Today we’d like to introduce you to Angelina Keck.
Hi Angelina, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in West U., and we moved around a lot from one rental home to another. My mom was a single mom, and my childhood was unusual. I always found homes interesting. In my 20s, I became an unintentional landlord when I inherited some rental properties. The only catch was the properties were not paid for and had mortgages! Some of the properties even had multiple mortgages! It was a mess, and I quickly figured out that I needed to get .my real estate license to get the properties rented out to pay off the mortgages. The rental properties were in Galveston, the West University area, and Houston Heights. Once I had the rental properties under control, I started doing real estate transactions for friends, and then my business really took off from referrals and repeat clients, including landlords and investors who appreciated the real-world experience. At this time, my husband and I started a family. I was afraid that having children would make selling real estate impossible. The first couple of years were really hard for me to manage being a full-time Realtor and mother. My husband and I eventually had 4 boys. Now I attribute some of my success to having so many kids and a large sphere of influence! After having my real estate license for 10 years, I then received a broker’s license and opened up my own all firm. I also decided it was time to break into the Luxury market since our family was now living in Memorial. My almost 20 years in Real Estate have been a wild ride, but I can’t see myself doing anything else!
Alright, 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?
Motherhood-the guilt of working was just the tip of the iceberg. Women are expected to work and mother and be a wife Marriage-My husband was supportive in the beginning, but he didn’t appreciate being set aside some time or having to pitch in and parent when I was working nights and weekends.
I wanted to succeed so much and didn’t know how to set boundaries. I let some clients (and realtors) abuse me in the beginning. I wish I had a strong mentor who would have told me to cut bad clients no matter how much money it might
mean losing.
The financial crisis of 2007/2008 was basically how I learned to sell Real Estate so I feel like I can get through anything.
I had to work like a dog, and at one point, my new husband even told me to get a “real job” and that I was “playing real estate.” I told him I had worked way too hard to quit. We laugh about those times now and some years I even outearn my husband!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am an independent real estate broker,,, and I specialize in working with families including the elderly, buying and selling luxury properties and high-end first time home buyers. This is why my mantra is “Real Life Luxury” because I do it all! I really enjoy educating people. I reach property tax classes on reducing your tax burden from your real estate portfolio or your homestead. I also find a lot of satisfaction in mentouring agents and helping them move up to the next stage of their careers. For some reason, I find delight in selling homes that no one else can sell. I feel like I am the Sherlock of homes by digging in deep and finding the reason the home is not selling and then overcoming it and finding the perfect buyer. It’s kinda my thing.
The other thing about me that I think is unique is that am a Broker which means I have more education, more experience and am held to higher standards. Everyone should be working directly with a Broker, especially in the luxury market! It is really scarry to work with some of the agents out there who don’t have much experience and no one to mentour them
Speaking of luxury, I broke into luxury by my bootstraps and I am not ashamed ot it. I didn’t get my license and have my parents send me deals or have or have a network of high-net-worth individuals.
When I first got licensed it was January of 2006 and 11 months later had my first child. It was a wonderful time with our new baby but just in time for the financial crisis of 2007/2008! This was actually a blessing in disguise as I learned to make my living in real estate during one of the worst times. I learned to be creative and did any deals I could get my hands on from foreclosures and short sales to relocations and rentals. I even dominated the Spring Shadows market Spring Branch back when most big brokerages forbid their agents to take listings there!
I now have 4 boys and my husband and I are working on 20 years of marriage.
How I got into real estate: Long story short: My mom died when I was 26 3 months after I got married. She left behind 5 dwellings on 3 properties and they were not paid for. In fact my mom had done some pretty creative financing. I became an unintentional landlady. I grew frustrated working with some of the agents who were supposed to help me keep the properties leased so I looked into taking a couple of leasing classes. At the real estate school, I was told because I had a license that I would just have to take a couple more classes to get a license and then I could lease my properties myself and put them on MLS. And that was that and the rest is history!
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I am a foodie, and we are blessed to have many beautiful places to eat. I think it’s because we are so culturally diverse. I love how Houston isn’t pretentious or hysterical like other cities in Texas. Houstonians are chill; We also have significant oil and gas and a robust import-export industry. Don’t forget our medical industry! I’ll keep Houston! I want someone to bring back those number stickers that say, “Houston, worth it.”
I am not a fan of our traffic, but it’s “worth it” because I feel I can get anywhere in 20 minutes. I also wish our public school district HISD wasn’t such a mess, and AT least we have many excellent private and charter schools.
We need Astroworld and Fame City Back.
And finally, this can’t be helped; I could do without the humidity sometimes, but “Worth it.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.angelinakeck.com
- Instagram: @angekeck
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angelinakeckproperties
- Twitter: @angelinakeck
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@angelinakeck298
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/angelina-keck-properties-houston
- Other: https://g.page/angelinakeckproperties?share
Image Credits
Matthew Rood
Mike Wilcox
