set up operations at the office at which he was based. So she earned her Tennessee and Georgia licenses, rolled up her sleeves, and went to work.
Yanna showed ingenuity early on. She did open houses for other agents, would keep a guest book and then follow up with the people who signed in, and knocked on the doors of FSBOs.
“I stopped at a FSBO, and no one was home, so I put my card in the door. The couple called me a few days later and asked me to come by to talk with them. I was so thrilled to get my first listing,” she says.
The house, an all-brick home on a corner lot with four acres, advertised well, and Yanna sold about a dozen houses off the connections she made through the listing. When she eventually sold the home, it was a bittersweet moment.
“I’d grown close to the family that owned it, so while I was sad to lose the ability to advertise that property, I was glad they were able to move on with their lives,” she says.
As the years passed, however, Yanna came to believe being a Realtor is “the hardest job you’ll ever have.”
“It only pays as much as you put into it, so you need to have a high level of commitment. And not only do you have to enjoy looking at houses, but you have to like people, too, and since you’re dealing with people, you also have to be patient,” she says.
Yanna says a Realtor also has to have a lot of knowledge, such as what financing is available and what needs to be in a contract. “One of my favorite things is for a new agent to call me about an offer he’s writing for one of my properties, and ask about what to put in the contract,” she says, smiling.
A Realtor must be also available, which means answering the phone and returning missed phone calls as soon as possible. “I’ve gained business from another agent not calling someone back,” she says.
Finally, a real estate agent must know how to handle downturns. While Yanna says business has been slower than normal, she’s fortunate to have listed a newly constructed townhome community on Battlefield Parkway called The Reserve. With its two-bedroom, two-bathroom units, covered garages, and access to an in-ground pool starting at $134,900, she says the units have been easy to sell.
Yanna also enjoys a considerable amount of repeat business and a steady stream of new clients who call her based on positive word of mouth. And when it’s slow, she knocks on doors.
In short, Yanna puts everything she can into her business in the hopes that her hard work will pay off. And it does. But she has to make sacrifices in other areas of her life for that to happen.
Payoff vs. sacrifice
Being a Realtor requires a high level of commitment, Yanna repeats, not just on the part of the agent but also the agent’s family. She says her 11-year-old son, Gunnar, is one of the areas where she’s made sacrifices.
“I’ve missed things because I’m committed to my buyers and sellers: nice days when my family has gone out and weekend trips. I don’t want to miss Gunnar growing up, but I’ve made a commitment to my clients, and that’s important, too,” she says.
With that in mind, Yanna sets aside time to spend with her family. Dinnertime, for example, is the only time when she doesn’t answer her phone. “I had to learn to not answer my phone at suppertime. That’s when we get together as a family and talk about our day,” she says.
Yanna also takes her son to Disney World once a year, will sometimes take him along when she’s showing a house, and believes he’s old enough for them to volunteer together at the Walker County Animal Shelter.
She even let him talk her into riding the Tower of Terror.
Yanna’s son carries the first name of her grandfather, suggesting her life has come full circle. Even though her days of playing with her friends in the mansions of the rich and famous are behind her, and even though she works hard, she enjoys the people around her, and she’s content with what she’s doing.
“I make good friends doing this, especially with people who come to town and don’t know anyone. Then I get invited to their functions, and I get excited when they get married and have a baby. That’s part of the payoff, too.”