Kristin Winter

From my first career as an environmental scientist/toxicologist I learned that when you love what you are doing, it’s easier to be your best self. For 14 years, I absolutely loved the intellectual challenges of cleaning up Superfund Sites across the country. But eventually I found myself wanting something “warmer” with more human interaction.

Because of my Mom and Dad, I had grown up loving homes. She was an artist and he was an engineer. Together they would change our childhood houses into beautiful homes. The first time they tried this I was 9 ~ I cried when I saw the 100+ year old dilapidated farm house in rural Pennsylvania. But by the time we moved out, the farm had been renovated to its former splendor with features such as a walk-in fireplace with a bread oven in our kitchen, 18 inch thick exterior stone walls creating windowsill seats throughout, 12 foot ceilings, a family room with post and beam from the original barn, a spring house (if you don’t know what this is, ask me), and a working barn complete with sheep and goat. It was pretty magical. They continued to work their magic in a historic 1849 home on French Creek, which was originally built for the paymaster of the local mill. After the kids were grown, they downsized to a lofty one-room school-house. These memories sparked the idea of surrounding myself with “all things home” by becoming a realtor, and in 2006 I took the plunge. This background has given me an inherent understanding for “good bones” and an eye for the unique and special.

My appreciation for homes brought me to real estate, but it turns out I love helping people as much as I love homes. From personal experience, I truly believe home ownership is still part of the American dream. One of my core goals in real estate is to help that dream come true in a fiscally responsible way for as many people as possible. That process begins by sitting down with my buyers and sellers to hear their vision and to help them develop a realistic plan to get them there. I view myself as a consultant whose role is to educate her clients so that they can make the decision right for THEM. For example, I tell all my buyers that this is the biggest financial and emotional purchase they are ever going to make whether it’s their first time or their fifth. I let them know it’s natural to freak out. I make sure they know that I am a full-service agent here to hold their hand through every step. I give them the perspective that buyers go through this process once every 5 to 7 years; whereas, I successfully navigate through it roughly 20 to 40 times a year. My favorite part of helping sellers is pulling from my statistical background as an environmental scientist to help me find the perfect price for going to market. I call it baloney slicing. I start broad and sliver it down to a baloney thin acceptable price opinion. Believe it or not, there can be a big difference in buyer mentality between $801,000 and $787,000. It can be the difference between sitting on the market for weeks or having 4 good offers the first weekend. One of the facts I am most proud of is that none of my sellers has ever lost money, even in the rough years of 2008 to 2012. I’ve also branched out into investment real estate both on my own and with clients. It’s a different beast without as much emotion, which actually can make it pretty fun. And if you want to get into the nitty-gritty of the whole thing, the tax benefits of real estate investments are pretty awesome ~ but you should probably talk to your accountant to get the specifics.

When I’m not working, I can be found climbing, hiking, reading, gardening and just learning cooking.