How Preventing Identify Theft and Spring Cleaning are Related Last week I cleaned out my files and took care of some spring cleaning. I stuff everything in folders and then once a year and then sort them on my desk.  But instead of shredding them in my personal shredder or just throwing them away, I bagged them up and took them to the local Staples store who shreds for 79¢ per pound. Instead of sitting in front of a shredder for 1-2 hours and running the risk of burning up my shredder, I just take them to Staples. The photo department has huge locked bins and you can watch as they put the papers in the bins and then a huge truck comes and removes the bins. I typically go M-F from 9-5pm when the photo department employee is there. When I left Staples, I was 10 pounds lighter and felt gre... 04/09/2014

Things to Do if You Live in an Earthquake State *I am sharing information from FEMA and Dept. of Homeland Security. Califorinia has had a lot of shaking going on recently. Many other states have earthquakes and it is always better to be prepared. If you live in a Hurricane, Tornado, or Flash Flood state, you can prepare just like the residents who prepare for earthquakes. It is so important to be ready for natural hazards that can happen at a moment's notice. The recent earthquakes in Orange, Los Angeles and Napa Counties remind us all of the importance of being fully prepared for natural disasters. The Department of Homeland Security and FEMA have put together some helpful tips on what to do before, during and after an earthquake to help protect you and your family. Before an earthquak... 04/08/2014

San Bernardino Short Sale Agents Here To Help You The San BErnardino real estate market has improved over the last year, but that doesn't mean many San Bernardino distressed homeowners couldn't benefit from a short sale. We can help you if you're: Still under water on that San Bernardino home Making payments to an interest only loan Want out of a San Bernardino house you don't want Need to relocate but can't sell the San Bernardino home Have endured a hardship that affected your ability to pay your mortgage (Death, divorce, loss of a job, etc.) Call us now so we can discuss your options: Call (888) 9-List-It. That's (888) 954-7848. Or go to our website for more short sale information: San Bernardino Short Sales 03/31/2014

What I Do All Week.....Real Estate Mostly this Spring When I put my weekly schedule on a pie chart I realized that Real Estate consumes a great portion of my life; 2/3 real estate and 1/3 personal life. I realized I do not have a vacation scheduled. All work and no play makes Kristin unhappy. This was a major realization here that it was lacking in my priorities so next week I am going to plan a couple of short vacations for this spring/summer and one for the winter holidays.     Here is my schedule of Real Estate on a weekly schedule as I decided I need to divide my Real Estate time down further and see what I did all week and was I truly using my time wisely. I try to do things I really like such as blogging and working on my files. You may laugh but I love paperwork and missed it whe... 03/22/2014

Mummified Body Found in Foreclosed Home by Contractor   A home in Pontiac, Michigan went into foreclosure recently and a contractor was hired to clean it out for the new owner. When the contractor went into the garage, there was an old Jeep and much to his surprise, he found a mummified body in the back seat. Investigators found the keys still in the ignition. The home has been now been classified a hazmat scene as they found 'Black Mold" on all the walls in the house. Investigators removed the car and the body out last night for further investigation. Apparently the woman in the car was the previous owner. She was estranged from her family and worked for a bank that sent her on long trips so she never seemed to be around for neighbors to report her missing.  She had all her bills on au... 03/07/2014

Leaping Lizards at my Open House 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 you are looking for a professional and experienced agent, I am just a click away. Google me at Kristin Hamilton-Real Estate Agent. Homeowners and Buyers both will find my services top notch and successful. Call me to sell your home; both traditional and short sales.   California is a dream come true state no matter what your needs or wants are.... 02/23/2014

A Favorite Client of Mine and Why I Love Real Estate #1 About 2 years ago, I had a call from a friend and she told me her next door neighbor was wanting to sell her home and would I call her. She told me they were great friends and she wanted her to have a competent agent to sell her home. I immediately met with the lady and we listed her lovely home within a day. She told me she was a Retired Doctor at a large university and wanted to move back east with her family. She was so excited about moving and just the nicest person ever. Have you ever met a person and you think to yourself that she is just the nicest person you may have ever met? This lady was so sweet and a great gardener too. I sold her home within about 10 days and except for a slight price reduction due to the appraisal, w... 02/05/2014

