I am a REALTOR® with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Drysdale Properties in Livermore, CA. I work in Livermore but live in Tracy so I am uniquely suited to serve both the Tri-Valley and the Central Valley. If you ever have any real estate needs I can assist you with don't hesitate to call me at 209-914-5034 or email me at brian.hill@bhhsdrysdale.com
I consider myself a good negotiator and enjoy working to get my clients the best deal possible, but if you ask me to write an offer on a home and you want to offer one red paperclip, we probably won't get the home. 😊
If you'd like to read a little bit about this guy's story you can click here.
The summer of 2017 is living up to expectations. Despite, or maybe because of increases in mortgage rates, home buyers are looking at homes in record numbers.
Before statistics ever come out, real estate professionals can tell how strong home sales will be in a given time period by the activity in the market. Some examples include open house traffic, buyers looking at new model homes, and agents showing homes to buyers.
All of these activity based measurements are strong according to real estate agents and new homes agents in the market. The result will most certainly be positive statistics when they are available in 60-90 days.
Dogs really are perfect soldiers. They are brave and smart; they can smell through walls, see in the dark, and eat Army rations without complaint. -Susan Orlean
In 1966, a German Shepherd dog named Nemo and his handler, Airman Second Class Robert Thorneburg, both survived gunshot wounds while fighting in Vietnam.
A bullet hit Nemo in the muzzle, but the brave dog stayed strong and charged 4 gunmen, giving Thorneburg, who was shot in the shoulder, enough time to call for reinforcements.
Thorneburg and Nemo both survived, but Nemo’s right eye had to be removed.
Nemo was sent back to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX, where he had been trained, to recover under the care of the base’s veterinarians.
Nemo lived out the rest of his life in Lackland, in his own special kennel, and served as an inspiration for countless handlers-in-training.
Now to the other end of the spectrum ... Smoky, a four-pound Yorkshire Terrier, proves that war dogs come in all shapes and sizes.
Found in the New Guinea jungle by an American soldier during WWII, Smoky was later sold to another soldier, Corporal William A. Wynne from Cleveland, OH.
Wynne and Smoky stayed together for the next two years of the war, and the little dog survived the heat, limited food rations, typhoons, air raids, combat missions and even a 30ft parachute jump (she had her own special parachute).
Wynne credits his dog with saving his life by guiding him away from incoming fire on a transport ship.
Smoky is also now recognized as the first therapy dog, as she spent many hours both during the war and back home visiting veterans and entertaining them with the varied collections of tricks that Wynne taught her.
After the war, Smoky and Wynne made numerous TV appearances together, performing tricks and telling their amazing story.
Smoky lived in Cleveland with Wynne and his family until her death in 1957 at age 14.
On Veterans Day in 2005, a memorial for Smoky was unveiled in the Rocky Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks in Lakewood, Ohio. The statue features the tiny dog sitting inside a combat helmet, smiling her trademark smile.
So you've decided to sell your home, you've vacuumed and dusted and now you are ready to show it to the world right? Wrong.
If you've watched any of those home selling shows on TV you already know that getting your home ready to sale can become as big of a project as you want to make it. Sometimes, major renovations are tackled before listing a home for sale. I don't plan to talk about major renovations in this blog, but there are a lot of things you can and should do to get your home ready to sale, so that you can get top dollar for your home.
1 - Clean, Clean, Clean - This seems obvious, but I'm not talking about your every week cleaning. Your home needs to sparkle. Clean the blinds, the light fixtures, the ceiling fans, the baseboards. Polish bathroom fixtures, pressure wash the exterior and driveway. You get the idea.
2 - Change the Light Bulbs - Replace lower wattage light bulbs with higher wattage ones. (Never exceed the max wattage recommended for your fixture.) I recommend white light over yellow light as well. Bright white light makes the room look bigger and cleaner.
3 - Replace the toilet seat - If you've lived in your home very long, the toilet seat can probably stand to be replaced. It doesn't need to be an ultra fancy self-closing one, just a new clean toilet seat goes a long way to making the bathrooms pop.
4 - Mirrors - Use mirrors in strategic places to make rooms feel bigger. A strategically placed mirror can really help a small entry way or bathroom look and feel bigger.
5 - Scented Candles - Use scented candles to give the home a fresh clean smell. Make sure to use only one scent throughout the home.
6 - Dress Up A Dining Room Table - Try a new runner or a centerpiece of fresh fruit or flowers. Set the table with nice dishes, fabric napkins, etc
Bonus Tips
Set the right price - Talk with your REALTOR® and make sure you set the right price. All the cleaning and decorating you do won't matter if the price isn't right. The right price sells a home.
Hire a great REALTOR® - A great agent will be able to walk through your home and tell you what needs to be done to get it ready to sale. Plus they can help you set the right price, negotiate on your behalf, market your home, handle all the paperwork and so much more. I actually know a guy if you need a referral. RealtorBrianHill.com
When I saw this piece of trivia, I thought it must be incorrect because how can Alaska be the easternmost state? So I looked up at map to explain it.
