Today we’d like to introduce you to Tommi Homuth.
Tommi, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I learned my appreciation for hard work and education when my parents divorced for the second time when I was in the 7th grade. My father owned a successful car dealership in a small town in Wyoming and we had a nice home and plenty of cars to drive. However, my father was an alcoholic and a gambler, and when he lost our home in a high-stakes poker game, my mother divorced him for the second time. My mother had a high school education and had not worked outside the home, as she spent time raising five girls. (I’m the youngest of the five, and because they KNEW I would be a boy, my name was selected a long time before I surprised them. This is how I got the name Tommi.) When my mother realized she would be on her own, she took advantage of a program, called at the time, Manpower Planning. It helped women enter or re-enter the workforce by providing the opportunity to go to a trade college or business school. My mother chose a school, about 300 miles away, in Cheyenne, Wyoming and secured an apartment, and started her 9-month journey into becoming an administrative assistant. While she was attending business college, my sister and I lived with our loving grandparents in our hometown. We later moved to Cheyenne when my mother finished her training and secured an excellent position with the State, as an Executive Assistant. My mother made certain that her five girls had the opportunity to graduate from college and we all did, with the help of academic scholarships, grants, and loans. My first job after college was with Community Action, in Cheyenne, making $600 a month, writing a newsletter, this was rewarding but not a liveable wage, so I moved to Colorado and began a career with the Mesa County Planning Office as a Planning Technician. My life changed when I discovered, through the advice of a mentor, that the only way women can compete with men on a level playing field for wages, is in Sales, as the results are rewarded. I joined Revlon as a Beauty Care Sales Representative, travelling the western slope of Colorado, calling on drug and department stores. I was doing well when a recruiter called me to interview for a division of Lenox China, Artcarved College Rings, and Awards. I flew to NYC to be interviewed, was offered an increase in salary and bonus opportunities and I joined the company. I rose to District Manager, and became the National Sales Trainer, traveling the US hiring and training sales representatives. For 12 years I enjoyed this sales and training position. I met my husband, Tracy, in LA, where he was a National Sales Manager for Avery Denison. We dated for two years, before getting married, in 1992. When Tracy had an opportunity to move back to Dallas, where his two children from a previous marriage lived, we didnt hesitate to make the move. I was not able to transfer my position, so I was without a job for about 2 hours, as on the plane to Dallas to go house hunting, I struck up a conversation with a man next to me on the flight. I had an interview with his SBA lending company, the next day. This is how I started my career in lending, I worked for 3 non-bank lenders and was recruited by Wells Fargo as a Business Development Officer, and was later promoted to a Business Banker, and became one of the top lending bankers in the nation a highlight of my career was being selected to address the national Wells Fargo Banking Conference. I spent 10 years with Wells Fargo and was recruited by another large Bank. My husband had left his National sales position, years earlier and was enjoying a great career as a real estate broker in the Dallas area, with his company, Tracy Realty.
The banking world was changing and I saw it moving from relationship banking to credit scoring, and to me it was no longer rewarding. I needed a change and started to work on my real estate license, in 2010.
In 2010, we bought a Lake House with a guest house at Lake Texoma, and my financial advisor said it was a mistake to redirect funds to a real estate purchase. She couldn’t have been more wrong! We enjoyed coming up to the Lake where every day feels like a Friday. My husband and I decided to make a permanent move to the Lake and move our real estate office, Tracy Realty, in 2012. We sold our home in Plano and have been enjoying the great communities of Denison, Sherman, and Pottsboro. I serve the Main Street Board for Sherman, the Denison Economic Revitalization Committee, the Texoma Family Shelter, the Texas A&M Agri-Life Board and we sponsor numerous events. Recently Tracy Realty was honored with the Denison Chamber of Commerce Award for Best Small Business for our contributions to Denison.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was most embarrassing, as a teenager to lose your home, have your parents divorce and move in with grandparents. It was only later in life that I realized the sacrifice my mother made to go to school in her 40s, and for our grandparents, well into their 70s to take on the additional responsibility of having us move in with them. When my grandparents came to live with us, I was able to show them how much it meant for them to be in our lives and to love us unconditionally.
In 2021, my husband, Tracy, was diagnosed with cancer and had to seek Proton treatment in OKC, where he stayed for 6 weeks. Finding it necessary for him to take a leave from the business, it was an opportunity for me to step it up and take over the management of the company. He has since recovered and heads up our Property Management division of the company.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We view ourselves as “solutionists” looking for ways to solve any issues in a positive manner. We have many instances where we have said to clients, maybe there is another way to accomplish what you are wanting to do; is it possible for you to keep your exiting home as a rental home, rather than selling it, when you buy a new home? We also enjoy working with investors by helping them find a great property that will lease easily and we will manage. My background in commercial lending has provided the experience which has contributed to our success in commercial real estate. A large percentage of our business is the sale of historic buildings and the leasing of commercial properties. We recently brokered one of the largest commercial sales in Denison, with the sale of the historic Katy Train Depot.
Any big plans?
Our future plans are to help with transitional housing with Texoma Family Shelter, to help people “age in place” in homes that address the concerns of retired folks. We plan to continue to be actively engaged in the community, helping to sponsor community events; most recently for the Denison Boys & Girls Club, for the Sherman Old Time Fiddling Contest, for Texoma Family Shelter benefits, for DAWGS, Denison Animal Welfare Group, and to keep my Master Wellness designation from Agri-Life to continue to teach meaningful health programs in the community. We want to continue to make a positive difference and bring more people up to Lake Texoma to enjoy life.
Contact Info:
- Email: tommisue@tracyrealty.net
- Website: www.tracyrealty.net
- Facebook: tracyrealty
- Twitter: takeitfromtommi
