- Name
- Arlene Baxter, CRS, GREEN--Berkeley, CA & environs
- Company
- Red Oak Realty
- E-mail
- Contact Arlene Baxter, CRS, GREEN--Berkeley, CA & environs (Red Oak Realty)
- Website
- http://www.GreenBungalows.info
- Cell Phone
- (510) 717-1799
- Address
- @GreenBungalows on Twitter, Berkeley, CA, 94707
- Description
- Clients receive lots of care, information & custom attention. Buyers are given an introduction to our diverse neighborhoods, history, architecture & favorite restaurants/ shops! Past. Assoc. President
The Berkeley area is such a special place!
We are surrounded by tremendous architectural diversity and natural beauty here. And San Francisco looks great from across the Bay! We are known for having a world-class University, and with that comes an active "life of the mind" as well as an abundance of cultural events and activities. Within minutes of my own home I can be in the woods or by a lake in Tilden Park to the East, or be at the water's edge to the west, watching the sun set through the spires of the Golden Gate Bridge.
I have a special passion for vintage homes, especially homes in the styles of the Arts & Crafts movement: bungalows, brownshinges, prairie styles. Visit my website, TheSimpleHome.com, for lots of information about the styles and the architects who worked in the East Bay while much of this area was being developed. While charming and beautiful, these homes can be cold and drafty as the winter months approach. I'd love to share with buyers and sellers the many ways they can make these older homes more comfortable by taking some simple steps that can also reduce utility costs. Proud to hold the GREEN designation of REALTORS®.
While period homes are my specialty, I have represented condos as well as historic landmarks, as my clients' needs require. I also enjoy working with investment buyers of multi-units and smaller commercial properties.
Whether you're looking in Kensington, El Cerrito, Albany, Oakland, Piedmont, Berkeley or Alameda, I'm happy to give my personalized tour of special restaurants and markets, book stores, nurseries, places to hear music, theaters and some of the surprises this area holds. Please give me a call, or send me email!
Areas of Expertise
Meeting interesting and diverse people and being able to help them achieve their varied goals in real estate gives me great satisfaction. I also get a great deal of pleasure from giving back to my real estate community. As Immediate Past President of Women's Council of REALTORS®, East Bay, I am fortunate to be part of a team of women leaders inspiring other women professionals to be the best that they can be. Being President of the Berkeley Association of REALTORS® gave me the opportunity to plan and implement the President's Lecture Series as a benefit for our Youth Arts and Education Fund, a non-profit community fund providing grants to local school programs in music, dance, the arts and special education. Forming and chairing a Green Council of REALTORS® keeps me in touch with the latest Green products, services and technologies to share with both my clients and my Council members.
As a member of several strategic committees of the California Association of REALTORS®, I am fortunate to get breaking news and in-depth analysis of trends in our industry as well as the housing market throughout the state. I have developed a broad network of agents who are my colleagues in the leadership of real estate in my local area, and across California. Now through Twitter and Social Media sessions I have expanded my circle of referrals to great agents throughout the country.
- 2011 President, Women's Council of Realtors, East Bay Chapter
- Berkeley Association of Realtors, 2007 President,
- Director, Berkeley Association of Realtors, 2003 - 2012
- Chair, BORPAC Committee, 2008
- Developer and Chair, GREEN Council
- Developer and Chair, New Agent Welcome! Program, 2007-2008
- Berkeley Association of Realtors, 2006 President-Elect
- Secretary/Treasurer, Berkeley Association of Realtors, 2005
- Chair, Berkeley Association of Realtors MLS Committee, 2004
- Vice Chair, Berkeley Association of Realtors MLS Committee, 2008
- Director-at-Large, California Association of Realtors:
-2009-2011 Land Use and Environment Committee, Regional Representative
-2009 CAR Presidential appointee to the Green Task Force, one of only 12 members in the state
-2009 MLS & Technology Committee member
-2008 International Real Estate Committee
Comments from my Clients
"Arlene, you are so different from the other real estate agents we met. You are our agent for life!" G & K, Oakland buyers
"I didn't realize how much I would miss you once we bought our home. I had so enjoyed our getting together to view homes -- you always saw things we would never have noticed. And your email messages were always right to the point, from giving us great factual information, to sensing when we needed a little bucking up. I learned so much about Berkeley architecture from you! Let's go out for coffee soon!" L.M. Berkeley home buyer.
"Arlene Baxter successfully worked with us pursuing and purchasing our new home, as well as marketing and selling our previous home. In a word, her work was exemplary. Arlene demonstrated integrity, honesty, communication skills and attention to detail to a degree that significantly reduced our stress and avoided many potential pitfalls.
We competed against many other buyers in the purchase of our house, and we marketed and sold our previous home amid a red-hot sellers' market. At all times, Arlene was ahead of the game and on top of the work. Even though she had many other clients, we always felt as if we were her first priority... Fifteen offers and a successful closing later, we couldn't be more pleased." A & A, sellers, and buyers
"She stayed on top of everything, inspiring comfort and confidence. She minimized the impact on us of all the details and changing scenarios while keeping us appropriately informed. She was fun to work with on the "staging" of our house. Her fine eye for interior design and detail resulted in our house being seen at its best by prospective buyers. Please consider this our unqualified recommendation of Arlene for her skills and talents as a real estate agent. It was our pleasure to work with her." R. & T. M.
"Our experience with Arlene was a pleasure and an education in what a good realtor can and should do for clients: engage with them enough to get beyond the superficial in understanding what they want and need; save them time and effort; keep them abreast of rapidly-changing market conditions; strategize on offers, financing, timing, comps, and other issues; help to interpret for them what they are seeking, and generally provide good counsel as they make their way. At all junctures, Arlene was cheerful, calm, knowledgeable, witty, and seemed always to have plenty of time to talk with us." L. & A. S. sellers
"We are writing this letter to formally thank you and express our appreciation for the way in which you represented us in selling our condominium in Berkeley recently...The level of attention you gave to our property, although it was a small transaction in comparison to some, was second to none. We are happy to recommend your services to anyone thinking of buying or selling a condo or house; in our opinion you are second to none!!"
