Tanna Barker

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Start your deck budget with your home's price, not with a photo you saved.I get asked about deck budgets constantly, and...
09/02/2026

Start your deck budget with your home's price, not with a photo you saved.

I get asked about deck budgets constantly, and it's almost always after somebody has already picked out the design.

One more number worth knowing. Most pros keep a deck to about 10% to 15% of the home's square footage. On a 2,500 square foot house that's roughly 250 to 375 square feet. Go bigger and you start eating into the yard buyers wanted, which works against you even when the deck itself is beautiful.

DM me DECK and I'll tell you what buyers in [CITY] expect at your price.

#[CITY]RealEstate

08/28/2026

There's a score for how much homeowners love a renovation after it's done. Decks win it outright.

It's a real measurement, tracked across every major home project, and decks come in at 9.8 out of 10. Nothing else on the list scores higher.

Which is worth sitting with, because almost every conversation about home projects is about resale. What does it add, what comes back, what will buyers pay for it. And most people asking those questions aren't selling this year, or next.

A deck is one of the few projects that pays you while you still own the place. Dinners outside. Kids in the yard where you can see them. Somewhere to sit that isn't the couch.

The resale value is real too. But if you're staying a while, 9.8 is the number that applies to your life.

Still worth building the right size for your house and your budget. That part doesn't change.

DM me DECK and I'll tell you what people are looking for in outdoor spaces now.

The right off-leash trail depends on the dog. That is why this is a list and not one name.🦮 Mill Creek Canyon - $5 per v...
08/26/2026

The right off-leash trail depends on the dog. That is why this is a list and not one name.

🦮 Mill Creek Canyon - $5 per vehicle on the way out. Check the calendar before you drive up.
🦮 Galena Hills Dog Park - Dog wash station on site, plus a connection to the Jordan River Trail.
🦮 Freedom Trail at Memory Grove - Two miles out and back along City Creek, with a couple stream crossings.
🦮 Millrace Park Dog Park - Closed Tuesdays and most of the weekend, so check hours before you go.
🦮 Ferguson Park - Views over the whole valley. Road noise carries, so not for sound-sensitive dogs.
🦮 K9 Memorial Dog Park - One of the only off-leash options on the west side of the county.
🦮 South Salt Lake Dog Park - Bring your own bowl. It is a few minutes from Trolley Square.

Send this to the friend who is always looking for a new trail.

08/21/2026

The off-leash list around Salt Lake is longer than the two names that always come up.

Seven trails and parks around here where dogs get to run off leash.

🦮 Mill Creek Canyon - Twenty-plus unfenced trails, off leash on odd-numbered calendar days only.
🦮 Galena Hills Dog Park - Fenced, part groomed grass and part wild ground, with agility equipment.
🦮 Freedom Trail at Memory Grove - Unfenced dirt trail along City Creek, shaded and right in the city.
🦮 Millrace Park Dog Park - Fenced with a pond and agility tunnels. Annual permit tag required.
🦮 Ferguson Park - Fenced mountainside park with valley views, between Big and Little Cottonwood.
🦮 K9 Memorial Dog Park - Fenced and split into three sections for different sizes and temperaments.
🦮 South Salt Lake Dog Park - Unfenced grass with shade trees, a few minutes from Trolley Square.

Check whether each one is fenced or open before you go. A dog who bolts needs a fence. A dog with too much energy needs open ground.

Send this to whoever you always end up walking dogs with.

"We can always come down later" is the line that costs sellers the most.It sounds safe. Start high, leave room to negoti...
08/19/2026

"We can always come down later" is the line that costs sellers the most.

It sounds safe. Start high, leave room to negotiate, drop the price if the house doesn't move.

But buyers don't negotiate a high price down anymore. They have too many other homes to look at, so they skip yours and never call. You don't get a low offer to counter. You get silence, then a price cut a month later.

The thing the slides don't have room for: the price cut itself becomes the story. Buyers see the reduction and assume something's wrong, so the house that was overpriced now gets treated like it's flawed. Two strikes from one decision.

If you're weighing a move this year, send me a message. I'll pull the real numbers for your home and your neighborhood so you price it right the first time.

08/14/2026

Sellers are giving concessions at a record rate. Here's how to actually use that.