Be Careful What you Tweet or You May Get a Defamation  Suit Be Careful What you Tweet or You May Get a Defamation Suit For the past few years, social media has become more and more popular and shocking and outlandish statements are said.  People are posting pictures and sometimes these are taken out of context plus it might not even be the same person. It seems like no one holds back on social media but the new trend might be for tweeters to find themselves at the other end of a defamation lawsuit. This week, a defamation case went to trial brought by Musician Courtney Love Cobain's former attorney for a tweet she made back in 2010. Courtney had been fighting over her husband's estate and after losing the case, she had tweeted that one of her attorneys had been bought off. This one twee... 01/25/2014

US Postage is Going Up on January 26, 2014 so Stock Up on Stamps Today Stock up on the ‘Forever Stamps’ because on Monday January 26, 2014 postage is going up. I am sure most of you are aware of the Forever stamps; they are the ones that are good forever no matter what the postage rates increase to. Currently to mail a regular letter (1 oz) is 46 cents but will be going up to 49 cents to help defray mailing costs by the USPS. In the past few years, the USPS has had a hard time making a profit and has instead been losing money mainly due to the internet. Fed Ex and UPS offer overnight service and many customers prefer to use these companies instead of the post office. USPS has tried to get Saturday delivery stopped across the nation but it takes an act of Congress to approve it and they ... 01/17/2014

354 Days Til Christmas 2014- Have you Packed Your Decorations Away Yet Last night I packed away my tree and some of the decorations. I put the rest on my dining room table and plan to get the plastic boxes today from storage and finish packing up. I bought this new Santa at a major department store this season and the chalkboard has the word "Christmas" spelled "Chritmas". It is permantly painted on the board! Since I like the way it stands on my kitchen bar and greets guests, I decided to fix it with some black and white paint for next year's guests. Funny thing, no one noticed it but me and truthfully I didn't notice it at the store. (Sorry I digressed as this is not the topic of my post) Anyway, it is now 354 days until Christmas so hopefully most of you have put your decorations awa... 01/02/2014

3 Major Paint Companies Ordered to Pay 1.2 Billion Dollars to Remove Paint Being Realtors and Inspectors, most of us know the problems with lead-based paint and disclosures to homes prior to 1978. The real danger is that peeling lead-based paint chips if eaten by children can cause brain damage. Also just sanding down the old paint and covering over it is not enough as the particles get into the dirt and infect the soil. In the past 5 years, contractors now must be certified in California to remove lead-based paint if ordered by appraisers on pending loans. On December 16, 2013 a judge ordered three paint companies to pay $1.1 billion to remove lead-based paint in California homes in several jurisdictions, including Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, marking the end to ... 12/20/2013

San Bernardino Real Estate For Sale:  December 2013 Looking for an area of the Inland Empire that offers close commutes and great prices on Homes for sale?  Search no further and be pleasantly surprised about San Bernardino, CA.  Yes, home to Route 66 and lots of other notable moments in history.    Are you searching for a home for sale in San Bernardino, CA?  Perhaps a condo for sale in San Bernardino, CA is more your style?  Whatever you are searching to purchase in San Bernardino, it is always good to know what is currently on the market.  The best way to know is to ask a local real estate professional.  Below is a map that shows the area and notes the location of may of the homes and properties for sale in San Bernardino.  You can click on the map to view get a market insider's look... 12/09/2013

Cranberry Orange Muffins are Delicious for the Holidays Cranberry Orange Muffins are Delicious for the Holidays   Try this recipe on Christmas morning or make and give them as gifts. Enjoy*   Ingredients: ·        2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour ·         2 teaspoons baking powder ·        1/4 teaspoon salt ·        1 stick unsalted butter, softened, plus 1 Tbl. for greasing the pan. ·        1 Orange – Finely grate 1 tablespoon orange zest ·         3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 Tbl. to sprinkling on top of muffins ·        2 large eggs ·        1/2 cup milk ·        2 Cups Fresh or Frozen Cranberries (soak the fresh cranberries for a few hours in water) Directions: §  Preheat oven at 375 degrees F. §  Lightly butter a 12-muffin tin or use muffin liners. §  Stir together flour, ... 12/08/2013

