Choosing Interesting Themes on the Rain       Interesting & Popular Subjects-Catchy titles to draw the reader in. You need good curb appeal to get the reader to want to stop and view your blog. Good Quality Material-Make it worth their time to stop and read plus you want the reader to come back again for more. Sometimes you can add a zinger to your article that makes the reader go….WOW I didn’t know that!     SEO Friendly- Search Engine Optimization runs a blog. The theme should be SEO friendly in terms of its structure and coding. A weakly coded them can severely limit your reach to search engine visitors and will ultimately affect the popularity of your blog. So the first thing to look for in a theme for your blog is the aspect of search engine friendliness in its coding and basic str... 01/17/2012

Let's welcome a new ActiveRain Member today! Let's Welcome a New ActiveRain Member   Thomas “Chopper” Russo. Chopper is a real estate agent and works for: RE/MAX Traditions Real Estate at 383 Ramapo Valley Road, Oakland , New Jersey 07346       Here is his contact information:   Web: http://www.trusso.remax-nj.com   ActiveRain Email: Contact Thomas "Chopper" Russo (RE/MAX Traditions Real Estate)   Designations: ABR, CDPE, CNE, SFR   Cell:     201-240-5200 Office: 201-337-6600   FaceBook:      I believe to succeed in real estate that we must think out of the box. His picture did that for me. I am a dog lover and when I saw the bull dog wearing the red tie, I knew this was the new member I wanted to welcome.   We should all welcome Chopper to ActiveRain!   ********************************... 01/16/2012

Laguna Beach….A Day in the Sand. Yesterday we spent the day at Laguna Beach, CA and the weather was beautiful for winter. Water was a little cold but that did not stop the visitors from swimming. I have a new camera, so this is my first real shoot. I am taking photos of my favorite subject; birds. More birds. . Notice how this guy blends in so well to the sand. Isn’t Mother Nature wonderful?   This looks so beach like with a Lifeguard Vehicle in the sand. This guy was zooming the beach. It is not real clear but I loved the picture anyway.    There is a lot of birds just sitting around "people watching."      Call Kristin Hamilton at 909-557-6966 to list your home. Inland Empire Homeowners, please call me for a Comprehensive Market Analysis to assist you with marketing your home for sale... 01/14/2012

ActiveRain…..A Place For Professionals. I joined ActiveRain about a year ago. I signed up, read some posts and thought AR was great. Then I got busy doing other tasks and forgot my password and logged myself out and moved on…Big mistake. Then one day I was GOOGLING (can Google be a verb) something and a great post popped up written by an ActiveRain member. I was so impressed that I got back on ActiveRain that week and started blogging and photo-blogging. Taking pictures, writing articles and meeting professionals all over the country. This was a turning point for me and my career. What I found was that it is a professional website for Real Estate Professionals, Service Providers, and other Professionals from all walks of life. We are a Community of Professionals from all over the countr... 01/10/2012

Plant Your Seeds for the Spring Crop….and Soar like an Eagle. While working as free agents, you must farm for business. I remember my first broker said to us in a meeting “The phone doesn’t magically ring. No you must not be a Secret Agent but get your name out there so clients will call you.” These words are so true.   Plant your seeds; newsletters, farming materials, mailers, postcards, door-knocking, internet advertising plus hundreds of other ideas to plant your seeds.  I like this bird as he is upside down trying to get berries. The bird was literally hanging upside down clinging to the branch. As agents, we need to work harder to get more business! If you work hard and plant your seed, you should soar like an eagle by spring.   Please share with us what you plan to do this winter ... 01/07/2012

  Realtor Expenses Take a Big Chunk of our Commission Checks The NAR fees, the State Fees, Errors and Omissions Insurance, Supra Fees, MLS fees, Desk Fees, Office Printing fees and Training fees all add up to a lot of expenses for any agent and especially for new agents.   Other expenses too like clothes, nails, shoes, gasoline, car repairs, car signs, advertising of listings and sometimes a nicer car. Plus we need equipment like cameras, signs, sign riders, open house gifts, advertising materials, web sites, computers, cell phones, iPads, ink, paper, stamps, colored flyers and a lot of office supplies. All these expenses come out of our commission checks too.     Then there are the non real estate monthly expenses; rent or house payment, insurance, food, credit cards, tuition, day-care... 01/02/2012