For a few years, buying meant waiving the inspection, racing five other offers, and paying over asking just to lose anyway. A lot of people stepped back and waited. That market is fading.

There are more homes on the market now than there have been in years. When buyers have options, sellers have to compete, and right now nearly half of them are offering concessions. That's the highest share on record for this time of year.

A concession isn't just a lower price. It can be the seller covering your closing costs, paying for repairs the inspection turns up, or buying down your rate so your monthly payment drops. On the right listing, that's thousands of dollars you're leaving on the table if you don't ask.

The leverage is real, but it's uneven. A house that's sat for a month has far more room to give than one listed last week, and knowing which is which is the whole game.

If you've been sitting out, send me a message. I'll walk you through what you can actually ask for right now.

Most sunset spots are fine. These are the ones I'd actually send someone to.Half of them you've probably driven past wit...
08/12/2026

Most sunset spots are fine. These are the ones I'd actually send someone to.

Half of them you've probably driven past without knowing what you were missing. A clear line to the light — an open horizon, a glowing skyline, or a peak catching the last of it — nothing in the way, and somewhere to sit once the color starts. That's the whole list.

📍 Ensign Peak Nature Park: Short hike, big payoff. The whole valley opens up once you reach the top.
📍 Lupine Trail: A quiet loop above Draper where the city view keeps getting better.
📍 Blackridge Reservoir: Paddle out first, then post up on the beach as the sky changes.
📍 Oquirrh Lake: A flat, paved loop where the mountains sit right across the water.
📍 : Eleven stories up with the mountains lit up right where the sun goes down.
📍 Scenic Tram: Ride up 11,000 feet for a version of sunset you won't get from the valley.

Send this to whoever you'd watch a sunset with.

08/07/2026

I have opinions about where to watch the sun go down in Salt Lake.

Most of these are five minutes away. A couple are worth the drive. The one thing nobody tells you is the timing, so I put the arrival window on each.

📍 Ensign Peak Nature Park - Valley and Great Salt Lake spread out west
📍 Lupine Trail - City opens up as the loop climbs
📍 Blackridge Reservoir - Open water doubles the color on the beach
📍 Oquirrh Lake - Bridges over the lake face the mountains
📍 - Rooftop lines up straight with the mountains
📍 Scenic Tram - Alpine summit catches the last light first

Send this to whoever you'd want on the bench next to you for the next clear night.

The highest-returning project before you sell costs less than your fridge.Almost every seller I talk to opens with the k...
08/05/2026

The highest-returning project before you sell costs less than your fridge.

Almost every seller I talk to opens with the kitchen. It is the room they have been meaning to fix for years, and listing finally gives them permission to spend the money.

The data does not back that up. The 2025 Cost vs. Value report puts a garage door replacement at 268% recouped and a midrange bathroom remodel at 80%. The projects at the top of the return list are almost all small and on the outside of the house.

Here is the part the ranking leaves out. The projects that score highest for return are not the ones people love living with. Kitchens, primary suites, new roofing, those are what homeowners actually enjoy. That happiness just does not always come back to you dollar for dollar at closing.

So the question is not which project is best. It is whether you are spending to enjoy the house or spending to sell it. Those are two different budgets.

Send me a message before you spend anything and I will tell you what buyers are paying attention to right now.

07/31/2026

The project with the best return at resale is the garage door. I know how that sounds.

About $4,700 to replace. It adds roughly $12,500 in resale value.

A new steel front door is next. Around $2,400 in, and more than double that back out at closing.

Then compare that to a midrange bathroom remodel. About $26,000 spent, about $21,000 back. A minor kitchen refresh, new counters and cabinet fronts and paint, actually does slightly better than break even. It's the full gut renovation that quietly costs you.

The pattern is hard to miss once you see it. The projects that pay you back are small, cheap, and on the outside of the house. The ones you'd be excited to show people are the ones you lose money on.

That doesn't mean skip them. Some projects are worth doing because you'll enjoy living with them, and that's a real reason. Just know which bet you're making before you commit the budget.

Send me a message and I'll tell you which of these is worth doing on your house before you list.

Address

1265 E Fort Union Boulevard Ste 300
Cottonwood Heights, UT
84047

Telephone

+18012592387

Website

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