Valerie Baker's (valeriebaker) Blog

  It is a common saying among Realtors that “buyers are liars.”  Buyers will insist that they need four bedrooms and a totally updated high-end kitchen.  They MUST be on a cul-de-sac where the children can ride their bikes.     Next thing you know, they stop into an Open House on a Sunday afterno...

    Enjoy spectacular sunsets from your front porch . . . paddle your kayak across placid morning water . . . grow delicious veggies right out your back door . . . explore your wooded back forty . . . throw out a hook and catch some dinner . . . spend a lazy afternoon daydreaming in the loft of ...

  November, 2010.  A young couple visits an open house.  They indicate that they are seriously looking to purchase a home, but are not in a hurry.  They feel that rates and home prices will go down even further.     I acknowledge it is possible that rates will go down a little lower than the hist...

  As I was sitting here trying to fill out my ballot this evening, it occurred to me that this election is kind of like a SELLERS’ MARKET. In a sellers market, buyers often have little to choose from.  Many homes that fall into popular price ranges have issues that the sellers will not fix.  Oth...

  Is your MLS description a TRICK or a TREAT?  A TRICK disappoints buyers when they arrive at the home . . . a TREAT surprises them with, not only what was promised, but something extra!     Here is an example of a TRICK. (and although the wording is not exact, it is similar to a home I actually ...

  It was a special place in the few acres of forest behind our house, a place where a child could play for countless hours.  Furniture constructed of rocks and logs adorned the small clearing beneath the low hanging branches of the crooked old tree.  Friendly creatures visited upon occasion, maki...

Labor Day is one of those holidays that has simply lost its meaning over the years.  According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor website, “Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.  It cons...

When I first started my real estate career, we had a sales meeting where our broker warned us to be careful about what we put on our Facebook page or in our blogs.  You do not want to offend a potential client!  I accepted his advice at the time and, so far, have been keeping my religious belief...

  Six o’clock this morning, I get a rude awakening from my teenage daughter . . . Mom, I think Buddy got sprayed by a skunk again!  AArrrGGhh!  And the key word is AGAIN!  Now, personally, I have come to recognize the signs that there is a skunk outside . . .like, perhaps, the odor coming through...

  For the first seven years of my life, I lived in the upstairs of an old farmhouse.  My grandparents lived downstairs.  A quiet little girl, I often sought the refuge of that downstairs place, away from the bustle of three brothers and a mother who was always in a cleaning frenzy.    I fondly re...