What Not to Do if Sellers Really Want to Sell Their Home Typically when the Realtor meet the homeowners for the first time, they have already cleaned up inside and out as it is their intention for the home to look perfect and sell for the very best price. Realtors may have some suggestions to make the home even look more appealing to buyers. But of course there are always homeowners who feel they know what is best and disregard any suggestions by the agent. Here is a list of items I have come across that delayed the selling of the homes I listed. - Clothes Spilling Out of the Closets: The bedroom closets filled with shoes, bags, boxes and a big TV so the sellers had all their clothes hanging on the bathroom towel racks, door handles and portable clothes racks in the bedrooms.  -Urine Sp... 01/15/2014

National Dress Up Your Pet Today January 14, 2014 Today is "National Dress Up Your Pet Today" so if they hide under the bed, they know what's up. This date was founded in 2009 by celebrity pet lifestyle expert and animal behaviorist Colleen Paige. It was created to have fun and enjoy your pet and support the pet fashion lifestyle. Here are a few of my pets dressed up. Two of my dogs hate to dress up but the third loves it and she runs if you try to take the dresses off. She is a true "Ballerina" girl.         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 lo... 01/14/2014

Sunrise in Calimesa...Breathtaking When I go outside at sunrise, I am so in awe at the beautiful sunrises where I live. I rarely have any cloulds or fog. The sky is just bright and beautiful and the birds are waking up and I can hear them chirping and starting to fly around the fruit trees in front of my yard. ____________________________________________________________________ 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 ... 01/05/2014

Top 10 Turnaround Cities in the US Most of the cities above are in California and on the western part of the US except for Detroit, Michigan. These areas were hit really hard with foreclosures so they have recovered quickly which is really good news. I think the US is in the midst of a recovery of the housing market. Thanks for Reading my Blog   Kristin Hamilton BRE #01492138 Keller Williams Realty –WCR Member– 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 you are looking for a... 01/05/2014

Citrus Plaza in Redlands, CA- Shop Local Businesses in Your City No matter where you live, try to shop locally and spend your money in your community instead of going to another city. I live in the Inland Empire of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties so I always try to shop here before going to Orange, LA or San Diego Counties. Redlands has a lovely mall, Citrus Plaza, with many stores and restaurants nearby. Major stores here include Target, Kohl's, JC Penneys and Marshalls as well as 75 more stores for your shopping convenience plus a Wells Fargo bank in the parking lot. Thanks for Reading my Blog   Kristin Hamilton BRE #01492138 Keller Williams Realty –WCR Member– I am a full time agent and deal in all types of real estate transactions. Trusts, Probate, Short Sales, Standard Listin... 12/29/2013

A Rainy Day Brings a Big Surprise to the Top of the Star Down the street from my house is a huge ranch, Fasination Ranch, and the front of it has these tall hills facing the street below. High on the top of one of these hills is a large pole and the owners have this beautiful and enourmous star that flashes blue at night.   Today we were having heavy rains all day. While driving home, I noticed the pole had a visitor on the top of it. Yes, a large red-tailed hawk was perched on top.     The rain didn't seem to phase him so I stopped and rolled the window down and took a few pictures. He was so cute just perched up there so high and just looking side to side while standing on one leg.   Have you ever noticed how the rain seems to give us some great nature shots. Today at the Pumkin patch... 12/07/2013

Pre-Holiday Plans for Personal Time with Friends & Family Pre-Holiday Plans for Personal Time with Friends & Family   My schedule has been hectic but as of today I am taking a few hours every day off for "Me Time". I have Closed 5 deals in September-November, have 3 in Escrow plus 2 Active listings so business has been a big part of my days plus we just downsized and moved 3 weeks ago. I have spent many days packing, repacking and purging at the local thrift shop.   On Thanksgiving day we hung pictures, replaced 3 light fixtures and I worked on the computer for 3 hours in the morning before we went out to eat. So I said to myself last night......Christmas is my favorite holiday and I need some "me" time to go meet with my friends, go shopping, and get ready for Christmas.   So here is m... 11/29/2013

Big Frog in my Yard ....So Cute as he Hopped Away   Last night we had a huge rain storm and on the side of my yard was a big hopping frog. I took his picture and then rescued it as one of my dogs wanted to play with it. I put it in a paper cup and took it out front.   Here is he hopping away.....goodbye Mr. Frog. See you when it rains again. Note sure if he is a frog or a toad or what specie he is but still he is cute even with the warts on his back. Observing nature is so exciting and extremely surprising every day. 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 a... 11/23/2013

Flowers After the Rain   Yesterday it rained all day and most of the night so this morning I went out and took some pictures of the flowers in my yard.   These look like they are polk-a-dots. I really like how the raindrops hang on for hours.   Thanks for Reading my Blog 11/17/2013

