Today is National Take Your Dog To Work Today  Today is “take your dog to work today” which is a national program. They estimate over 1.5 million pet owners will participate today. I took my Chihuahua several years ago but she was nervous and growling so she now stays at home instead. Not all pets are suitable for this type of adventure and you must get your employers permission also.   How many have participated in the past years? How about today?           Go to the web site above and sign up so they will be able to get a true count of how many participated today.           Pet Sitters International PSI promotes take your dog to work day is the site to sign up. Lots of fun things to do on this site; register, photo contests, stories and articles, plus find a local sitter if you need o... 06/20/2014

Highland CA Standard Sales, Highland CA Short Sales, Highland CA Wash Sales As the Highland CA housing market improves, many more Highland CA standard sales are hitting the open housing market. This is great news for many that want to sell or need to sell for various reasons. Selling your Highland CA home and realizing equity after the sale is a great thing and easily appreciated considering the housing crash we just endured a few years ago. If you are considering selling your Highland home as a standard sale, we can help you determine what your Highland home is worth, how much you will walk away with after the sale and help you implement a great selling strategy that can garner you a good selling price without letting your Highland home listing stay too long on the market. But there ar... 06/12/2014

Highland CA Short Sale Highland, California real estate has seen some drastic swings in prices, conditions and inventory. First, when the Highland housing crashed in 2007, no one could sell a house. Anyone trying to only chased Highland home buyers with dropping prices. Then came all the Highland CA foreclosures. This attracted many cash buyers and investors. As banks realized that flooding the Highland real estate market with foreclosures drove prices down even further, they began holding on to their Highland foreclosed homes. This brought a new wave to the Highland real estate market: Highland CA Short Sales! The Highland CA Short Sale Yes, Highland California has seen the rise and fall of the short sale, and this type of transaction helped many distressed Highland homeowners reset th... 05/01/2014

Real Estate Reform in My World Real Estate needs to be regulated across the nation so in my world this would happen. 1. A National Real Estate Board would regulate all real estate in the United States (50). An arm of  the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) be in charge of regulating and amending real estate rules and regulations. All 50 states would have input but it would not be overseen on the state level. Their would be offices in the states but would be controlled uniformly    2. Commissions would be the same and no one could discount this percentage. This would cut out the agents who try to low ball sellers to get the deal. All real estate agents would be expected to give full service to their clients. Sellers would get much better service and their would not be haggling in th... 04/25/2014

Coldwell Banker Highland CA - REALTORS Highland CA - Highland Realty Are you buying or selling a Highland home? When hiring a Highland REALTOR make sure you use an agent with experience, and works for a trusted name, like Coldwell Banker, in Highland, California. We are Todd and Devona Garrigus, Garrigus Real Estate, and we work under the trusted Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters brokerage that has been serving the Southern California area for decades. If you're buying or selling a Highland house, we have extensive experience in short sales, standard sales, foreclosures, and home purchasing. We can help you avoid the many pitfalls of selling, and help you find the right home and deal when buying. Give us a call and interview us to see if we are the right Highland CA real estate agents for ... 04/17/2014

Thinking About Doing Some Repairs & Want to Get More Bang for your Buck Are you the typical homeowner and spend most of your weekends going to the home improvement stores looking for ideas to remodel. If you are like most, your rooms are small and have many walls dividing them up. So many decisions to make and not sure what room to start with.       Should you remodel the kitchen and open up the walls? Then should you replace the cabinets and counter-tops? What about new appliances and what color is the most popular?            Are your bathrooms old and the flooring needs replacing, the huge vanity is water stained and the tile is some strange color showing how dated it is? Does this sound familiar too?    Here is a diagram showing how much money you will probably recoup when you sell ... 04/13/2014

Multiple Offers on Your House Again... Whoopee? This inforgraphic was just compiled by CAR, California Association of Realtors. It shows the average number of offers coming in on homes vs. in the past. How Many Offers on Your House? 2012- Average was 3.1% of Sellers received multiple offers 2013- Average was 5.9% of Sellers received multiple offers 2013 98.5% of Sellers receive multiple offers. The market is definitely improving.          Thanks for Reading my Blog 04/07/2014

