Susan Aiken
Hi, I'm Susan Aiken. I'm a licensed real estate broker in Vermont and New Hampshire with over 30 years experience living in this part of the world and more than 20 years experience helping people achieve great success in real estate. In 1987 I earned my real estate license, found my way to St Johnsbury, and began my career in real estate sales. I purchased a road map and set out to discover the Northeast Kingdom. In just a few years I knew every back road in this corner of the state. I already knew the names of many farmers and loggers in the area from going to local farm auctions. It is always exciting to end up at a remote farm and be able to put a face to the name on the mailbox. Knowing the back roads and also knowing the best locations is my forté in real estate. If it's a great camping spot, swimming hole, or a spectacular view, I will know where to find it. I sell real estate because it's fun. Traveling around and looking at the beautiful countryside of Vermont and New Hampshire is a very important part of my life.
"I pride myself in being the kind of person who is able to step up to the plate and take responsibility." Susan Aiken
I work hard at getting it right the first time. I'm a determined negotiator and have heard people say that I'm very direct. There is no guesswork when it comes to my personality! My motto is, "The hours are long and the pay is light so take the time to do it right!" I have a following and my customers seek me out when they are ready to buy or sell properties. They do so because of my attention to detail, my honesty, my directness, and my willingness to nurture a transaction to fruition. My only source of income is real estate commissions and I am very successful at what I do. I am consistently one of the top producers in this area. I'm also an expert at fitting financing to a buyer. I know my product and I know the Northeast Kingdom. I am a past president of the Northeast Kingdom Board of Realtors, and was chosen by my peers as the recipient of the "Northeast Kingdom Realtor of the Year" award in 2001. I was also the president for 2009. People hire me for their real estate needs because they know they can trust my expertise to assist them with their most important lifetime investments.
"Susan, people like you make doing business a real pleasure. Thanks for 'Grace under pressure' on Friday." -Paul
My story.
I arrived in Vermont by way of Alaska. After College graduation, a brand new husband (with ties to Alaska) and I went to live in a yurt on a mountain top. In real life I worked as a research assistant, doing scientific studies in the Alaskan and Canadian Arctic. I flew with many of the crusty old bush pilots to remote outposts, carrying out tests and studies. We went to Alaska to become Alaskans, so we purchased one of the original bush road houses. At the Manley Road House I had the opportunity to listen to miners, trappers, and dog mushers tell their (mostly tall) tales of the strange things done 'neath the midnight sun. My family still owns the old Road House, which is now a tourist stop and Iditarod trail stop (during snowless years).
Freshly painted hay wagons at Aikencrest That old Road House
In the 1980s I married into the dairy business. My family operated Aikencrest. a dairy farm on Harvey's Mountain in Barnet. We milked as many as 120 Holsteins and enjoyed a large garden and all the farm animals we could fit into our barns. Aikencrest was part of one of the original grants from King George III. My early experiences in the Northeast Kingdom have been rooted in dairy farming, wintertime logging, and sugaring. During the farming years our family unearthed ancient pump-logs and granite conduits, which carried water from Harvey's Mountain down to the village of West Barnet. Our farm also was the site of twelve springs which delivered ice-cold sparkling spring water to our neighbors and to the village. We harvested hardwoods for cabinetry and woodworking. We sugared with horses, usually working along side our neighbor who had a very large sugarbush. The Bayley Hazen Military Road went right through our farm and during the summers we'd have Revolutionary War and Civil War re-enactment soldiers bivuoaced in our fields.
My passions.
HELPING OTHERS WHEN I CAN: I am on the steering committee for the new area chapter of Habitat for Humanity. In the past, when Northeast Kingdom Habitat for Humanity was active, I served as Habitat's treasurer. I assisted many Habitat for Humanity home owners with management of mortgage payments, budgeting, and finances. I went so far as to do monthly visits to keep the Habitat for Humanity borrowers on track. With the new chapter being planned, I will again fill a role in helping people budget to achieve a home of their own.
RED SOX BASEBALL & MY HOBBIES: I was born a Cubs Fan, in the shadow of Wrigley Field in Chicago. This sometimes wrenching, always exasperating experience gave me the fortitude to become a Red Sox fan! I arrived in Vermont 35 years ago and "Voila", I found a team to which I could relate! The amazing journey to Heaven is just 2 hours, 41 minutes down I-93. Fenway is magic! It's been an amazing experience going from yelling AT The Red Sox to yelling FOR The Red Sox. No more Bucky Dent! No more Bill Buckner! No more Aaron Boone! What a co-incidence! All three of those fellows have the same middle name! To say the least, being a Red Sox fan in our era is certainly a very satisfying hobby. If you're also a fan of the 2007 World Series Champions and a part of Red Sox Nation in Vermont and New Hampshire, here is a link to this year's Red Sox Schedule. Enjoy! If you're a fan who is new to the area you'll find most games broadcast on the New England Sports Network, NESN. And just HOW did I aquire my season tickets? YES SEASON TICKETS! I paid to get on the wait list and then answered every email they sent me for four years. And, I'm just one of those lucky persons. I even won a lottery for a 4th of July ride on the USS Constitution. That's when the US Navy takes the ship out into the harbor and turns it around----so it can weather on the other side for a year. "Old Ironsides" is the oldest commissioned warship in the US. (That's FYI) Even though I'm just a wrinkled kid, I recently received my very first Social Security check. Well, since I'm hardly ready to be an old guy, I decided to squander my very first SS check on something frivolous. So I purchased two seats from Fenway Park. They are (suppposed to be) the seats my grandson and I sat in for his very first game at Fenway. They may not be the exact seats, but I like to believe they are those seats. You may see "THE SEATS" at my office. I may even allow you to sit in them. Life is good!
FSNO (Four Seasons Neighborhoos Organization)The history, the architecture and the demographics of St Johnsbury are very interesting to me. Each year I do a study of several houses "On The Hill". The Four Seasons Club, a group of active citizens living in the area bounded by Spring, Summer, Winter and Autumn Streets, invites me to talk about their homes. I choose the houses at random. People like to hear about their homes. It is an honor and a pleasure for me to be asked to participate.