Celebrating 30 Years

This month thirty years ago, John Paul Lampson and Andy Flack started this brokerage. Based on the philosophy that “people come first,” HomeLand Properties has flourished as a company. We wouldn’t be where we are if it weren’t for the agents and staff, as well as the numerous clients we’ve had over the years. Thank you for trusting us with the sale or purchase of your property – home, land, or otherwise.

When reading a past article published in the Huntsville Item on March 3, 1997 regarding the move into our current building, Flack was quoted saying, “When you start from scratch and then get to this point, you must be doing something right.” That statement still applies today. To be where we are now, 20+ years later, we must still be doing something right. We now cover over 40 counties in East Texas with approximately 400 listings and will close $120 million in land sales for 2019. We have been blessed and want to be a blessing.

What’s changed these last thirty years? While I can’t attest to the first 15 years, I can for the latter.

The ‘family’ of HomeLand has changed over the years with personnel coming and going. There are a couple of faces besides Andy and John Paul’s that have been here since the beginning. Others have retired, moved, graduated, and even sadly, passed away. Some have also left and come back, me included! Nonetheless, each one of them have left a mark on this company. And, we welcome the new faces that will join us in years to come.

Advertising has certainly changed too. We used to only advertise in the classifieds section of the Huntsville Item along with property signs. We were one of the first real estate companies in Huntsville to have a website, as simple as it was back then. Our website today is more robust and has gone through three major transitions. It only contains our listings and is managed daily by our staff. Our listings are published in national and regional magazines, local newspapers across East Texas, numerous MLS sites, and on social media.

Technology is another big change. I personally started here as a college student working part-time in 2004. On occasion, and with our larger acreage listings, we would need aerial photos. I would schedule a day and time with a local pilot to fly the area. I’d have to hang out the window, which was cold at that elevation, with a camera to get the shots we wanted. Thank goodness we have drones now! Also, the office digital camera we used to have used a floppy disk. One property could have as many as 5 disks worth of photos at a very low quality. Now, one SD card could hold hundreds of photos. Or, even a smartphone could hold hundreds of hi-resolution photos.

Smartphones! The Blackberry was the first efficient smartphone that allowed people to check their email while out of the office. That was a game-changer. Anybody still remember the Blackberry? Smartphones now allow us to email, take photos, locate GPS coordinates, navigate, access lockboxes, and do numerous other things that have impacted the real estate industry.

Many other changes have occurred the last thirty years, but these are probably the most significant and memorable. And more changes will come these next thirty years. Whatever it looks like, we welcome them and are eager to progress accordingly.

Here’s to thirty more! Cheers!