Realtor Grace Frank isn’t interested in hearing the odds, only in beating them. For example, when she took her plan to build Southside Village to the banks, they told her she was nuts. She showed them they were wrong.
“It took us a year to negotiate the land deals, and then we started building last May. We’ve sold nearly an entire street, and we did it when no one thought it was possible,” she says.
The banks not only underestimated Frank’s ability to build and sell the Southside project, but also her entrepreneurial spirit, which sprung up early in life. While growing up in Deadwood, S.D., Frank earned money for college by starting and running a stagecoach business – something the town lacked, despite being known for its Wild West atmosphere. She was 14.
Frank spent her profits at Colorado State University, where she earned an undergraduate degree in animal science. She then inspected dairies for two years before moving to Houston, Texas, to serve as the public health administrator. Frank went on to develop health care systems in Mississippi and Florida, where she discovered she liked finding parcels of land and managing the construction of the facilities. Following a stint running a time-share call center in Colorado, Frank moved to Chattanooga.
After working for a time as a marketing consultant, Frank decided to go into real estate. “I’d been making money for corporations for over 20 years, and I decided I wanted to make money for me,” she says.
Frank wet her feet at Keller Williams in East Brainerd, then moved to a real estate investment firm called Innovative Realty. Although she liked working with investors, she wanted to explore other avenues of real estate as well, so she switched to RE/MAX Renaissance Realtors.
The move gave Frank the freedom to pursue a new passion: working with builders to create communities and then using her marketing skills to sell them.
She’s sitting inside the fruit of her labor as she speaks. Located just off East Main Street, Southside Village is a verdant cluster of 21 energy efficient homes with easy access to Chattanooga’s downtown amenities. Although the homes are packed snuggly together, each unit has enough elbowroom to give residents a sense of privacy as well as a front porch for when they’re feeling sociable. Another notable feature is the singular design of each house. While the Village is plugged into the unique Southside vibe, a buyer should be able to find a place that suits his or her taste.
Although Frank traveled a long and winding road to real estate, along the way, she developed the skills that would serve her well as a Realtor. For example, while in Mississippi, she earned a Master of Business Administration, which gave her the know-how to brand and market a product. “Real estate is marketing,” she says.
Frank also clung to a few core values that continue to guide her, including green construction. A certified green agent, she says she “loves, believes in and lives” green construction. As proof, she offers her home, an old Highland Park house she and her husband tore down to the studs and then rebuilt using recycled materials. “Green is not just a designation for me; it’s a way of life,” she says.
Making personal investments in real estate is another big part of Frank’s life. She enjoys taking diamonds in the rough, polishing them to perfection and then selling them to make a profit. She does this rather than invest in the stock market for three reasons: to be in control of her assets, to build up communities and to earn money.
“I’m not a big proponent of the stock market because I can’t control it. But more than that, it doesn’t excite me,” she says.
As Southside Village shows, building communities does motivate her. “I like creating homes for families and making a difference in a community,” she says.
She also likes earning a tidy profit. “Real estate is a good wealth building strategy. If you look at the wealthiest people, real estate is a part of their portfolio. That always intrigued me, so I studied it, and I found I have a knack for finding properties that need work and seeing the potential in them,” she says.
Frank has bought, remodeled and sold more than a few homes, but she says the real wealth is in buy-and-hold properties. “When you retire, you’ve paid for them and you’re still earning money on them,” she says.
While Frank works hard, she does make time to relax. Growing up, completed in downhill ski races and did a lot of hiking, climbing and swimming. Today, biking and walking the Walnut Street Bridge are among her favorite outdoor activities.
Frank uses the rest of her spare time to contribute to her local community. Her volunteer efforts have included donating and raising money for Girls Inc. and Habitat for Humanity.
Some people do one thing and do it well. Other people are born multitaskers. Frank falls into the latter category, although, like more singularly focused individuals, she still does things well. This is good news for everyone who crosses her path, from the builders with whom she works, to the clients she serves, to the charitable organizations to which she contributes.
It’s also good news for the banks, which have learned to not tell her the odds.