The Top 20 Websites as of January 2014   Website Total visits Share of visits December rank 1. Zillow 57,251,451 15.71% 1 2. Trulia.com 30,294,825 8.31% 2 3. Realtor.com 26,292,335 7.21% 3 4. Yahoo! Homes 21,322,132 5.85% 4 5. Homes.com 10,141,145 2.78% 6 6. Apartment Guide 6,933,588 1.90% 7 7. Rent.com 5,170,450 1.42% 11 8. MSN Real Estate 4,847,430 1.33% 5 9. Apartments.com 4,317,852 1.18% 10 10. LoopNet 4,251,186 1.17% 8 11. HomeAway 4,189,206 1.15% 17 12. Redfin 4,163,199 1.14% 9 13. ForRent.com 4,074,682 1.12% 13 14. ZipRealty 3,710,863 1.02% 12 15. Caring.com 3,534,251 0.97% 18 16. Century 21 Real Estate 3,496,996 0.96% 16 17. ApartmentFinder.com 3,260,305 0.89% 14 18. Movoto Inc. 3,221,894 0.88% 19 19. HAR.com 3,037,288 0.83% 15 20. HotPads.com 2,984,276 0.82% 22 This news was pu... 04/06/2014

Spring is Around the Corner and the Birds are Returning to California Thanks for Reading my Blog California is a dream-come-true state no matter what your needs or wants are. We have year round warm weather, beautiful beaches, rustic mountains and desert communities. If you are looking for a home in Southern California, please contact me. I am a local California Realtor, live in the Inland Empire community and am aware of the local market. I am here to help you find a home or to sell the home you currently own. California has great opportunities to view Nature and Bird Watching. Whatever your needs are, you will find it here in California! From the Inland Empire you are 45 minutes to the beaches, mountains or desert. Housing is affordable in the Inland Empire area! Kristin Hamilton BRE ... 03/06/2014

The Storm Has Finally Arrived in California   We are so grateful for the rain here in California as it might help our drought and raise our water table.  California is a dream-come-true state no matter what your needs or wants are. We have year round warm weather, beautiful beaches, rustic mountains and desert communities. If you are looking for a home in Southern California, please contact me. I am a local California Realtor, live in the Inland Empire community and am aware of the local market. I am here to help you find a home or to sell the home you currently own. California has great opportunities to view Nature and Bird Watching. Whatever your needs are, you will find it here in California! From the Inland Empire you are 45 minutes to the beaches, mountains or desert. Housing is af... 03/01/2014

Faulty Wiring Can Cause Major Fires This was a very vibrant and busy restaurant and bar. Faulty wiring caused a major fire and the apartment dwellers upstairs did get safely out with their pets. It could have been a lot worse.  Make sure you hire licensed contractors to do your electrical and plumbing jobs and make sure your insurance is up to date. Thanks for Reading my Blog Kristin Hamilton DRE #014092138 Keller Williams Realty – I am a full time agent and deal in all types of real estate transactions. Trusts, Probate, Short Sales, Standard Listing, Single Family Homes, Apartments 1-4 units, Duplexes and Condos. I am also an experienced REO agent. I sell real estate in the Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, and Los Angeles Counties. I am a trained and experienced Short Sale agent. If ... 02/23/2014

The Worst and Best Valentine Gifts Friday is Valentine’s Day and I guess you know what that means? Yes, it is time to go and buy your loved ones and close friends a Valentine’s Card or a Gift. What gift to buy is always a question? Candy, Flowers, Chocolate Candy, Dinner at a Restaurant, Techie Gifts, Lingerie, and the list goes on and on? Cannot decide or cannot afford it; then a card is the perfect gift.   Here are the top 10 Worst Gifts to Buy: 1.  Gift Cards at the Mall 2.  Gym Membership 3.  Stuffed Animals (not for guys) 4.  Cheap Jewelry 5.  Cheap Lingerie 6.  Home Appliances (vacuums, washing machines..etc.) 7.  Date at a Crowded Restaurant and no reservations 8.  Porn Movie 9.  Nothing at All 10.           Breaking-Up   The Best Gifts to Buy 1.  Fine Chocolates 2.  Flowers 3. ... 02/12/2014

Press Release....Top 6 HOME SELLER MISTAKES Mr. Seller....I Will Tell You Why Your Home Didn't Sell...    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 30, 2013   Kristin Hamilton                        Keller Williams Realty 301 W Redlands Blvd Redlands CA 92373 909-557-6966 Kristinhamilton@kw.com   BIGGEST HOME SELLER MISTAKES   Survey of 1,000 Real Estate Agents Reveals the Top Six Ways to Sabotage the Sale of Your Home   Inland Empire area in CA: The most common reasons that a house will not sell in a good market are often well within the control of the home seller according to a recent survey by the ActiveRain online real estate community. In a poll of over 1,000 real estate agents, it was revealed that the top six ways home sellers turn potential home buyers away are:   1.    The home is overpri... 01/30/2014