©Happy New Year to all the ActiveRain Members and Staff©. This has been quite a fun year and I have met some really nice friends on the Rain. May 2012 bring everyone Good Health, Happiness and even Greater Success. We have shared good times, sad times, great articles, new technology, successes and losses, fun contests and many, many, many photos. Please stop share one of your favorite photos below in the comment section.   Happy New Year from my dog CoCo.   Happy Holidays and stay safe! 12/31/2011

Market Report: Highland, CA., Available Listings- Winter 2011.   Please let me introduce myself for anyone who does not know me. I, Kristin Hamilton, am an experienced and local Realtor from Redlands Keller Williams Realty.  I am also involved in many community programs to better this area. I sit on the board of several organizations and I work 24X7 for my real estate clients. Call me at 909-557-6966 to list your home.     I have prepared a chart showing how many listings there are in the city of Highland, CA for the past 3 months. I have broken it down by the type of listing it is; Standard Sale, Real Estate Owned Sale (REO) and Short Sale.  Results: As you can clearly see, Standard Sales and Short Sales listings are up and REO (Real Estate Owned) listings are down. This is very good n... 12/19/2011

©The Inspirational Christmas Tree©11.26.2011© We all seem to have the typical Green Tree with Red and Green ornaments so when I saw this tree, I thought what a great idea. An “Inspirational” tree to Love, Peace, and Dream! I love the colors. If you are not inclined to put this in your living or family room, maybe in your daughter’s bedroom as an extra tree. I think it is so unique. I am going to make signs for my tree this year but I will stay with the same ornaments I already own. Happy Holidays to Everyone. Click and Comment if you like this tree. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Call Kristin Hamilton at 909-557-6966 to list your home! CA- Real Estate Agent; Kristin Hamilton. Inland Empire (San Bernardino, Highland, Redlands, Loma Linda, Colton, Yucaipa, Rialt... 11/27/2011

©Nutcrackers are a Popular Christmas Tradition© 11.26.2011© According to German folklore, nutcrackers were given as gifts to protect homes from evil.  They reflect power and strength and that is why most nutcrackers are bearing their teeth to keep intruders away. Nutcrackers were actually made to crack nuts starting hundreds of years ago. European carvers first perfected the wood nutcrackers between the 1500-1900’. Medal nutcrackers were also constructed but they didn’t gain as much popularity as the wood ones.    Nutcrackers became really popular after the 1892 ballet by Tchaikovsky, the”Nutcracker Suite” that was performed in St. Petersburg, Russia. After the ballet was performed in New York City in 1940 and in San Francisco in 1944, the western world became infatuated with the little... 11/26/2011

Last night SC Edison turned off our power from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. They had installed new meter a few weeks ago and apparently had to upgrade the transformers in the city. We had been notified that this would be occurring so we had flashlights and candles handy. The power went off at 10:40 p.m. and upset my dogs. I did not sleep well as I keep hearing generators running all night. Sound travels when everything is shut down. I was worried I would oversleep and had an appointment at 8:00 a.m. 1. I am grateful to have electricity to operate everything electrical in my home. 2. I am grateful to have a forced air heater to keep our dogs warm at night. 3. I am grateful to have lights on to keep unwanted intruders out. 4. I am grateful to have a clock radio to wake me up every morning. 5. ... 11/18/2011

Leopards and Giraffes and Rhinos.....Oh My!   The Philadelphia Zoo, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, was the first zoo in the United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859, its opening was delayed by the American Civil War until July 1, 1874. It opened with 1000 animals and an admission price of 25 cents. ThePhiladelphia Zoo is one of the premier zoos in the world.         3400 West Girard Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19104. (215) 243-1100 ()‎philadelphiazoo.org                     This hot air balloon goes up and down all day and it great advertising as you can see it from the freeway while entering the city of Philadelphia. I keep seeing the balloon and saying “I want to go to the zoo.”               Here are s... 11/16/2011

What’s My Highland CA Home Worth? – Find the Value of Your Highland CA House In this current real estate market, understanding the current value of your Highland home can be a confusing task. Even so-called experts, banks and real estate agents have a tough time determining the market value of Highland California houses. There are websites like Zillow and Yahoo Real Estate that enable you to input your address and get a formula-derived price of your Highland home, but these tools are unreliable because the data feeds that enable this can sometimes be inaccurate. These tools also do not take into account the varying differences in homes, like condition, upgrades and other amenities. So what is the best way to determine the price of your Highland CA home? By ordering our FREE Comparative... 11/12/2011

