Most Realtors strive to embody positive traits, such as honesty, integrity, and accessibility. They also try to be knowledgeable, friendly, and good communicators. Jill Hill is all of these things. At the moment, however, she’s demonstrating one of the lesser-known characteristics of a good Realtor: courage.
Yes, she’s braved the shaky economy over the last few years, as have her peers at Keller Williams Downtown, but it’s the wobbly plank under her feet that has onlookers concerned. Although the board rises several feet above rocky ground, she scales the incline with confidence, the wood bending only slightly under her slim frame, and steps into an unfinished condominium.
Inside, Hill passes what will someday be walls, climbs partially built stairs without catching her heel in the spaces between the planks, and enters the incomplete shell of a penthouse. She smiles and greets the builders who are there working as she makes her way across a large space to the opening onto a deck. There’s no railing, so she stops just outside the door, turns, and smiles again. Past her beaming face, the view is spectacular.
Visible from the deck is a truly panoramic view of Chattanooga, complete with all four bridges, the Tennessee River – including the turn toward Lookout Mountain – and the entire downtown area. The view and the condos, the latter of which are collectively called River Point, are Hill’s to sell.
“Everyone says the same thing: ‘I did not know this was here.’ The beauty of River Point is that it’s so private, no one knows we’re here, but the hard part of selling it is that it’s so private, no one knows we’re here,” she says. Hill landed the exclusive opportunity to list the condos when she convinced the developers she’d pour her heart and soul into selling them, and that she wouldn’t take on any other developments while she was working on River Point. She’d never represented a project like it before, but she still sold the four men on the idea.
“I quickly surrounded myself with agents who had sold new developments, I got to know the carpenters, plumbers, and tile guys, and I started bringing in clients,” Hill says.
The condos at River Point were cut from lavish cloth. The development consists of three phases, two of which are complete and sold out. Hill is standing in the third, which is in the shell phase. Each unit comes with several amenities Hill says are unique for a condo, including a secure two- or three-car garage, a private entrance, and outdoor living spaces. The penthouses even have an outside kitchen.
Although the view alone can sell a River Point condo, Hill learned everything she could about the units and the construction process in order to be as informative as possible.
“I’ve become a mini-foreman. I’m the link between the buyer, the builder, and the subs, so I need to be able to put on my plumber’s hat for a minute when someone needs to talk plumbing,’ she says. Hill, a Chattanooga native, loves to talk real estate. She’s 46, but selling homes is the only job she’s had other than the part-time jobs she held down while in college. Becoming a Realtor was natural for her, she says, because she’s always enjoyed homes. She loves them so much, she sees vacations as opportunities to look at houses, not visit museums.
“I’ve gone to Seattle and wound up driving through the neighborhoods looking at the architecture,” she says. Hill says her love of working with people was another big factor in her becoming a Realtor. While it’s not uncommon for real estate agents to claim this, there’s something in Hill’s voice that suggests she not just tossing out platitudes.
“Working with people is my favorite part of this job. If I didn’t have bills to pay, I’d do this for free. I love when I can see in a client’s eyes that we’ve found the right place,” she says.
Hill earned her real estate license in Chattanooga in 1994, moved to Atlanta in 1996, and then returned to Chattanooga in 2002. Although she looked for a new base of operations, she was unable to find one that suited her. While on a trip to Atlanta, Hill drove her three kids to see the house in which they’d spend part of their childhood. There was a man in the driveway, so she asked if they could see the house. The man said yes. Small talk soon turned more serious when Hill learned he was opening a Keller Williams branch in Chattanooga.
The next thing Hill knew, she was sitting in a small room in East Brainerd with 12 other Realtors determined to paint the surrounding community red. Today, Keller Williams in East Brainerd has over 200 agents, and Hill is co-owner of the downtown office. Hill says the hardest lesson she’s learned as a Realtor is that it’s important to take days off. She says she’s busy enough to work every day, but that her husband, the owner of Larry Hill Ford in Cleveland, has taught her to set aside time for herself. “I had to learn to do that. It was hard at first because I love working. I have to make myself stop,” Hill says.
When Hill does get away, she likes to explore new cities with her husband. While on a trip, the only thing on their agenda is not having an agenda.
“When you’re both business people, and you’re both always on a schedule, it’s liberating to go to a city and just walk. We recently went to Rome, Italy. We got up when we wanted to, and ate, drank, and explored the city. We were in a vehicle only once. The rest of the time, we walked around. We found the coolest places,” she says. Hill doesn’t list only high-end properties; rather, she lists homes up and down the price spectrum in Tennessee and Georgia. She says her objective isn’t a big payday, but matching people with the right house.
“Helping someone find where they’re going to live is its own reward. A house is one of the largest investments you’ll make. It’s where your memories are made and your babies are raised. It’s where your heart is. For me, being a Realtor isn’t about selling a million dollar home, but about hearing people say, ‘We love this house. Thank you.’”