Today we’d like to introduce you to Mariana Castro.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My story begins in Argentina and Uruguay where I’m from. I’ve always been interested in houses, design and businesses. By the time I finished High School, I had done several large fundraisers and business attempts as well as working at my family retail stores.
I moved on my own when I was 17, to go to college in Buenos Aires where I did my first remodel and design work. I was always interested in experiencing life in different parts of the world, I had the privilege of living in England, Hawaii, Australia, and New York before settling in Kansas City, which I now call my forever home. My passion for business and architecture comes from my family, and it has shaped my unique perspective in the real estate industry.
My real estate career started in marketing, but soon transitioned into managing businesses for large investors. Handling everything from vacation rentals and private events to developing ultra-luxury homes, spas, retreats, and even a skincare line with a lab we built on one of the properties.
In Hawaii and New York, due to my experience in events and media, I had the opportunity to collaborate on high-profile projects and work with esteemed clients like Tesla, Audi, Veuve Clicquot, Hublot and the United States Polo Association, especially during my nine years in producing events for the sport of polo.
As I delved deeper into real estate, I had the chance to lead design and development projects, partnering with top architects and agents within the industry’s elite 1%. This experience helped me bring a higher level of insight to my work with homeowners, investors, and developers.
Kansas City captured my heart in 2012, and by 2019, I made it my permanent home. Since then, I’ve been helping buyers, sellers, and investors achieve their real estate goals, while also taking on creative design projects that fuel my passion for transforming spaces.
When I moved to KC, I had enough experience to understand what niche work I wanted to do. My specialty is in taking on projects and managing them from A to Z, so I wanted to work as a team in providing top level service from the get go. When we created KC Homes Group, my team and I were driven by a shared mission: to provide a truly all-encompassing concierge experience in Real Estate. We believe that exceptional service doesn’t begin or end with a signature on the dotted line. It’s about a team of professionals who work together to serve our clients with integrity and dedication. It’s a one stop shop.
Over the past four years, my team and I have developed a comprehensive Real Estate Investor Program, guiding both small and large investors through every aspect of buying, selling, and managing properties in Kansas City.
Whether a client is looking to buy, sell, design, build, or invest, I help clients every step of the way.
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?
The road has been smooth and rough in unexpected ways. While the Northeast opened their arms and allowed my barely drafted ideas to flourish into successful and profitable businesses, Hawaii and Kansas City had more challenges. Which is the opposite of what you’d generally expect.
I’d say the biggest challenge for me personally in Real Estate has been to change my role from a networker and business developer, into a more socially focused connection with clients. So I rely on great agents around me who bring other qualities to the table.
I always thought of Real Estate as a WE service the client —rather than I am THE agent that knows it all. I saw the limitations and unhealthy habits of trying to be this only face of the business. Translating this into something people perceive as valuable was a bit of a challenge. You’re competing with large personalities with loads of charisma —many of them are great agents too! We’re grateful we continue to grow as a business, strengthen our team and our client relationships.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Real Estate can be disjointed and clients accidentally miss opportunities because hardly anyone is involved in the entire process. You can’t make great decisions you didn’t know you had!
We are a long term service provider for our clients and real-time consultants. Anything that is related to Real Estate, land, building and homes, we’ll help our clients with. From providing contractors of various levels to providing in-house design or helping hiring designers, attorneys, window cleaners, floor installers, surveyors, etc. We are the first line of resources for our clients.
We match developers to builders, bring in architects, engineers, investor partners and so forth. We help clients find reliable agents all over the country and take a phone call to provide an opinion on a build job they have.
We’ve helped the same clients buy and sell their homes, buy their office building, remodel. design it and host a grand opening party. We love being part of the whole thing.
Based on the shifts of the building industry, lower quality work and my passion for the TV show This Old House, I recently started a YouTube channel to guide people on how to build better (understanding what you don’t see), design and general investing tips.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
People walking into spaces I’ve created feeling welcomed and at peace. When they take a deep breath to observe and enjoy the space, I live for those moments.
I feel accomplished when I see a client proud of the space they’ve created, loving their home and neighborhood.
I love architecture, driving through a new neighborhood, seeing well planned and executed homes brings me happiness. Because no greatness is achieved easy or alone, these projects take so much vision. Kansas City’s boulevards make me happy. The sum of great people loving what they do produce the most amazing results. Happiness is deeper when it’s shared, neighborhoods and architecture have more influence in our daily lives than most of us realize.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kchomesgroup.com
- Instagram: kc_homesgroup
- Youtube: @buildbetterwith
