Meet Don Hopkins of Gelineau & Associates in Waltham

Today we’d like to introduce you to Don Hopkins.

Don, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Waltham, MA. I have spent my whole life here either even throughout college. I attended Bentley University after high school where I played four years on the football team and graduated with a bachelor’s in information systems Audit & Control.

After leaving Bentley I joined a company in Needham, Ma called General Dynamics as a pricing analyst. After a very short time I received a notice explaining I had been accepted into the hiring process for the Waltham Fire Department. I had taken the fire exam about a year and a half prior to when I was notified. After several months of interviews, I was officially accepted into the Waltham Fire Department. I left General Dynamics and the Finance world behind for what I believe is one of the greatest jobs in the world. We have a pretty unique schedule where we work two 24 hour shifts a week. It was at this time that I started thinking about a career in the business world again. I thought long and hard about what I could do along with being a firefighter and my love for real estate immediately came to the forefront.

I was fortunate enough to have a close friend at the firehouse who has spent over 20 years in the Real Estate Industry, so talking to him really pushed me to pursue my real estate career. I passed the examination and was hired shortly after by Glenna Gelineau, President of Gelineau & Associates.

Currently, I have a little over a year of experience, but have found significant success early on. I was able to secure several clients early on which can sometimes be very tricky when starting out in this competitive industry. I truly believe that my willingness to succeed and make my clients happy has pushed me to have great success so far. The one thing my clients have continually said, is the level of trust and compassion they feel when working together is remarkable.

I was apprehensive at first about letting people know I am also a firefighter, but I felt like in the end being open and letting my clients decide how they felt about it was the best policy. So far, I’ve only experienced the most positive reactions.

My plans are to grow and become more and more knowledgeable about the Real Estate industry and do whatever I can do improve as an agent.

Has it been a smooth road?
Some of the biggest obstacles have been overcoming the constant change in the market. Going from summer to winter in terms of inventory has been a significant change. Adding to the fact I am extremely new to the industry has been quite the challenge. I have been doing my best to stay up on all the changing trends, while also securing future clients.

The industry is so competitive and filled with talented agents that you really must stay on top of things to make sure you are at the top of your game.

Some months have been smoother than others, but that’s what makes it fun. The constant roller coaster that is the Real Estate market keeps everyone on their toes.

So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Gelineau & Associates story. Tell us more about the business.
Gelineau & Associates is a real estate company based out of Waltham, MA. Originally, we started out as a Century 21 branch before Glenna Gelineau created the current company Gelineau & Associates. We have several team members that work extremely hard to keep our company growing stronger and stronger every day, I love working for Glenna and the rest of the team because everyone is there for each other. We all have one mission and that is to give our clients the most professional and respectful Real Estate help they can find.

I am fortunate to have found an office where everyone is willing to help achieve the same goals. The Vice President of the company, Paul Morrealle is also a firefighter and has been extremely helpful in my transition. We both currently work alongside each other in the Real Estate office as well as the Fire House. He has over 20 years of experience in Real Estate sales and development I can truly rely on all my team members in any situation.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I see this industry becoming even more tech savvy than it already is. More and more real estate companies have started shifting towards more efficient ways to show/list homes. With how much technology has advanced, showing a house now includes video walkthroughs, 3D floor plans, and the most recent change has been the addition of drones which allows flyover of entire neighborhood.

I see more and more advances in technology which will continue to change how agents view, market and analyze homes.

Contact Info:

• Address: 520 Main Street, Waltham MA 02453
• Website: http://www.donhopkinsrealestate.com/blog
• Phone: 7814926710
• Email: DonHopkinsRE@gmail.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donhopkinsrealestate/

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