Barbi Dickison Blog

We have learned the benefits of staging your home when selling and there is no question is pays off. Your home will look more tidy and clean and, most importantly, provide the potential buyers the ability to picture themselves living there. The reality of that task though, is that you now can't use the kitchen or the bathroom and you're sleeping on the couch because you finally got the comforter on the bed to look just right! The last thing you want to do is mess anything up for the showing coming up (in 3 days!).

OK. Let's slide back into reality. We all have busy lives. Some of you (my condolences) even have small humans running around your home. From what I'm told, they leave a swath of destruction in their wake wherever they roam. If you are raising 4-legged creatures instead (or as well!) they also bring their own chall...

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It is no secret making the best and highest use of our homes is important to us all. In general, we don't like to have wasted spaces and this time of year most certainly don't want to be heating those spaces for no good reason. For the most part I have had my home-office in spare bedrooms. Once I actually had a whole half of our basement. That was fun, but kind of wasteful and silly. I used the space heater for nearly the entire winter. One great option for optimizing the space in your home is the attic. Today I'd like to take a walk up those stairs and share a few insights for making great use of that space.

Unless you are fortunate enough to live in a newer home, many of the homes around New England are getting a little long in the tooth. If the attic was never used (or even intended to be used) for a living area, it is going to b...

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There is a lot to selling a home. Of course, this time of year the "fervor" of the summer selling season has waned a bit. While the market is still rumbling along it is important to have a solid strategy and a reputable, local real estate professional in your corner. Along with that, there are a few little tidbits that we have picked up that I'd love to share today. For the seasoned sellers, some of these will be "old hat". But there's always something we can pick up regardless of how long we have been "in the biz". According to a report from Zillow, over half of today's sellers are selling for the first time! So, let's get started.

First, and honestly the most critical (and unfortunately common) mistake sellers make is putting any (and I mean ANY) stock in the online estimates fo...

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I think it began for me about 30 (sweet Jesus!) years ago. It was Christmas morning and dad (Santa) saved his pennies (or whatever our parents did to save money back then) and bought mom a microwave! Looking back on it through today's hyper-sensitive lens, it sounds sexist and patronizing. I promise you it was the polar opposite. The reaction, including giggles and tears of joy, has forever fueled my penchant for acts of service combined with the element of surprise. I simply love doing things for friends and family without them knowing and in order to provide a service I know they'll appreciate. From simple mowing of the lawn and clearing the snow off a car to sanding and restaining the deck, the joy I get from the deed feels almost selfish!

As I was digging into the article this week, I came across a slew of mi...

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CONWAY — Continuing the spirit of community giving encouraged under the late Dick Badger, real estate agents and staff at Badger Realty and staff from Bank of New Hampshire spent a recent Monday afternoon visiting the Merriman House and sharing ice cream and a warm smile with residents and their families.

This is the second time they've hosted the event with the nursing home, which is located at Memorial Hospital in North Conway.

The 45 residents, family members and nursing home staff were treated to ice cream catered by Vinnie Matturro of Ben & Jerry's.

Guitarist Carlos Angeles Olmeda provided an instrumental performance that delighted all in attendance.