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Broker/Agents of the Month |
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| Success in Marriage & Real Estate Partnership Russell, CRB and Christine Long Make it Happen | ||||||||||||||||||
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The chances are good that if you look inside
any of Tucson's prominent magazines, you'll see a stunning advertisement
for Russell Long, CRB, and his wife Christine (Christy) Long, of Long
Realty -a record-breaking real estate team. Together they make a terrific pair-Russell handles the logistics, shows properties, works the closings; Christy takes care of the publicity, public relations and advertising - working with photographers and graphic designers to ensure the image of their partnership. Without a doubt, although hard work has been a large component in their success, this duo has benefited from the Long name - a name entrenched in Tucson history and local real estate, dating back to 1926 when Russell's grandfather opened Roy H. Long Realty in downtown Tucson. |
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Known as "Mr. Acreage", Roy sold many large parcels of land across Tucson,
including the land that is known today as the Williams Centre at
Broadway and Craycroft.
After Roy retired in 1952, Russell's father Barry Long took over
the business and oversaw the expansion, building the company
into the large multi-office corporation it is today. |
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Christy attended the University of Arizona and graduated with an art degree, and soon after became a learning disability teacher at Sahuaro High School. She also volunteered for the Junior League as well as the Tucson Museum of Art. They married in 1971 and six years of marriage, their discussions about their future and their intent to start their own family led them to decide that one of them would need to earn a larger salary to ensure their financial stability. "I always loved looking at houses and real estate sells itself-people want real estate, people dream about real estate. Some of my clients, once they find "the" house, can't sleep for sometimes two or three nights, so I decided that's what I would do," said Russell. |
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He soon advanced into management position with Long Realty, managing
first the office at Broadway and Wilmot and then opening the
Tanque Verde office at 6424 E. Tanque Verde,
where he remained for 14 years. But he felt drawn to selling real
estate and in 1994 he shifted gears, sold his interest in Long Realty
and went back into sales, this time with Christy as his partner.
"I was tired of management and I really loved selling-a lot of the time
I was in management I would think about selling, so Christy got her
license and we decided to work together," he said. |
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Working long hours during the week and weekends, Russell and Christy have grown to become an unbeatable team, making the most of their skills and talents in addition to drawing on numerous friends and family members along the way. "I attribute our success to several things-first being that we work very hard and often long hours. We also treat people very well, we're honest, we tell people the truth and we get the job done. We also have a tremendous group of friends here in Tucson and since we've been in business many people equate us with real estate," said Russell. Working out of the Long Realty office at 1890 E. River Road, Russell spends about half the day out in the field and the other half in the office, working tirelessly to meet his clients needs and exceeding their expectations. Meanwhile, Christy works out of their home and utilizes two rooms to review layouts, photos and artwork for their advertising campaign. "We see each other once during the day but we generally talk four to six times each day and I think we're probably the perfect real estate team," said Russell. "If I ever have a problem I tell my wife about it and she comments on what I should do and I very much respect her opinion and generally do what she says. We think differently but we complement each other. I'm a completely linear thinker and she's is more artistic in her approach."
When he isn't working, Russell spends his rare free time playing with
their two dogs, hunting, and taking his sailboat to Apache Lake. Christy
likes to collect antiques and Mexican art, and when she is not working
on artwork for their advertising she stays busy making jewelry,
gardening and caring for her two harlequin poodles. |
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Although Russell has no regrets about starting his career as a teacher,
he values the history and longevity of his family-owned business and
takes pride in knowing the real estate business has been good to him.
"Teaching school was a fabulous experience. It made
me get very organized with preparing for 150 students so
I really think teachers make great real
estate agents," he
said. "It also made me feel very comfortable in front of an
audience. I do a lot of public speaking now and I'm very
comfortable with it." |
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Tucson Lifestyle article from
August/September 1987 issue |
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Jane Eppinga profiles Tucson Real Estate Pioneer |
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When Roy H. Long Sr.
came to Tucson in 1920, he believed in the future of the town, but he
could not have foreseen the day when his business would have ten offices
connected to an international relocation service by computer. The native Minnesotan and World War I veteran began his career by selling real estate for Southern Arizona Bank and Trust Company. In 1926, Long started his own business out of his home on E. Fifth Street with two sales people. As the company grew it relocated to 92 E. Broadway, and in 1946 to 1826 E. Sixth into a five room house remodeled to accommodate a business. In 1982 the corporate headquarters moved to Wetmore Road. Early land sales earned Roy Long the title, "Mr. Acreage." In part, this was through an early sale of an area now known as Catalina Vista, a 160-acre tract bounded by Tucson Boulevard, Grant Road, Campbell Avenue and Elm Street. The property had one large home on it, with Tucson's first private swimming pool, and it all went for the astronomical sum of $25,000 to Leighton Kramer. The Kramers agreed to purchase the property if Long, his wife and two sons would live in the house for a year while the Kramers traveled in Europe, which the Longs did. Another large tract on the southwest corner of Craycroft and Broadway sold to a winter visitor, Timothy S. Williams, who subdivided the land and had Long sell it as large residential lots. Known for generations as the Williams Addition, a portion of this land now holds Williams Centre. Long's sons, Barrington and Robert joined the company in the early 1950s, but Bob left to become president of Arizona Mortuary. Barry, a World War II veteran, ran the company until his retirement in 1982. During his tenure a full service insurance company was instituted, the first Long Realty branch office opened and up to 8 branch offices were formed. Upon retirement, Barry planted 4,000 apple trees on sixty acres near Dragoon, Arizona. Barry Long sold the family business to Robert Piersol and to his sons, the third generation of Longs: Roy II, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who owns his own company, Roy H. Long Commercial Real Estate, Steven Long, who sells real estate at Long Realty Company and Russell Long who managed the Long Realty Tanque Verde Office for 16 years and who now works with his wife and partner Christine, selling real estate from the River/Campbell office. Long Realty Company was sold to Home Services in 1999. Roy H. Long, Sr. was also devoted to his community. He spearheaded the drive to secure land for Himmel Park and led the fund drive to build the central YMCA. Roy was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce committee which presented Tucson's first "La Fiesta de Los Vaqueros" Rodeo in 1925. The company continues its founder's tradition of community service. Long Realty Company recently has formed the "Long Realty Cares Foundation", through which all Long Realty agents can donate money in the name of their clients. Russell and Christine actively participate in this wonderful foundation! |
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