New realty company opens in city

The owners of American Realty Company, Franklin County’s newest real estate business, said they are excited to offer the people of Northwest Alabama a company that combines a strong business partnership along with a husband and wife team that has an experienced background in real estate.

Dan and Sarah Terry, who have a combined total of 11 years in the real estate business, along with business partners Jason Davis and Terry Prince, who already own two successful businesses in the area, have joined forces to open American Realty Company, which was officially open for business as of Oct. 3.

All four owners call Franklin County home and said they are excited to help the people of this area find and sell their properties with ease and efficiency.

“The motto for our business is ‘Building relationships before the sale and keeping them afterwards,’” Sarah Terry said.

“This is something we came up with after we were talking about what we wanted for this company, and Dan said he wanted to be able to see a person we have worked with six months later and not feel like we have to hide from them.

“We want to treat our clients with the same respect and give them the same kind of service that we have in the past and the same service that we would give our own family – not being pushy, not putting the sale first, but truly trying to help people find exactly what they are looking for.”

Davis agreed that putting the clients’ needs first was a top priority for their company.

“There is nothing better than building a successful business and earning the respect of the community at the same time,” Davis said.

“We are all Christians and we want to bring our Christian values and morals to this business and treat other people how we would want to be treated.”

Davis said their company offers young agents as well as experienced agents who will be utilizing new technology and fresh perspectives to aid buyers and sellers alike in the Northwest Alabama area.

“One asset I believe we have is having four owners from diverse backgrounds who all have different ties to the community around us,” Davis said.

“We are all equal partners and won’t be competing for sales. We’ll simply be looking out for what is best for our clients.”

Sarah Terry said Davis and Prince are both business-minded and bring their unique business experience to the table while she and her husband, Dan, offer the real estate experience.

She said when they decided to merge those two separate but vitally important characteristics – business and experience – each person knew they could have a company that would be an asset to the area.

“We are excited about this opportunity and we look forward to serving the people of this area,” Prince said.

The idea behind American Realty Company actually came from conversations both Davis and Prince had when discussing new business ideas.

After owning and operating American Health and Fitness and American Self Storage, both Davis and Prince said they began researching other options for a new business venture.

“Terry and I have been in business together since 2003, and when we were discussing a new business, we were both interested in real estate,” Davis said.

“We knew we wanted to have our own company, but we would have to work under a broker for two years before we could set out on our own. But if we had a broker who was willing to go into business with us, we could start the company right away, so that’s where Sarah came in.”

Sarah Terry, who received her real estate license in 2005, received her broker’s license in 2010.

Davis said they approached Dan Terry several months ago with the idea of becoming joint owners in a real estate business with Sarah serving as the broker.

“When Dan told me about the phone call he received from Jason, I thought that is a great idea,” Sarah said.

“I was planning to retire in two years and thought that would be the perfect job for me to have after retiring.

“But then Dan told me that they wanted to start the business this summer, so I really had to stop and think about what this would mean for me and for the current job I had.”

For the past 30 years, Sarah Terry has served as the secretary to the superintendent for the Russellville City School system. Sarah has been the secretary for every superintendent the school system has had with the exception of the very first superintendent, R.C. Thomas.

“I have absolutely loved my job,” Sarah said. “I loved helping people, helping the teachers, and I love the people I worked with.

“It was a hard decision for me to make when I decided to retire early to pursue this opportunity as the broker for American Realty Company, but after much prayer and consideration, Dan and I felt this would be a great opportunity for both of us.”

Sarah received her real estate license in 2005 in anticipation of what she thought would be her retirement in 2008 after 25 years with RCS.

“I started thinking about what I wanted to do upon my retirement and I finally settled on going to real estate school to get my real estate license,” she said.

“The first person I called to get advice was Jim Alverson, and he was so helpful. He offered to have me come work for him and that’s where I have been up until we started this business.

“In my first three years as a real estate agent working part-time, I was a multi-million dollar producer. Jim has been great to help guide both myself and Dan through this process of learning the real estate business.”

Dan Terry received his real estate license in 2010 in anticipation of his retirement from AT&T. Dan officially retired in March 2012 after 33 years with the company and has been focused on real estate since that time.

“Russellville has a lot of quality companies located here, and we are glad to be part of the business community in this area,” Dan Terry said.

“We are already off and running with our first listings and we are excited about the future of this company.”

American Realty Company is located at 817 Lawrence St. East in Russellville across from Murray’s Tire and Alignment. They can be reached by phone at 256-332-2222 or by e-mail at americanrealty1@att.net.

Meet the owners of American Realty Company

• Dan and Sarah Terry have been married for 33 years. Sarah Petree Terry graduated from Belgreen High School in 1977 and the University of North Alabama in 1981 with a Bachelor’s degree in Office Administration.

Dan is a 1972 graduate of Central High School and moved to Russellville from Florence in 1978 when he was first hired by South Central Bell.

Dan and Sarah have two daughters. Their eldest daughter, Stephanie, is a staff accountant at Russellville Hospital. She is married to Neil Rogers, the associate pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Russellville. They have two children, Hailey, 6, and Griffin, who is almost 2. Their youngest daughter, Tiffany, is a kindergarten teacher at West Elementary School in Russellville. She is married to Bradley Bohannon, who is the manager of Auto Zone in Russellville.

Dan and Sarah attend Calvary Baptist Church, and Dan is the lead male vocalist of the popular local musical group REWIND.

• Jason Davis is a Phil Campbell native and a 1992 Phil Campbell High School graduate. He is also a graduate of Athens State University. He is married to the former Amanda George, and they have two children who attend Russellville City Schools: Jacob, 12, and Jared, 9. In addition to being the co-owner of American Health & Fitness and American Self Storage, Jason also worships at Calvary Baptist Church in Russellville.

• Terry Prince is a native of Russellville and a 1988 RHS graduate. He is also a graduate of the University of North Alabama. He is married to the former Tonya Stone, and they have one daughter, Hannah, 16, who attends RHS. In addition to being the co-owner of American Health & Fitness and American Self Storage, Terry also attends First Freewill Baptist Church in Russellville.