About Us
The Story of the Handlens' Relocation and Reincarnation as Bethel Area Real Estate Agents--
Like many who come to the Bethel area, we came for the skiing. Raising three boys in Kennebunk, on winter weekends and vacations, we brought them to Sunday River to enjoy some of the East's finest skiing. As each ski season waned, and snow melt formed rushing torrents, we began exploring the spectacular hiking along the rugged line of mountains at the northern end of the Appalachians, known as the Mahoosucs.
Winding our way along the many trails over each side of the ridge, the mountains worked a sort of magic upon us. Each visit to the Bethel area, we found it harder to leave, until one day we bought a lot with the dream of building there some day.
At the time, it seemed a pipe dream, as we were heavily committed to a business in York County on which our family depended, but before we knew it, our children were grown. Then we were able to take the risk of divesting ourselves of the business, which, while it fed our family for many years, it consumed our lives.
Free to move to the place that kept calling us back, we sold our home in Kennebunk and moved to the Bethel area. That was in 1999. The next year we designed and built our current home in Gilead, on a lovely south-facing lot with spectacular mountain views. Each morning, as we sip our tea and coffee, we look out over the Carter-Moriah and White Mountain Ranges.
In 1999, Paul entered real estate in Bethel, calling upon his life-long career in sales: first in real estate for five years, and then as Vice President and sales manager for our dessert company, Lasting Impression, Inc. for nineteen years. Paul has now accumulated over ten years of real estate experience in the Bethel area. Combined with his earlier years, his years of real estate experience totals to fifteen and his years of sales totals to 34.
Paul Handlen, Owner and Designated Broker, writes: 
"My goal has always been to operate as an independent real estate broker. After 19 years of operating in a hectic business environment, I can tell you that being large is not better, having more employees does not make life or business more productive, and greater volume has absolutely nothing to do with quality of product or quality of life.
"In real estate, my product is my service to my clients and customers, and the satisfaction of doing a job well for them brings me quality of life. I do not need a complicated or large business to achieve these things. I will never have the most listings; I will never have the largest office, or the largest staff.
"However, as my client or customer you will have my full attention. My policy is to be forthright, tenacious, and conscientious in my efforts for those people who choose to work with me. Because of my success in these commitments to my clients and customers, I have succeeded in my goal of establishing Handlen Realty."
After a seven-year break from working together in business, Paul and Cynthia Handlen teamed up again in 2006 as a dynamic real estate team who’s individual strengths combine to bring you the best possible service.
Cynthia Handlen served as President and General Manager of Lasting Impression, Inc. from 1980 until 1999, when she returned to college to graduate summa cum laude with a BA in English in 2005. She entered real estate in 2006 and has since earned her Maine Real Estate Broker license. Cynthia's experience in marketing and design allows her to create stunning real estate virtual tours to sell your home or other property and to make real estate properties listed with Handlen Realty easier for real estate buyers to view.
Cynthia's love of the outdoors and dedication to environmental awareness, and energy and natural resource conservation led her to study for and acheive the EcoBroker® Certification in October of 2009. As an EcoBroker®, Cynthia has completed additional training in home energy efficiency and environmental issues that relate to real estate transactions and provides a better understanding of energy efficient opportunities and environmental issues as they relate to your real estate decisions.
Cynthia Handlen, Office Manager and Broker, writes:
"Living and working in the Western Mountains region, I feel a deep connection to and appreciation for the beautiful mountains, rivers, streams, ponds and lakes, the sky, the precious wildlife, and the supportive community that surrounds us. Each day I am profoundly grateful for all we have. Being reminded daily of the preciousness of life here has profoundly enriched my life. We made our dream of owning a home in the Bethel Area come true. Let us help you make your dream, of calling the Bethel Area your home, a reality."
