Life and Work with Kathleen Hencke

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathleen Hencke.

Kathleen, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always loved puzzles. Getting to the answer, solving a problem. That passion led me straight to engineering, which I love. I love making new tools and improving solutions. But I also wanted something that would be less technical, more varied. Every time I’d go home to visit my mom, we’d go house hunting. Visit open houses, new builds, check out her friends’ new homes. I loved it because houses are so different and the people who live in them want and need such different things. I loved the idea of making a house a home and wanted to learn more about it. Eventually, I decided to get licensed, just to learn more. And when I still loved it and still wanted to learn, I decided to become a realtor part-time. Working with people is such a different challenge, and can be so rewarding. I love the opportunity to help people and I keep learning more every day!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not! I definitely thought it’d be easier than it has been. I didn’t realize how much of real estate is smooth-talking and advertising, which isn’t my forte. It’s a lot of work to get into an industry that’s non stop hustle. I thought it’d be all houses and people’s house needs, but a lot of it is flyers and reading between the lines of a property description so you protect your buyers. It’s competitive and challenging and I’ve learned many more skills than pricing a home.

 One big thing I had to learn thought was to accept help. I’ve always been programmed to accomplish something on my own at any cost, so I knew I’d really earned something. Especially as a woman, I never wanted someone to be able to say I’d gotten any handouts or anything was easier for me. In school, I’d always do my homework on my own before joining a study group, so I felt I had something to contribute first. But in this industry, everything is so fast-paced and transient, the help of friends and coworkers is what has helped me keep going. My best friends have visited half my open houses just so it looks like people are interested. They’ve watched my dog when I had a last-minute appointment. My fellow brokers have shown me so many tools to make my life easier, otherwise, I’d still be making flyers in word. As competitive as the industry is, the help I’ve received has really made me feel more connected to people and I love that I’ve had that opportunity to grow.

Please tell us about Legacy Realty.
I assume you’re asking about my real estate work. I work with buyers and sellers, largely first-time homebuyers and those new to Denver. Something that is really important to me is finding the right home for a person’s needs long term. I’m still honing in on what I want my business to look like long term, but I know I want it to be personal. Buying a house is a huge, very personal decision, and the variables change in each transaction. Although I can’t work with so many clients as a full-time broker, working with fewer clients allows me to focus my efforts and to get to know people more, one of the biggest reasons I was interested in real estate to begin with. It also relieves the pressure of needing to make ends meet. I’m there for my clients, no matter what.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve benefited from using?
Goodness, so many! Work-related ones I’d recommend are 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris (great for optimizing and process improvement), NPR Marketplace and Life Kit (there’s an episode about How to Buy a House I’d definitely recommend) and Mad Fientist- a finance podcast that’s related to financial independence but touches a lot on investments and going for things in life. Some apps I love are Lightroom- I’ve become a wannabe professional photographer with it- and Homesnap (Denver realtors should absolutely use the app.) I also use Wix- I tried making my own website for months and finally gave in and used Wix to make a better website than I’d had in literally a day. Sometimes you have to accept that other people are way better than you and it’s worth paying them to do what you need. Your time has value!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kathleenhenckerealtor.com
• Phone: 720-900-2122
• Email: kathleen@legacyrealtyonline.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenhenckerealtor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KathleenHenckeRealtor/
• Other: https://legacyrealtyonline.com/agent/kathleen/

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