A Genesee County brokerage built on relationships

For more than fifty years, Theresa A. Allen has helped families across Genesee County buy, sell, and stay in their homes — first as a sales associate starting in 1972, then as a licensed broker since 1989. She founded Royal Realty and Associates, Inc in 2003 on a principle she'd already spent decades proving in practice: every buyer and seller deserves to be treated with respect, no matter their neighborhood or their circumstances.

That commitment wasn't just professional — it was personal, and it dates back to the early 1970s, when Theresa was among the realtors working to integrate the Flint Board of Realtors and what is now the East Central Association of Realtors (ECAR), where she has been a member since 1978. She went on to serve nine years on the Board of Realtors, including years spent chairing the Equal Opportunity and Housing Committee, alongside service on the REALTOR® Associate Committee and the Broker Support Unit. That early advocacy work shaped the brokerage she'd eventually build: one where fair treatment isn't a slogan, it's the standard.

Over the course of her career, Theresa has represented thousands of real estate transactions and earned recognition to match — the ERA of Michigan Award for outstanding achievement, membership in both the million-dollar and multi-million-dollar clubs, and two national ERA awards for total closed units and dollar volume in 2001. She was a Certified ERA Relocation Specialist and held a Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) designation since 1996, and she's spent forty years as a landlord in addition to her brokerage work. Since 2009, she's specialized in Genesee County Land Bank properties and the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, work that's put her at the center of rebuilding neighborhoods across the county. She trained and mentored newer agents at ERA Genesee Valley Real Estate, and continues that mentorship today at Royal Realty and Associates.

Theresa's involvement reaches well beyond real estate. She's the former president of the board of directors for the Flint Neighborhood Improvement and Preservation Project (FNIPP), and a longtime member of New Zion Baptist Church, where she serves as church clerk, sings in the choir, and supports the pastor's announcing staff. She's also part of the Great Lakes Baptist District Association Choir and the Flint City Wide Choir.

Theresa was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, and graduated from Flint Central High School in 1969. She has one daughter, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren, and has now spent 52 years as a full-time real estate professional. In her own words: "I have enjoyed my chosen profession. I have met wonderful people along the way, and I hope I made a good difference in the lives of the families, individuals, investors, and community connections who have crossed my path."