VALERIE J. SCHLUTER

EXECUTIVEAGENT MAGAZINE

Valerie J. Vihlen Schluter Executive Agent of the Month

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Written by H. K. Wilson - Michelle Fairless Photography

alerie J. Vihlen Schluter may be a seasoned real estate professional with four decades of experience today, but when she bought her first home, she was a young mom with no idea about how the process should work. Unbeknownst to her, the house she purchased had been a venue for illegal cockfighting. “Upon closing escrow, my Realtor® didn’t even show up to give me the keys, and I hadn’t done a walk-through or seen the house since I bought it. I showed up at my new house and opened the door to find 25 rooster cages in the family room. It was filthy. For six months people kept showing up at my door with roosters wanting to fight them.

I finally had to put a sign in the yard saying ‘New Owner — No Cock Fighting.’”

She can laugh about it now, but Valerie says that experience was traumatic enough that it changed the course of her life. “I thought to myself, nobody should have to go through this, and so I earned my real estate license and determined to make purchasing a home a better experience for others. It turned out to be a good choice for me, since I could help others through the process and be home with my children when I needed to.”

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Valerie eventually married her husband, Chris Schluter, and together almost 40 years, they have owned and operated a real estate brokerage, a mortgage company and an escrow company. Over the years, Valerie has learned virtually every aspect of real estate, and she still maintains her certification as a Notary Public to save her clients a trip to escrow. From her many vantage points, she has observed that success in real estate all comes down to one thing: taking good care of people. “I think the difference

between myself and somebody else is personal service.

I answer my phone almost 24 hours a day seven days a week. Folks don’t just buy houses Monday through Friday, 9 to 5. You need to make time to be available for them and listen to what they want. In the end, my clients become my friends, and we stay in touch for life. Ninety-nine percent of my business is referral and word of mouth. I do virtually no advertising and I now work from home.�

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Taking Good Care of People In an age where technology is edging out so many opportunities for human connection, Valerie maintains face-to-face interactions with her clients. “I can email escrow instructions to a client to sign, but I prefer to meet with them to explain and help them fill everything out and then return it to escrow or title for them. I keep my notary renewed for that purpose.

I don’t care how intelligent you are, if you haven’t filled out escrow instructions, it can be difficult. I am blessed to work with a team of lenders and professionals who are also willing to be available to my clients as needed.”

In addition to going the extra mile to find homes for people, Valerie is known as “The Dog Lady” because she also will find new forever homes for displaced pets. During the housing crisis of the mid-2000s, Valerie became certified in short sales and started rescuing abandoned or unwanted pets from foreclosed homes. She fed and cared for them until she could re-home them. Many will call her first when seeking a new pet.

Then Valerie had another experience that inspired her love of dogs. A longtime equestrian, Valerie suffered a catastrophic riding accident that rendered her disabled for a long time. “I was down for a year and actually not expected to walk unassisted again. My dog, a Doberman, then was taught to pull my wheel chair and perform other tasks for me that I could not do myself.” Her current service dog, Bentley, is a German Pinscher who accompanies her everywhere. Valerie still does pet rescue, and she will provide microchips, collars and tags for any pet who needs it, no questions asked. “I have a heart for what dogs have meant for me and can for other people. Bentley spends all day with me working, and so we will go volunteer regularly at the Ronald McDonald House, assisted living facilities and read with kids in the library. He gets to be king and everybody gets to love on him. I don’t care how hard your day has been, when you go visit others in these circumstances, it makes you appreciate where you are in life.”

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Her knowledge and lifetime of raising, training and showing horses also makes Valerie an expert in horse properties in Orange County and its surrounds. “There’s not much horse property left in Orange County these days, but I love finding those properties for the horse owner who wants to keep their horse in their backyard instead of boarding it.”

Valerie still works with her husband, Chris, who is an equity lender. Chris is also a musician and songwriter who recently co-wrote and produced a musical staged in Tustin with a 10-piece live orchestra called “Positively Perfect.”

“Most memorable was that our 17 year old grand son was a member of the orchestra, and his sister collected tickets and ran a concession stand for us flying in from Idaho.

There was great support for the event, and it was even featured on the front page of the ‘OC Register.”

Valerie’s long-ago choice to turn a negative experience into something positive has benefited hundreds of families throughout her career, and it is a decision she’s never regretted. She also feels blessed that her daughter-in-law has been working with her for almost two decades, and positive that she couldn’t be as available to her clients without Gwin handling all the paperwork behind the scenes. “I still love real estate, and I want people to love the experience of buying or selling their home. In the end, I want it to be a positive and happy memory they will want to share with their friends and family. I try to take all the responsibility and necessary things away so it doesn’t take the joy from the experience.”

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Thank you Mike, Annie & Kaitlyn for allowing me to be photographed for this article in one of the many homes we have helped you purchase together over the years.

Valerie J. Vihlen Schluter Realty Network - 5180 Via Margarita Yorba Linda, CA 92886 Tel: 714.612.6562 Email: HomesByDogLady@gmail.com Web: http://www.valerieschluter.com DRE #00753164 ExecutiveAgent Magazine