A Pearl Harbor Survivor Remembered....A Day He Never Forgot My Father-in-law, Major Robert Melton, US Air Force was stationed at Pearl Harbor and always remembered that terrible day of December 7, 1941. He was in a wooden barracks doing paperwork when he heard the bombing and as it got closer, he ran outside and dived underneath the building. His best friend who had enlisted with him and gone through basic and other training, jumped on his back as they hit the ground. Bob survived but his best friend didn't. He never forgot that day but he loved to talk about it to others and attended many of the reunions.     Bob Melton died on December 11, 2009 at the age of 92 years old. He was in the hospital after a bad fall and I think he held on until after December 7th of that year.   Bob and al... 12/07/2013

My Winter Business Plan for a Good 2014 My Winter Business Plan for a Good 2014 This is the time I am usually tired and ready for a short vacation but not this year. Business has been good and steady but I am not tired. I must make time for my friends and family this December but I still have to get my listings sold and closed and of course take any new listings that I get plus find homes for all the buyers I have. But I have a plan to stimulate my business for 2014 and 'double' my closed sales that I had in 2013. 1. Reach out to my past clients and prospective buyers. 2. Send holiday cards by snail mail with a Christmas Newsletter enclosed. 3. Remember to give closing gifts for the escrows that have just closed. 4.  Deliver Gifts for the kids of my clients. 5. Update all my websites an... 11/29/2013

Why Do I Volunteer....Because I Get Back Emails Like This Why Do I Volunteer....Because I Get Emails Like This Back For the past several years, I have volunteered with othe Realtors and our families to help hand out turkeys and all the fixings for a great Thanksgiving Day meal. We really have no rules except that you have to be an adult. I live in an area called the "Inland Empire" and both San Bernardino and Riverside Counties are in this area. For the past several years, I have blogged about this event and had many callers asking questions and thanking me afterwards. This year I started getting calls before I had posted the dates and times so I was glad I could give them the information.  We started handing out at 9:00 am shut down about 10:45 am. Many had arrived at 6:00 am to make s... 11/25/2013

Many San Bernardino home sellers, whether they are selling the property as a standard sale, short sale or just curious about price-setting, have many questions and reservations. But the real estate market climate in San Bernardino is not much of a mystery, its just hard sometimes to filter through the abundance of information to get simple answers. San Bernardino homes are selling faster than listings are hitting the market. This creates a seller's market. Home prices have firmed up and are slowly rising. Also, standard sellers, or equity sellers, are still reluctant about selling due to still-low home values and their own mortgage loans that may keep their net profits from being able to clear cost of sale. San Bernardino CA REALTORS San Bernardino short sales are still hitting the mark... 10/30/2013

What Goes Up Must Come Down..... I am packing so I have been moving boxes up and down the stairs. The heavy ones I slide down the carpeted stairs and it works nicely. After a few tries, I realized it was easier to tape and label at the bottom so I would just continue to slide the boxes down until this happened last night. So I spent the next few minutes picking up all the shoes and putting them back into the box and taping it shut. I have now gone back to taping upstairs before sliding the boxes down.  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 ... 10/26/2013

10th Annual Search & Rescue Memorial Golf Tournament on Oct 26, 2013   San Bernardino County San Gorgonio Search and Rescue is having its 10th annual golf tournament to remember two of their members who lost their lives while driving to a search in Joshua Tree. Phil Calvert of Redlands and Scott Johnson of Mentone were both lost their lives in a crash in 2004.   The event is scheduled Saturday Oct. 26, 2013 at Calimesa Country Club. Registration will open at 11 a.m. and tee off begins at 12:30 p.m. An awards banquet is scheduled at 5:30 p.m.   Registration after Monday Sept. 23 is $350 per team of four golfers or $90 per individual participant. Register online atwww.sgsar.org or download the registration form and mail with payment to:Golf Tournament, 1159 Pomona Road, Suite F, Corona, C... 10/01/2013

 Do you Like my Toes Blue Toenails     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 you are looking for a professional and experienced agent, I am just a click away. Google me at Kristin Hamilton-Real Estate Agent. Homeowners and Buyers both will find my services top notch and successful. Call me to sell your home; both traditional and short sales.   California is a dream come true state no matter what your needs or wan... 09/29/2013