Get to know us

Rinehart Realty has offices conveniently located in Rock Hill and Fort Mill/Tega Cay, SC and Waxhaw, NC; our Residential Sales Division, Commercial Division and Relocation Department have your real estate needs completely covered. We are a full-service real estate organization deeply-rooted in the communities it has served for over 50 years. With offices located in York County, South Carolina and the surrounding Charlotte, North Carolina regions, our dynamic, highly ethical team of real estate professionals provide the Superior Service Experience that our clients have come to expect.

We employ the latest technologies and marketing practices, powerful and consistent training and up-to-the-minute statistical and reporting applications to help you meet your individual real estate requirements. Our core values of Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness and Finance are the principles guiding the way we do business. We’re a local company with a global reach. Since 1976 we hold to the simple goal of providing you with honest, courteous and professional service which results in a “customer for life”.

CORE VALUES

FAITH
A personal relationship with God and a desire to understand His values. We encourage prayer support and individual spiritual mentorship; servant leadership, and inspiring hope. This is the most important of the core values as it dictates the rest of our life. Without this decision and a commitment, many of the other values regardless of how good we are at them, are off and we never reach our full potential.

FAMILY
Our relationships matter and the bond with family can be a strong Godly influence and witness. Balance in these relationships provides the main motivation for business success. Maintaining these relationships, investing time and money in them, clearly expressing to our family what they mean to us and loving them is incredibly important. Family means our spouse or significant other, children, parents and others we call family.

FRIENDS
Friends are our sphere of influence and those with which we build community. Our friends along with our family, complete our personal safety net. They provide the support we need through laughter, outlets for fun, support from the outside, an honest opinion and a gentle push when we need it. Friends appear in varying degrees throughout life, but are an important part of our life.

FITNESS
Fitness and play reduces stress – a killer for spiritual, physical and mental health. Play results in release of stress while enjoying something different than what we do each workday. Fitness is movement which fosters all the relationships above and allows time to focus on each one. We only get one body, one brain, and one life – so we have to enjoy it while protecting the health given to us. Fitness is not only beneficial physically, but also mentally. Blood flow helps the brain, how we think and what we process. Mental fitness is key in pursuing a high quality of life.

FINANCE
We believe a strong financial future depends on earning a fair wage, living within our financial reality and saving for the future. We also believe in tithing, giving back to our community and investing in our employees and agents. We offer financial education to reduce the stress inherent in the real estate sales business. We offer opportunities for joint investments minimizing our collective weaknesses and capitalizing on one another’s strengths.

---

The Story of Rinehart Realty: From a Grocery Store to Real Estate Dreams

1973

June 1973 – Returning Home & Taking a Risk John and Geri Rinehart return to Rock Hill from college broke and with their real estate dreams temporarily on hold. They decide to take over Geri's parents' failing grocery store, Bill’s Food-Way, on Cherry Road. They move into the second floor of the building and immediately get to work reviving the struggling business.
August 1973 – The Famous Watermelon Sale While Geri is in the hospital giving birth to their daughter, Jennifer, John spots a truckload of watermelons on I-77. He strikes a deal with the driver, buys the load, and runs a radio ad: "Watermelons: 3 for $1." The promotion brings a massive wave of foot traffic into the store, jumpstarting their customer base.

1973–1975

Breathing Life into the Business Over the next two and a half years, the Rineharts consolidate stock, convert the grocery store into a thriving convenience store, and successfully turn the business around so that it finally earns more than its payments.

1976

The Launch of Rinehart Realty After being turned down by several bankers for a loan, John and Geri decide to risk their own savings of just under $3,000 to start their real estate company. John studies for and earns his South Carolina broker's license. They build their first small office right in the back of the convenience store, replacing an old dairy cooler.
The 24-Hour First Sale A store customer offers Rinehart Realty its very first listing—a house that had already sat on the market for a year. John utilizes store connections and sells it within 24 hours.
Pioneering a New Way to Advertise John runs a picture ad for the sold house in The Herald, and the following week, runs it again with a giant "SOLD" stamp across it. At the time, running photos of properties and agents was completely unheard of in the local market, making Rinehart Realty an overnight innovator.
The Business Outgrows the Store The company quickly secures its second and third listings directly through convenience store customers (including one customer who came in for a loaf of bread and left with a house). John becomes known by his kids as "Superman" because of how often he has to change from blue jeans (for the store) into a suit (for real estate).

Late 1976 / 1977

The Ultimate Commitment Both businesses are booming, but managing both becomes impossible. The Rineharts make the massive decision to sell the convenience store to commit fully to their real estate passion. They buy a house on Ebenezer Road to convert into a professional real estate office—deciding to buy a formal office building before they even own a home of their own.

January 1978

Moving into the Ebenezer Road Office Rinehart Realty officially moves out of the back of the convenience store and into their new, dedicated Ebenezer Road office building, solidifying their footprint in Rock Hill.

Beyond & Into the Future

Weathering the Storms to Build a Legacy The company navigates the turbulent economic times of the late 70s and early 80s, surviving 16 percent interest rates and periods where Geri goes without a salary. Ultimately, their calculated risks pay off, leading to a brand-new corporate office building and a legacy built on local relationships—with generations of original store customers and their children returning to Rinehart Realty to buy their homes.