Editorial
Front Page - Monday, August 31, 2009
Why one Realtor says ‘selling’ Conway is easy
Ethan C. Nobles
Special to the Daily Record ecnobles@att.net
Just about any Realtor will tell you that selling a home often involves selling the city where it’s located.
Conway Realtor George Heintzen said it is always his pleasure to convince people that his city is a great place to be.
“You’re selling your town. You’re selling your city,” he said. “If they’re happy with the city and they’re happy with you, the rest will come.”
Telling people wanting to move to Conway how great the town is has been easy for Heintzen – he genuinely enjoys the city and has no problem telling people what it has to offer.
Heintzen, who has been a Realtor since 1999, didn’t arrive in Conway until his family moved there in 1992 from New Orleans. He was 16 years old at the time and his main goal was graduating from high school, going to college and establishing a career.
“There have been a lot of people in this town who have watched me grow up,” Heintzen said. “I never thought this was something I’d be doing, but it’s something that I have grown to love.”
He said it was very good fortune that his father got transferred with Entergy to Conway back in 1992. A lot of opportunities have presented themselves to Heintzen in Conway and he’s not sure he would have come across his ideal career had he remained in New Orleans.
“If I had been living in New Orleans, I don’t think I would have had the same opportunities. I wouldn’t have had the same connections,” he said, adding that Conway natives have consistently helped him along in his career. “The people here are just willing to lend a helping hand. That makes a big difference.
“I’ve always enjoyed living in Conway. ... If I had the opportunity to go back to New Orleans, I don’t think I’d move back there.”
In 1994, Heintzen started working for the late Realtor Lanny Grissom as an assistant, meaning he was the guy who ran errands and put up signs for his boss, and things just grew from there. Heintzen received his bachelor’s degree in computer information systems from the University of Central Arkansas in 1999 but made the choice to become a Realtor and work full time for Grissom until his employer passed away in 2004.
He said he still uses his degree, but enjoys the flexibility of real estate. Heintzen and his wife, Andrea, have a 2-year-old daughter, Jaden.
He said his real estate career allows him the luxury of taking off for vacations, when family emergencies arise and to engage in one of his favorite activities – picking up his daughter from daycare every afternoon.
Furthermore, Heintzen said there’s a certain satisfaction common to his job that is rare in many other careers.
“Seeing people achieving the dream of owning a home. Seeing the smiles on their faces and the emotional high that they’re on when they get to the closing table,” he said. “That’s what makes it all worthwhile in my opinion.”
As for that degree in computer information systems, Heintzen said he puts that to good use because technology – everything from the Internet to e-mail to sending text messages to clients – is a very cost-effective way to reach the public. He maintains an Internet site – www.GeorgeHeintzen.com – through his employer, ERA Henley Real Estate, and said that is one of the more effective ways to reach the public.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the majority of people shopping for homes start searching for houses on the Internet. Making sure listings are full of great information and photos on a franchise site — and through the NAR’s site for home shoppers at www.realtor.com — is an inexpensive and effective way to reach the public.
“Technology in general opens up so many doors,” Heintzen said.
Heintzen, the current treasurer and a former director of the Faulkner County Board of Realtors, said he has been impressed at how willing his fellow Realtors are to help out the community. The Faulkner County Board has recently helped clean up a local cemetery through the Arkansas Realtors Association’s Project Realtor Restore and did a food drive to benefit Bethlehem House – a local homeless shelter.
“We always want to have a good presence in the community,” he said, adding that it’s not uncommon for the Faulkner County Board to get involved with programs that benefit the area. “If we don’t support our community, we don’t feel like we’re doing our jobs as Realtors.”
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