Decorate Your House with a Theme...I love Snowmen I am not a big collector and do not have something sitting everywhere as I feel sparse is good but during the holidays I like to decorate with a theme.   I go nuts over "Snowmen" so i try to find places to put them in most of the rooms of my house. I have taken some pictures to show off my snowmen and snowwomen. They are so festive and always have such cute expressions.                 My house has a large area above the kitchen cabinets so it makes it easy to put most of them up high and so sweet the way they look down at us.                   Hanging Stocking on the mantel is fun.                 This was a gift from a friend and she sits on my couch during the holidays.             So no matter what your theme is, it is fun to decorat... 12/18/2013

Cute Nature Photos from 2013 Cute Nature Photos from 2013   Every time I drive across this bridge there is a bird looking at me and not phased by the cars driving by as we are almost as high and we could almost reach out and touch him. So recently I stopped and took a picture. He didn't even bugde but just sat there looking at me like saying "Can We Talk?"   A face only a mother could love.   I am adorable and I know it.     Let's play follow the leader. These guys walked as a pair for about 5 mintues just going up to fisherman and spectactors on the Huntington Beach Pier. They were such a crack-up.   Coming in for a landing...watch out down below. Oops! Thanks for Reading my Blog 12/02/2013

What Features are Buyers Interested In? What Features are Buyers Interested In? Here is a chart showing what features buyers in California are most interested in. Different parts of the US have other choices like downstairs basement conversions but pretty much it is standard across the country. When a homeowner is deciding what upgrades to do, sometimes they are at a loss as to what would add equity and be appealing to potential buyers. See Chart below for ideas.       One suggestion: Go with earthtone choices so that most will be comfortable with. Thanks for Reading my Blog   California is a dream-come-true state no matter what your needs or wants are. We have year round warm weather, beautiful beaches, rustic mountains and desert communities. If you are looking for a home in Southern ... 11/19/2013

  Here are 10 Great Reasons Why Sellers Should List During the Holidays …   1.    People who look for homes during the Holidays are more serious buyers!   2.     Serious buyers have fewer houses to choose from during the Holidays and less competition means more money for you.   3.     Since the supply of listings will dramatically increase in January, there will be less demand for your particular home. Less demand means more money for you.   4.     Houses show better when decorated for the Holidays.   5.     Buyers are more emotional during the Holidays, so they are more likely to pay your price.   6.     Buyers have more time to look for a home during the Holidays than they do during a work week   7.    Some people must buy before the end of the year for tax reasons.   8.    January is... 11/16/2013

Sellers-What Remodeling Jobs Do Not Get Much Bang for Your Buck Sellers- What Remodeling Jobs Do Not Get Much Bang for Your Buck Thanks for Reading my Blog California is a dream-come-true state no matter what your needs or wants are. We have year round warm weather, beautiful beaches, rustic mountains and desert communities. If you are looking for a home in Southern California, please contact me. I am a local California Realtor, live in the Inland Empire community and am aware of the local market. I am here to help you find a home or to sell the home you currently own. California has great opportunities to view Nature and Bird Watching. Whatever your needs are, you will find it here in California! From the Inland Empire you are 45 minutes to the beaches, mountains or desert. Housing is ... 11/05/2013

Fall Back- Tick Tock Tick Tock Yes, it is that time of the year again so be sure to set your clocks back before you go to bed tonight. The offical time change occurs on Sunday November 3, 2013 at 2:00 am.     Thanks for Reading my Blog   California is a dream-come-true state no matter what your needs or wants are. We have year round warm weather, beautiful beaches, rustic mountains and desert communities. If you are looking for a home in Southern California, please contact me. I am a local California Realtor, live in the Inland Empire community and am aware of the local market. I am here to help you find a home or to sell the home you currently own. California has great opportunities to view Nature and Bird Watching. Whatever your needs are, you will find it here in California! From the... 11/02/2013

 Home is Where you Get that Warm & Fuzzy Feeling       One of our first memories as a child is where we lived, our family members, our pets and our stuff.         It can be a big house, a small house, an apartment but usually has at least 4 walls and a roof and is a place we go for shelter and usually to eat.             My husband and I started out renting an apartment and then bought a condo. Then we bought a townhouse, and so on until we finally bought the house we live in now.             It is our home where our kids grew up, where we usually hosted almost every Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving for our entire family. We have celebrated Anniversaries, Birthdays, Mother's and Father's Day, and even a wedding in our living room.             Pool parties for the sport's team, my Gard... 10/24/2013