Market Report: Highland ACTIVE Listings. I have prepared a chart showing how many listings there are in the city of Highland, CA today November 10, 2011. I have broken it down by the type of listing it is; Standard Sale, Real Estate Owned Sale and Short Sale. As you can see,I have categorized it by Homes and Condos as it is definitely a different market area. This chart shows very good news for Highland. There are many standard and short sale listings “but” very few REO listings. Homeowners are being able to turn around and sell their homes. This has not been the case for the past several years as the market has been so upside down but the market does seem to be improving. This is good news for Highland residents for buyers interested in this area.   Here is a list of most of the homes ... 11/10/2011

While driving through East Highland, CA yesterday, I noticed what a lovely community it truly is. It is intertwined with walking and bike trails, neighborhood parks, community schools and all the neighborhoods are lovely.  Besides all the trees, flowers, and plants, there is a lot of wildlife as well. When I drove into this one neighborhood, there were birds everywhere. I took a few pictures to share with you. Notice what a great view of the mountains you have here! One important factor to consider when you are buying a home, that East Highland is in the city but it gives you the impression you are living a rural area with all the trees, the lakes, the walking trails and the wildlife.                     Plus it is in the Redlands School District, freeway access nearby, large medical f... 11/10/2011

HIGHLAND CA REAL ESTATE LISTINGS   Are you looking for Highland CA real estate house and home listings? We provide a free MLS (Multiple Listing Service) portal to anyone who wants to use it. There is no registration or personal information required. Just click on the link below to access or MLS portal:   HIGHLAND CA REAL ESTATE LISTINGS   Once you've clicked on the link, just click on the big blue button that says "Click Here to Search MLS". With the customizable options you can choose what city or cities to search, the size of the property you're looking for, houses, condos, townhouses and townhomes, or vacant land, specific features, and list price ranges, plus many other options. Try it out and bookmark the website so you can reuse the MLS portal over and over again!   And if you fi... 11/09/2011

Meet Jasmine, the Polydactyl Tabby Cat with 21 toes!   Meet Jasmine who is a polydactyl cat and was named for a flower. She has 6 toes on one front foot, 7 on the other front and her back feet have 4 toes each. Most cats have 4 on each foot for a total of 16 toes. Nicknames for polydactyl cats include "boxing cats", "mitten cats", "mitten-foot cats", "snowshoe cats", "thumb cats", "six-fingered cats", "Hemingway cats", and "double-pawed cats." Jasmine is the owner’s pet at my new listing in East Highland; she is so friendly and full of personality. She follows me around when I am there and loves for me to take her picture. One day I could not find her and she had slipped out when the contractor arrived. I was so scared that she was not supposed to be outside. Later I  found out she goes... 11/07/2011

Here I am today at my open house in Highland, CA. My WF lender took my picture.     I am an ActiveRainer morning and night. I write blogs and photoblogs everyday. ActiveRain is fun and have met some really nice people from all over the country and Canada.                               Come and blog with us at ActiveRain.                                                       Inland Empire Homeowners, please call me for a Comprehensive Market Analysis to assist you with marketing your home for sale and getting the best price possible. Buyers, if you are planning to purchase real estate, let me assist you in finding the right home.  Google me at Kristin Hamilton, Keller Williams Realty, Redlands, CA This post was authored and or picture was taken by Kristin Hamilton. ©2011, All Rights Res... 11/06/2011

What is a Short Sale? A short sale is when a homeowner sells their house for less money than they owe on the mortgage or mortgages. Short selling is an alternative to foreclosure for homeowners/borrowers who can no longer afford to keep mortgage payments current. Sometimes, to avoid going through the costs of foreclosure, a lender will authorize a short sale by allowing a homeowner to sell the home for less than the mortgage owed. Simplified Steps of a Short Sale: Homeowner signs a listing agreement with a real estate agent. This short sale listing agreement is subject to third-party/lender approval. The home is marketed to buyers. Seller accepts a buyer's purchase offer subject to the lender's approval. Seller's lender accepts the buyer's purchase offer, which is less than owed on sel... 10/26/2011

Highland, CA Real Estate Market Jan-Sept 2011....Closed Transactions Moving Upward!           Most of you know me but for any who do not, I am a local, experienced, respected Realtor who lives and works in this area. I belong to the  East Valley Association of Realtors, Women's Council of Realtors, and for Keller Williams Realty. I stay active in the community as well as busy marketing homes for sale and helping buyers find their dream homes.         I have just compiled the stats for Closed Sales from January- September 2011 for the city of Highland, CA and have prepared a marketing chart for you to view. The news is very good and shows that Standard Sales and Short Sales numbers are moving upward and Bank Owned Sales are moving in a downward trend.   Standard- This is a conventional c... 10/14/2011