09/16/2026
Want to know more about Dorothy Colony and Cinnamon Colony Chatman? Keep reading the excerpt from best selling book Real Estate Rock Stars:Volume 2. You might say I have real estate in my blood. I grew up around real estate. As a child my Dad working out of our house as a Professional Engineer, there was lots of opportunity for me to be involved with his surveying business. I cleaned my Dad’s office and company vehicles and I learned about surveying and boundary line retracement. My Mom, wanting some extra money in the household, opened her own real estate company after becoming a Licensed Real Estate Broker. My Mom was the first female Broker/Owner and first female Residential Appraiser in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania.
When my brother began working for my Dad’s surveying company, he convinced my Dad to buy approximately 75 acres in Clinton County, Pennsylvania. At the time my parents had a fair amount of equity in their house and compared to now it was substantially easier to get a loan. They were able to get a loan and make the deal work. They sold the timber for about two thirds of what they paid for the property and then sold the land for as much as they paid for it. It worked out pretty well and they thought “we’ll try this more.” For the next 15 years my Dad and Brother were business partners, operating as FVH, LTD (FVH), purchasing large tracts of land, selling the timber and subdividing and reselling the land.
When I graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1999, I began working full time with FVH. I became immersed in the land investment business. I learned about boundary line retracement; surveying; subdivision; perk testing; utility availability and utility right-of-ways; negotiating right-of-ways and boundary line agreements; timber contracts; vehicle weight limits on roads; rehabbing houses; the list is endless. Each property was different and had its own set of problems.
My Dad sent me to get my real estate license so I could sell the properties FVH owned. I obtained my real estate license in 2001, hung my license at my Mom’s company and began selling land throughout Pennsylvania. During this time, I began listing foreclosure properties because none of the other agents in the office wanted bothered with them. The agents felt they required a lot of work and the commissions were small. At the time, I didn’t know what winterized meant, what a trash out was, or what REO stood for, but somehow I stumbled through the process until I started to gain an understanding.
By 2004, FVH had grown. The number of employees grew and the area we covered grew. We were working as far north as Saratoga Springs, New York, and we worked throughout West Virginia. As a family we decided because of the amount of traveling we were doing that maybe my hometown was not the best place to live. We realized we spent a lot of time driving through Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, where FVH conveniently owned land. Our entire family moved their families to the Hollidaysburg area. At this time, my Mom opened Colony Realty Group, LTD.
While we continued selling land, it was evident that foreclosures were becoming more plentiful and the writing was on the wall for the 2008 housing crisis. When the housing market crashed, those contacts I had made previously in the foreclosure arena became very important. I received a call from one of the companies I had worked with in the past and was asked to handle a listing that had not sold while listed with another local real estate company. I listed the property and sold it the same day. I was about to get a crash course in the foreclosure industry. Over the years I have sold 100’s of foreclosures.
Listing foreclosures gave me a wealth of real estate knowledge. I gained insight into how to value a property. I learned to help an owner of a property determine the best way to sell their house based on their goals. I became a better negotiator. The skills I obtained over the years are a great asset while helping buyers with purchasing their new home and helping sellers to best market their property.
In 2019, I had the opportunity to become co-owner of Colony Realty Group, LTD, with my Mom, Dorothy Colony. I never could have predicted the wild ride we would be on since 2019. We've experienced the hottest housing market ever post pandemic and the still strong market six years late that faces affordability challenges coupled with rising interest rates. Hear more from us on our weekly radio show on WRTA Radio 98.5 FM.