Yolanda Cordova-Gilbert is an ActiveRain Member I Would Like to Meet Yolanda Gilbert has been a Realtor in Katy, Texas for over 25 years and has been selling new homes for over 9 years. She sells homes in Cinco Ranch, a community of katy, Texas. I enjoy reading her blog as she writes about wildlife and nature, shows many interesting photos of places she visits, and many localism posts about the community she lives and works in.   Yolanda writes a blog every day and it is always interesting and full of great pictures and information. about her community.   This week she wrote about a Halloween event, a picture of an open air market that was selling colored spices and candles, wrote about her favorite dessert on National Dessert day, and today wrote why her home means so much to her. Here... 10/31/2013

Calimesa California Home Pricing - How to Price My Calimesa Home For Sale Are you considering selling your Calimesa home but you're wondering what a good list price would be? The Calimesa real estate market is a moving target. What a Calimesa home sold for last year is different from what it could sell for now- think of Calimesa home prices like how a company's stock price fluctuates. Calimesa Home Pricing Step 1: Do your homework. There are a ton of resources online for real estate buyers and sellers like Google, Zillow, Trulia, our website at Garrigus Real Estate, etc.. Find home listings currently for sale and compare them to yours. Is the comparable Calimesa home close to yours? Is the square footage of the Calimesa listing close to yours? Is the square footage of the lot similar? A... 10/30/2013

Moving is Stressful....Don't Let Anyone Tell You Otherwise   I moved this week and had plenty of time to research the movers, buy boxes and pack up the house, but was I ready when they pulled up bright and early at 8:00 am. Nope! I still had about 10 boxes to pack in the kitchen and I thought it would take the two guys most of the morning to load but they showed up with 3 guys and like busy bees were loading faster than I could get my last few boxes packed. Of course, I had to show them what was staying and I had to load the wardrobe boxes. By 11:15 am they were ready to go and had left me some items to transport myself like a million pictures (really about 50) and 2 or 3 tall artificial plants and about 8 tall vases that I had neglected to pack. I carried my lamps wrapped in bubble wra... 10/30/2013

Buyer Optimism is Way Up Thanks for Reading my Blog 10/26/2013

The Pumpkin Patch in Calimesa CA 2013 The Pumpkin Patch in Calimesa CA 2013   Make sure you stop by “The Pumpkin Patch” located at 32335 Live Oak Canyon Road, Calimesa, CA 92320.Lots of fun for the entire family and open thru October 31st. Admission $2 per person. Check out their website at www.liveoakcanyon.com. Pumpkins large and small and everywhere you look; growing in the fields and in the shopping area. Get a wheel barrel and go pick your own pumpkin for a great “Kodak Memory” for the whole family! Stop by the petting zoo, buy an autumn gift at the gift shop, run through the giant maize house, take a hay ride, or maybe a pony ride, face painting, live entertainment  and don’t forget to get a snack. Fun for the whole family! Also a great place to get Indian Corn, Gourds of all shap... 10/17/2013

700,000 Mark Today on ActiveRain It has been a whirlwind romance with ActiveRain. I started out blogging about anything and everything. I have learned so much over the past 2.5 years and I just want to say it was the best thing I ever signed up for. It has been such a learning tool in my real estate business plus I have met so many great people along the way. Here's to the next 2.5 years. I just love ActiveRain!   If you haven't signed up for ActiveRain you should. If you are a member but do not actually blog, get busy blogging as you will be so glad you started. Thanks for Reading my Blog 10/08/2013

Horses in the Drive-Thru at McDonalds in Calimesa Calimesa is a lovely city. If you are interested in moving to Calimesa or Yucaipa, call me and I will find you the perfect home.   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, mountai... 10/06/2013

Someone Recently Told Me to Read a Book…OK Activerain I am Reading   I prefer mysteries and find a lot of good shows on TV so for fun I watch medical shows that are soapy but interesting. TV entertains me while I am working on the computer at night. But I must confess that one of my favorite shows is “Haven” which is a sci-fi show involving a few not so normal characters living in a small coastal community in Maine. The main reason I do not read much anymore because about half way through a book, I just figure out the plot. It makes me so mad and I really do not try but it just pops into my head.  So I lose interest in the book and finally finish it and find I was right. So I prefer TV as it is easier to guess half way through the 1 hour series than an entire book. So I bought a book re... 09/23/2013

Keeping a Hawk's Eye over the Neighborhood                                                               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 Inla... 09/20/2013

A Killdeer Walked Across my Driveway   I am moving to a slightly rural area so I am experiencing a lot of birds and animals running amok. Today while driving down the street, I noticed this cute little killdeer be-bopping down the sidewalk.             At first I thought it was a roadrunner but the cute stripped forehead helped me determine the specie.             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 y... 09/12/2013

Do You Want To Know A Secret   Every time I drive out to the rural area of Yucaipa and Calimesa where I am moving, I see these birds together high up on the really tall light posts.               Today they were at my lot looking down at me squawking and then one flew off.                      Seemed like they had a argument. Nature imitates us and sometimes we imitate them too.             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 ... 09/08/2013