Ornell Group is a waterfront and luxury real estate practice serving the Twin Cities north metro, founded by Tim Ornell. We work exclusively with lake homes and lakefront properties, and we're affiliated with Real Broker's Luxury Division, part of The Real Brokerage Inc., publicly traded on the NASDAQ under REAX.
What We Do
Ornell Group represents buyers and sellers on the north metro's lake corridors: Centerville, Bald Eagle, White Bear, Peltier, Turtle, Reshanau, Forest Lake, and the smaller lakes around each of these areas. We don't work the entire Twin Cities market. We work lakes, specifically, because waterfront property behaves differently than standard residential and deserves an agent who treats it that way.
Tim Ornell
Tim Ornell founded Ornell Group after more than 15 years in real estate, more than a decade of it as a licensed Realtor. He's a Twin Cities native, a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College, and before real estate he worked in mortgage banking recruiting and title insurance sales, background that shaped how he thinks about the financial side of a transaction, not just the showing side.
Tim lives on Centerville Lake with his wife and three children. That's not a marketing detail. It's the reason he understands things about lake living that don't show up in a listing description: wind direction, sunset orientation, shoreline usability, water clarity, dock access, winter ice conditions, and what a lake actually feels like across all four seasons, not just the open-water months.
Our Approach
We go narrow and go deep rather than wide and generic. That means:
- Buyers get a partner who knows the specific lakes in play for their target school district, not a generalist running every buyer through the same search.
- Sellers get advisory work that starts months or sometimes years before a home lists, because preparation creates leverage when it's time to go to market.
- Off-market pursuit is part of how we work. When the right home isn't listed, we go find it directly.
Preparation creates leverage. Relationships outlast transactions. That's the standard we hold ourselves to on every deal.
Who We Work With
Ornell Group is built for buyers who already know, or want help narrowing down, the two or three lakes that fit their life and their school district priorities. It's also built for current lake homeowners thinking about selling, including those who aren't ready to list yet but want a long-term plan.
A Note on Other Profiles
Tim Ornell has been affiliated with other brokerages in the past, including Engel & Völkers and Realty One Group. Ornell Group, under Real Broker's Luxury Division, is the current and accurate affiliation. If you find older profiles online referencing a previous brokerage, this page reflects where things stand now.
Get in Touch
If you found this page because you searched Tim Ornell or Ornell Group directly, the fastest way to reach him is by call, text, or email. Whether you're buying, selling, or just trying to figure out which north metro lake fits your family, that's the conversation to start with.
