Henry Bettencourt was born in a home that is now on the Round Hill Country Club property in Danville. "My dad, John, leased and worked the ranch land," he recounts. Then the Depression hit and he went out of business. He got a job as a gardener at Diablo Country Club, then went into trucking. He hauled grain to warehouses in Livermore and other areas."

Bettencourt smiles when he talks about his own background. "I went into the service when I was 18. When I got out I worked hay balers around here and then went down to Los Banos. When I came back to the valley, I thought I would try farming." He laughs, "Have you ever tried to farm when there is 13 1/2" of rain each year?"

Watching The Valley Grow

Bettencourt decided to do something else. "In 1951 I got my real estate license and went to work for Harlan Gelderman." Gelderman owned a real estate brokerage and was a large landowner in the San Ramon area. "When I went to work for him, there were only four homes in Round Hill Country Club. Those were the days when contracts for selling a house were one page long."

Henry worked for Gelderman for 28 years, and then decided he wanted to do something else - to sell commercial property, rather than residential. Gelderman balked, so Bettencourt quit. "Pretty soon, I got a call from Harlan asking me to come back."

Gelderman had planned to build a separate office onto the existing office for commercial sales, but died suddenly at age 56 before it was accomplished. So, Bettencourt decided to branch out on his own and sell real estate in Livermore, specializing in ranches.

Setback and Recovery

In 1983, Bettencourt's world took a crash when Henry was hospitalized with extreme complications from diverticulitis that almost took his life. His illness and recuperation took one year. In the meantime, his wife Ellen, whom he had married in 1974, had left her job as executive assistant to Alameda County Don Excel, obtained her real estate license, and was managing the business.

Henry recovered, Ellen received her real estate broker's license in 1986, and the business moved ahead. Then came the late 80's and early 90's when the market for homes and land dried up. Business was tough, but the Bettencourts hung on. In the mid 90's the market turned around and has been going strong ever since.

Today

Ellen specializes in the residential side of the business, while Henry lists and sells ranches, "everywhere in the area, from Willows to Elk Creek to the Oregon border." He knows land, coming from a ranching and farming background, and continues with his son to run cattle on property in the area. He is also an appraiser for land trusts.

Ellen holds a B.A. from Cal State Hayward, an A.A. Degree in Real Estate from Chabot College, and a GRI designation in real estate. She is active in the community, working on political campaigns and community service projects. She thoroughly enjoys the residential side of real estate, dealing with buyers of first or move-up homes. "I's grateful to be able to work with them at a special time of their lives.

Right now the industry is doing well. Interest rates are lower and many loan programs are structured to allow people the opportunity to get into a home at all levels of affordability."

She also likes the after-effect of the buying process. "You develop great personal relationships with clients even after the transaction has been finished," she says. "You make new friends." Whether the real estate market is up or down, both Ellen and Henry truly enjoy the business especially working with people and helping them to make their home buying dreams come true.

This story appeared in a local Livermore newspaper. If you have any questions about Livermore area real estate, or Ranch and Farm properties, call Bettencourt Real Estate and Appraisal Company at (925) 455-5049