By Grace Elizabeth Cady
Donna Evers believes that our hearts take the lead in life. Our heads are always a bit behind. That’s why doing work you truly love makes all the difference.
“If you’re lucky enough to have that happen, that’s sort of the secret to success and, I think, a lifetime of being pretty happy about everything,” she says. And for Evers, real estate is a labor of love.
A University of Michigan graduate, Evers lived in California for 11 years before landing in Washington, D.C., with her husband and three children. She spent 10 years working as a real estate agent and, in 1985, founded her own agency, Evers & Co., in Chevy Chase.
Her two favorite aspects of real estate? People and houses. “I love working with people,” she says. “I love trying to find what it is they want.” Following a run of more than 30 years, she sold Evers & Co. to Long & Foster in 2017.
While managing the ups and downs of a demanding and competitive business, Evers explored other areas. She has renovated nearly 30 homes, including two apartments in Paris, one of which she still owns.
“Some of these houses were real challenges,” Evers says.
But her Paris apartment is all about fun. It is located on the Left Bank in the Latin Quarter with a Metro stop nearby, an open market on the corner and at least three patisseries — “an essential part of life in Paris” — within an easy walk.
“One of them is clever enough to have some sort of a fan inside, where they blow the fragrance of the kitchen into the street. You cannot walk by. You must turn right and walk in,” she says.
“I think France is pretty advanced as far as dealing with real estate and being successful at it. A lot of Americans have second homes there, especially Paris and the south of France.”
“I think the best thing about Paris is that it’s a style center,” Evers comments, clarifying that this does not just…