As you can see some of Alaska's Aleutian Islands extend into the Eastern Hemisphere making it not only the northernmost and westernmost state, but also the easternmost. Now you know! In case you are wondering, Hawaii is the southernmost state. Which one would you rather live in?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the JOLTS (job openings and labor turnover rates) report. Fed Chair Yellen has described this data as being very useful in evaluating current labor market conditions.
It revealed that job openings rose to a record high level and that the quits rate held steady at an elevated level of 2.1%.
Both readings are viewed as signs of a strong labor market. A high quits rate is viewed as a signal of strength because workers are more likely to leave their jobs willingly when they are confident about their ability to get another one.
This is of course good new for real estate... home owners and purchasers can both feel confident because the labor market is closely tied to the housing market.
Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things. ~ Peter Drucker
John Maxwell is one of the most prolific authors regarding the subject of leadership. He says there are 3 characteristics necessary to be a good leader:
1. Consensus building: Abraham Lincoln was such a phenomenal leader because he understood the importance of consensus building and bringing together the people around him to help make up for his weaknesses.
“The fallacy of leadership is thinking that if you can lead in one area you can lead in all areas, and you know all the answers,” Maxwell says. “This is simply not true.
The new generation of leaders needs to be consensus builders by walking slowly through the crowd and valuing the opinions of others before making any decision.” “The demand for leadership always increases with difficult times." 2. Humility: “All great leaders are humble,” Maxwell says. “Instead of talking about their own accomplishments, leaders are looking to give the team the credit.” 3. Risk taking: Leaders are not afraid to step out and say this is what needs to be done. Another of Maxwell’s favorite leaders was Winston Churchill, who stood alone against Parliament, maintaining Nazism’sthreat to Europe when many people considered it a mere nuisance.
“Churchill had the courage to go against the grain, against the trend, against the current,” Maxwell says. “He had the courage to do what he felt was right even in the midst of severe opposition.”
Fashion and design trends are always changing, which can make it nearly impossible to stay on top of them. When it comes to design trends in your home it gets even harder because changing a design trend isn't as easy as changing a blouse. New furniture, paint, kitchen remodels can all be very costly. If you are like me, you probably don't change your home design very often. I've lived in my home for 18 years and just recently had the interior painted for only the second time. So when I make a change I tend to focus more on what I like instead of what the current trend is. Of course, it is still fun to look at current trends and see if there's anything I like that I can incorporate in my home. And if there's nothing to incorporate, there's usually something I can look at and say "That's a trend? That's so ugly" Here's a list of the top home decor trends of 2017 according to elledecor.com. I'd love to hear what you think about them in the comment section. 1 - Bright Green - Yep, that's right go ahead and paint your room a bright cheery green because "Greenery" was named the 2017 Pantone Color of the Year! (Honestly this is one of my "That's so ugly" but hey to each their own. 2 - Butterflies - Apparently the butterfly isn't designated just to the kid's room any longer. It is making it's way into the overall decor as well. I'd recommend being careful about overdoing it though. 3 - Mixed Patterns - I've been doing this for years, but it looks like now it is finally ok. ☺ Go ahead and have some fun with that bedroom comforter. Stripes, polka dots, etc, mix them all. 4 - Faux Finishes - Faux finishes can not only be budget friendly, but often times more reliable than the real thing. Faux wood ceiling beams for instance won't rot or bend. You might also start seeing more of the engineered quartz, faux leather and more. 5 - Navy is the New Black - This can be in an accent color or kitchen cabinets but anywhere black would have been, expect to see navy taking over. 6 - Artisanal Instead of DIY - We all know how Pinterest has taken over the world (almost) and made DIY projects a huge part of home decor. But according to elledecor.com we can expect to see the trend move away from DIY to more Artisanal pieces. Pieces that take a very specialized skill to create. Think blown glass, elaborate wood working, etc 7 - Raw White - Think chalky white and bone white here. Expect to see this in decor pieces such as vases, etc. It looks simple and clean. So there you go. Some of the top home decor trends of 2017. What do you think? Do you already have a bright green wall with butterflies on it? Or how about Navy kitchen cabinets with some raw white canisters on the counter? What trends can you picture in your home and what would never make it in your home? I'd love to hear.
Expectations for tax reform, deregulation and infrastructure spending are certainly generating economic optimism.
The small business confidence survey is at a 13-year high, terrific for the sector that employs most Americans.
Consumer confidence is at a 16-year high, fueled by healthy job growth, a pickup in wages, unemployment at a 10-year low, and encouraging housing market indicators.
Instead of affecting interest rates, both of these surveys are positive because of interest rates.
"The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; But, he that stands by it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." -- Thomas Paine 1776
With tomorrow being July 4th, I thought you might enjoy hearing John Wayne share some of the many things to love about our great country.
