By Je’Don Holloway Talley
For the Birmingham Times
Real estate agent Loumarra “Lou” Hill is an avid hunter, and he brings that mindset to his work for people who buy and sell homes throughout Jefferson County and across the region.
“Growing up as a hunter, I’ve always paid attention to details,” said Hill, 44. “I observe, listen, and take everything that I have, then I act upon it. That’s precisely what I do for my buyers and sellers—I hunt for them.
“I listen, then I respond [because] I want them to have a good experience. I hunt for homes for them just like I would when I’m in the woods hunting deer or any other animal. I’m not your average real estate agent. I’m a hunter, and I go out in the field from that perspective.”
As the broker and owner of the Hoover-based EPI Real Estate, Hill is in the business of helping families get a fresh start.
“I enjoy putting a smile on someone’s face because they got a product I sold or because I sell a product for them and they get to move on to a new beginning,” he said. “I always like to see families get a fresh start and bring that vibe back into their lives. That’s the high I look forward to, and I don’t think it ever gets old.”
Start with a Plan
Hill has developed a reliable process to help with purchasing a home.
“When I sit down with a first-time home buyer, I go over a program with them to educate them on the order of things,” he said. “After credit and financing, and finding out how much they qualify for, we discuss where they want to live. ‘Do you have knowledge of the areas you’re interested in? Is there a property for sale that you’re looking at?’ Then we come up with a plan.”
The next step is to go online and look at amenities that homebuyers want in a house.
“We break it down into areas of priority: price point, school systems, school ratings, location, shopping, entertainment,” Hill said. “We do all of that before we even go out looking at homes. We don’t want to show them a product they can’t purchase because that’s when frustration occurs.”
Began as a Chemist
The Helena resident wasn’t always in the real estate industry. He is a trained chemist. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science and chemistry from the University of West Alabama, Hill moved to Tennessee where he worked as a chemist at an environmental testing laboratory from 2000 to 2004.
“I always wanted to get into real estate because I’m an outdoors person,” he said. “I like being outside … and when I was at that job, I was always inside dealing with samples. I [wanted more] freedom. I wanted to be in control of my environment.”
Hill decided to get licensed in real estate and attended the MY Real Estate School in Birmingham, commuting twice a week for three months from Nashville to Birmingham before completing the program and relocating to the Magic City in 2004.
The Hunt
Hill—husband to Christie McCullum-Hill, DrPH, and father of three sons: Caleb, 17, Joshua, 14, and Jordon, 12—grew up in Tuscaloosa, where he learned to love the hunt.
“[My father] was my role model when it came to hunting,” Hill said. “The dedication he had with his craft and how well trained he had his dogs were amazing. I was 6 when I received my first BB gun, and 8 when I started hunting by myself with a single-shot, 20-gauge [shotgun].”
Hill was so fascinated with wildlife and researching animals that one year his parents gave him a microscope for Christmas: “A microscope, all the equipment that comes with it, and a lot of animal books that had every species of animal known to man.”
He started hunting on his family’s property, shooting squirrels, snakes, chipmunks, and birds with his BB gun. Now, his weapon of choice is the “stick and string [bow and arrow].”
Hill’s love of the hunt has taken him to Africa and across the United States, including Wyoming, Kansas, Mississippi, Texas, Illinois and Kentucky. He also has bow-fished in Louisiana, Georgia and Tennessee.
He started his real estate career at Century 21 Alliance Group in Birmingham, where he worked from 2004 to 2010. After leaving that agency, he held several other real estate positions before opening EPI—Every Person Is Important—Real Estate in 2015. EPI specializes in residential, commercial, and land properties in the cities of Hoover, Pleasant Grove, Fultondale, Gardendale and Mountain Brook, and as well as in Jefferson, Shelby, Tuscaloosa and Madison counties.
“I also have agents in my office that are licensed to sell in Georgia,” Hill said.
Learning Curves
Hill’s team has 20 agents, and he teaches them how to find listings and new clients, in addition to how to get involved in different events to get their names known, especially if they’re new agents.
“I [teach] them how to advertise [themselves],” he said. “I’m a promoter. I’m the hype man. I was once where the agents are now, and I know I needed somebody like me to help me move along.”
Even after 17 years in the business there is still more to learn, Hill said.
“The industry is constantly changing, so I have to bring new things and new ways [of marketing] to my agents, so they can stay up to par on what’s going on,” he said. “We have conference calls, webinars, and meetings on Saturdays. … We also have people come in and speak on topics and things pertaining to real estate. … I want them to be well rounded and know all the intricate parts of the contract and how to get it to the closing table.”
Hill said his nearly two decades in real estate enable him to see the landscape from a number of perspectives.
“I’ve bought the product,” he said. “I’ve sold. I’ve flipped. I’ve been a private investor. I’m acclimated to the entire process; therefore, I can sell from the heart and my experience.”
To learn more about Lou Hill and EPI Real Estate, visit www.epirealestate.com, call 205-434-1687, or follow on Facebook @EPI Real Estate and Instagram @louhillteam1; his office is at 1957 Hoover Court, Suite 100A, Hoover, AL 35226.
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