Exploring Life & Business with Kathy Rainwater

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathy Rainwater.

Hi Kathy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I originally got my real estate license in 2005 for two reasons: To provide income for my family, and because I wanted to sell my own home. At the time, I owned a large house in Colorado Springs on a little over 10 acres. I’d raised my two biological children there while fostering between six to eight special needs children at a time over a period of ten years who required varying levels of care.

I loved fostering and had a heart for those with special needs, partly because, while there is definitely an overall shortage of foster families, finding homes for those with special needs can be even more challenging and these children often end up in group homes through no fault of their own. I should probably note that I’ve been a single mom since my oldest child was three months old and she’s now 32. Also, I am an adopted person, so that gives me a heart for children who need families.

Over the years, I cared for more than thirty children and adopted four. I did full-time care in my Colorado home and then, when one of my adopted children, Kameron, developed a rare condition called Arteriovenous Malformations, I sold our big house, packed up everyone, and moved back to Seattle to be closer to the specialists he needed, transferring my Real Estate license there and continuing to work as the market went crazy and he was in and out of hospitals. One of my last clients there was a NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) nurse, I helped her get her first home. Super grateful that by then, we could do a lot of work from our laptops.

In 2008, Kam had brain surgery that saved his life. By then, my mother (who was still in Colorado) was showing signs of dementia and struggling with COPD. I let my real estate license lapse and moved her in with us in Seattle. At that point, I wasn’t doing full-term foster care but working as a Crisis Diversion bed for the YMCA’s mental health program. The goal was to provide a safe 48-hour bed for children in danger of losing their home/placement due to extreme behaviors. I gave them a safe place to cool down and helped families coordinate ongoing care in order to keep kids out of more restrictive placements — like the hospital.

Meanwhile, my oldest son and his wife were living in Arizona and having my grandbabies. By 2014, I was tired of being a commuting grandma and packed us all up again (at this point there were three kiddos still at home plus my mom and some dogs), we rented a big old yellow Penske Truck, recruited some friends to help and moved to the East Phoenix Valley. I didn’t get relicensed as a foster parent here, or as a Realtor then, mainly so I could focus on my mother and remaining children. By 2019, my mother had passed away and all but one child was out of the house — whew. So I returned to the job I love: real estate.

I learned so many things in my years as a foster/adoptive/caregiving parent that carry over into being a great Real Estate Agent. Being able to coordinate with multiple systems for a positive outcome is huge–the work I had setting up therapists and educational programs and medical support–heck, just making sure everyone was clothed and fed–makes coordinating title companies, lenders, and working with other agents a breeze.

I also have developed a ton of patience and persistence that translates into a relentless work ethic and determination to see my clients through to their positive outcome–whether that’s selling the home they are in for the best possible price, clearing up trouble with HOAs, or Title companies, helping them navigate loan troubles or any one of the roughly 180 things a full-service agent does for a client during their home buying/selling process.

Most importantly, I think I developed a strong empathy and compassion for others that genuinely means I care a great deal for the people I serve. I work very hard to be not only caring but skilled and to do my job with a great deal of integrity. And I think, from what my clients say, it shows.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve been a single mother for more than 30 years. I can’t imagine what a smooth road even looks like! Ha! But one of my biggest concerns was raising my two bio-children to have as “normal” a life as possible, not just because they were sharing me, but because they didn’t have a father involved in their lives.

I made sure they participated in sports and extracurricular activities (my son played basketball and football and got scholarships for both, my daughter was a competitive gymnast and cheerleader and now teaches at Yale School of Drama); I would pack up all the foster and adopted children and we would all go to games and meets — all over the state.

There were all kinds of struggles, but focusing on those was never helpful. Keeping the end result in mind has always been the way for me to keep my head up and moving forward, no matter what the struggles were.

As you know, we’re big fans of EXP Realty. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I specialize in residential real estate, helping people buy and sell homes; I work quite a bit with relocation clients (from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Washington, California, Tennessee, Hawaii, and New Jersey in the past year alone). I also love working with first-time buyers. If no one had told me in 1997 that I could buy a house as a single mother I don’t know where we would be today.

I love eXp Realty, I just switched to them in January of this year. eXp is global and is very agent-centric, allowing us to actually own stock and get bonuses based on our success, effectively making the company’s success ours and giving us ownership in the outcomes of our work. Most other firms are franchises and the owners definitely do not share profits with their agents. eXp is also technologically focused and I love that. The pandemic didn’t slow our firm down a bit because we are already cloud-based, with no learning curve.

As an agent, I bring decades of knowledge, experience, creativity, and drive to my clients. I am passionate about helping. One client recently said, “Kathy treated us as if we were her only clients and I know that’s not the case.” Hearing that was so affirming. I want each client to feel as if they have all my attention all the time.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
It’s super hard to nail down one “most important lesson!”

If I had to choose one, I would say it’s persistence. Like Churchill famously said, to never give up. Never give up. Never give up. And I try to bring that persistence to bear in all parts of my life, including my work on behalf of my family and my clients.

You won’t win every battle, but you can learn from them, and adapt and fight another day. And ultimately win the war. Whether that war is finally helping a child learn to communicate, or winning the negotiation war in a super-hot market and getting your client the home they dreamed of.

Contact Info:

• Email: kathyrainwater@thisdesertlife.com
• Website: www.thisdesertlife.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathy.rainwater
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathyrainwaterrealtor