Back in the day, if a person wanted to make a long distance telephone call, it had to be handled by a real person who answered to the name, “operator,” and was summoned by dialing – yes dialing – the letter O.
It was one of the first jobs held by a young Dominique Higa, who now owns TNT Inc. It was an interesting job, she said, having kids call with questions about homework and from cooks who had questions about cooking a turkey at Thanksgiving. Really challenging was getting the name pronounced correctly in person-to-person calls to Japan.
“I had a language barrier,” Higa said with a laugh.
As the years rolled by, Higa found her niche and it was in property management.
“It is kind of my passion, and it has been. I feel it is something we provide for the community that is really needed.”
She has lived in Prescott since 1992, but grew up in Hawaii. She has traveled extensively.
Because her ex-husband was an air traffic controller, his assignment changed a lot.
“We island hopped and went overseas to Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands. We were there for three years,” said Higa. “If you put in time there, you can get the pick of any station on the West coast.”
But, they “were looking for a place with seasons. We found Prescott,” she said.
Higa went to work for TNT Inc., part time, which lasted only one day.
“One of the partners was having health problems. The person I got the job from called me up to full-time,” she said. But Higa needed a real estate license.
Higa had earned one in Hawaii, but let it lapse, so she went back to school to brush up and then earned her Arizona license.
Three years later, she decided to get her broker license.
“I bought the business from the broker in 1996,” she said. “What we do is manage properties for others. We lease single family homes, duplexes, townhomes, condominiums and small apartment complexes. No commercial. I do not perform any sales. If a person asks, I refer them to others. I feel, personally, that it is a conflict of interest.”
Her mission, she says, is to make sure the owner’s property is well cared for.
And like any business, there are ups and downs, but Higa and her staff work to make sure there are fewer downs.
“Our saying is that we will maintain homes in the community and exceed the value of the home.”
Higa has a staff of eight to help her live up to the level of service she promises. She rents to a lot of college students and because college students are not a protected class like minorities, the owner can refuse to rent to college students, period.
She said sometimes college students get a bad rap, but she finds they are about the same as people of any age.
A good tenant is someone with respectable credit and without a criminal history, she says. Her staff works at verifying income and checking with former landlords. A lot of people go through bankruptcy, which is fine, she says, if it has been discharged. They look for liens and foreclosures.
“The only thing we have is a security deposit. That is a big risk.”
She notes that the recent recession changed the way prospective tenants are viewed, as many people with good credit found themselves and their homes upside down.
“The recession really hurt a lot of people. People were buying like crazy. We had a lot of new investors. When the recession hit, the houses they bought for $350,000 were now worth about $200,000. We had a lot of vacancies. Something we used to rent for $1,600, we were lucky to get $895. At the other end of the spectrum, we are having somewhat of a boom. Everyone is looking for rental property. They know what happened in the recession to mom and dad. Now, renting is the thing to do. Our rent values have sky-rocketed.”
Who inspired you to choose your line of work?
“Kim McKnight, the former owner of TNT. I was impressed with her drive. She helped start the business and when she handed it over to me, I wanted to make her happy and make it even better.”
What is your favorite time of day and why?
“About 7 a.m. because usually I am outside, I am thinking about my day and planning and it’s usually beautiful.”
What do you do in your spare time?
“I love to garden and I spend a lot of time with my horse, Kiko.”
Where to you like to travel?
“I like taking long road trips. It could be anywhere. My daughter is in the Navy so we went to a camp just outside Chicago to attend her graduation [from basic training]. She is a NUKE, that is what they call nuclear engineers. When she graduated from power school in South Carolina, we drove. It was very cool.”
When was the last time you laughed really hard?
“We were sitting out in an enclosed area in the backyard and there was a bug. I asked [my husband], ‘What is that?’ It was not a beetle, but it had wings. ‘I think it is a baby cicada.’ Her husband picked it up gently by its wings and it let out a loud, high pitched screech. He promptly put it on a bush.”
To learn more about TNT Inc., visit tntprescott.com or call 928-445-8000. TNT is located at 402 White Spar Road in Prescott, just south of the courthouse plaza. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday though Friday.
By Patty McCormac, QCBN