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Building relationships while creating ease and comfort has been Karene's specialty throughout her diverse career.
Karene jokes that she's done everything from flipping burgers at McDonald’s to running highly successful marketing and advertising campaigns for national companies, to teaching college-level classes. Karene holds a Master's Degree from Eastern Washington University in Public Relations and Organizational Communications and has completed coursework towards a Ph.D. at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. In each of these professions, she has made relationships a top priority, and communication is the most important piece in any relationship. She follows up consistently, provides frequent updates, and makes herself completely available to her agents who may have questions.
As a Realtor, Karene has been helping over 500 families buy and sell homes across Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho.
Karene is a Certified Residential Specialist (the Ph.D. of real estate with only 4% of all Realtors holding the designation). She has over 20 years in the service industry which has taught her the value of good customer service. Attention detail, dedication and exceptional service distinguishes her from the rest. Her clients are a big part of why she loves what she does.
When she isn’t selling homes, Karene has contributed for years to the growth of her local Board of Realtors as a member of the professional standards, technology, and education committees.
Since 2008, Karene has used her extensive real estate knowledge and combined it with her passion for training, coaching, and mentoring all agents.
As a licensed instructor in both Washington and Idaho, Karene has turned her focus to imparting her vast knowledge to organizations and individuals so that they may achieve their true potential. Karene is highly intelligent and has a formal four-year college education, as well as a masters degree - in addition to her extensive real estate courses and personal experiences. She believes that there is always something new to be learned. Even the best of the best can receive valuable information from continued education. Armed with a master’s degree in Communications, Karene is able to use her well-honed communication skills and state-of-the-art technology to deliver the message in a way that everyone can understand.
Karene has connections which has further enhanced her Real Estate knowledge.
Not only does Karene know the housing market and Real Estate contracts like the back of her hand, but she also has substantial knowledge of the title and lending process. Her twin sister, Robyn Garlich-Baird, is a mortgage lender with Sierra Pacific Mortgage. This has allowed her to have a deeper understanding than most agents do on what it takes for clients to approve for a home loan. According to the code of ethics, Real Estate agents are not allowed to give advice in anything but their own area of expertise. So while Karene isn't able to personally help you with mortgage and loan questions, she can certainly point you in the right direction.
