Kristin Hamilton CDPE, SFR, CHS Realtor Redlands/ Loma Linda Homes for Sale, CA

Meet My Friendly Lizard!

A few weeks ago while doing my weekly inspections at one of my REO properties; I came across a "friendly lizard" basking in the sunlight in the family room. I was extremely surprised as this home is spotlessly clean. This home is in Pending status so not much foot traffic anymore but perhaps it had snuck in before while visitors had the back patio slider open or during the Home Inspection.

Anyway, I would like to share my picture. This was a big lizard as the tile on the floor is 12 X 12. I was surprised but not scared as it was not hissing at me. I got the broom and finally swept it out the backdoor. I did not want to hurt it as lizards eat the bugs in the yard and that is fine with me. I do not like bugs; spiders, roaches, flies, grasshoppers etc.

And here it is heading for the slider to be swept outside.

Good-Bye!

Rattlesnakes All Over the World .. Calling Dr. Sean Bush aka “Snake Doctor”.

Snakes are found throughout the world and snake bites are extremely common. Typically the most common and dangerous in the U.S. are the rattlesnakes which can cause severe tissue problems and sometimes death.

Rattlesnake are creeping around so beware. In San Bernardino Count, the rattlers of San Gorgonio Pass emerge from hibernation, authorities are dealing with frequent medical emergencies when the venomous snakes and people fail to keep away from one another.

Winter rains 2010-2011 was a clue that we would have a snake boom this summer. Make sure to check out your garages, porches, under shady cool bushes or trees and keep vents closed from outside or covered with heavy mesh, Animal control officers consider rattlesnake incidents to be priority, public-safety calls. They use snake tongs and long sticks with loops to remove a snake. Don’t touch a rattlesnake, and keep a safe distance if you come across one in your travels.

The California Poison Control Center records about 800 bites each year statewide, with one to two deaths, according to the state Department of Fish and Game.

Locally, San Bernardino & Riverside County, CA, bite victims are treated with medical care with anti-venom serum in the emergency room at Loma Linda University Medical Center, where Dr. Sean Bush, an Envenomation specialist, has worked since 1992. Dr. Bush is also kindly nicknamed “The Snake Doctor”. Dr. Bush is also a regular on “The Animal Planet”.

A snake bite can cause nerve and tissue damage and blood-clotting problems. Bush treats dozens of Inland residents each year from spring to fall, from the time the snakes awaken from their winter hibernation until they return underground for another winter.

The NationalCenters for Disease Control and Prevention warns that in warm weather rattlesnakes are also active at night, when they hunt and eat rodents, other reptiles, and insects.

The Loma Linda emergency room doctor's advice "To avoid snakebites, leave snakes alone," Bush advises on the Loma Linda Hospital website. "Don't handle or try to kill a rattlesnake. That's how many people get bitten."

Fangs can still inject venom even after a snake is believed to be dead, Bush says. Snakes that were presumed to be dead have killed people. If you see a snake in the wild, maintain a distance of at least six feet.

"Look but don't touch," Bush advises. "Snakes are amazing creatures that deserve our respect."

Six species of rattlesnakes slither in and around Inland Southern California. The most common rattlesnake in western San Bernardino and Riverside counties, including San Gorgonio Pass, is the Southern Pacific rattlesnake, animal control officers and others say.

This species is held responsible for most rattlesnake bites in the Los Angeles Basin.

Other area rattlesnakes are the red diamond, western diamondback, and in the deserts, the sidewinder, Southwestern speckled, and the Mojave Desert's Mojave or Mohave green rattlesnake. The Mojave rattlesnake is known as the deadliest in the United States: Its venom can paralyze and kill.

Authorities advise to stay vigilant if you don’t want to be bitten? Rattlesnakes don't always rattle a warning. Don't wear shorts and sandals when hiking or walking in snake territory. Rattlesnakes linger in tall grass, near woodpiles, around rocks, under garden shrubs, against a house foundation. They like to find a cool, shady place in the summer heat. Keep your eyes and ears open when gardening in your yard also.

**Snakes are one of the scariest animals on earth and they truly are dangerous, killing over 100,000 people worldwide each year. This is many more people than die from all other animal attacks combined

***If you do get bitten, don't attempt first-aid or tourniquets. Do keep the bitten area below the heart, remove all rings and watches that might constrict swelling, and get to a hospital emergency room quickly and “Stay Calm”.

Please make sure to stop by this great website “A Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of California” at: http://www.californiaherps.com/identification/snakesid/rattlesnakes.html.

I finally figured out how to border pictures. I read articles and practiced until I threw my hands up in the air and finally said “I can figure this out”. I was going at it all wrong. I thought I had to border the picture and then put it on the ActiveRain blog site. Wrong!!!! Plus when I inserted pictures, I had failed to notice the 3 tabs at the top; General, Appearance and Advanced.

· General

· Appearance

· Advanced

General

Preview

Appearance

7 Easy Steps:

Ø Write a blog on ActiveRain. Type in your text. Now you are ready to add a picture.

Ø Click on the Insert Edit Image (I called it the green tree). The tab automatically defaults to General.

Ø Click on the browse logo on the top right.

Ø The second box appears; Click Browse.

Ø Locate the file and picture in your computer and hit Insert.

Ø Add your Image Description (SEO info) and Image Description (SEO info). I type in "Kristin Hamilton Real Estate"

Ø Now…….Instead of clicking Insert at this point, change your tab at the top to: Appearance. Scan down box until you find Border. I type 8 in the box to give it a nice thick frame. Then click on Style and it will auto-fill. Style box should now have text inside:

<Border: black 8px solid>.

Click Insert and your picture should show up inside your draft area with a nice thick border. Use a smaller number to make the border thinner and use a higher number to make it thicker.

Here is the picture before I added the border.

Here is the same picture below with a border on it.I think you will agree with me that this one below looks better; frames the picture and makes the colors stand out.

I was so excited to figure this out. I hope this helps other members who want to border their pictures. I now know how to insert pictures in the General Tab, Move the picture around the text in the Appearance Tab. Yet to know what the Advanced Tab is all about? I am taking an ActiveRain Webinar this week that I signed up for on ActiveRain University so that will be my next question to AR.

So I guess the topic Advanced will be another article. Practice!!!

The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^® (C.A.R.) is sponsoring AB 771, a bill that prevents home buyers in a common interest development (CID), such as a condominium or townhome, from being charged excess document fees.

C.A.R. sponsors bill that would prevent condominium/townhome buyers from being gouged. My Board of Realtors just emailed this info to us. California Realtors are tired of the HOA’s making buyers paying ridiculous fees and making us jump through hoops to get our escrows closed. As we know, the HOA/CCR documents are in a computer and take a couple of minutes to generate an email to escrow. But we see bills on the HUD-1 Closing Statements for $375 documents fees and $250 for Preparation fees. Then when we ask for the financial statement; another $125 please! I started scanning the documents so if the escrow falls out, I can re-send the email directly to escrow and not generate more fees for new generated HOA/ CCR forms from the buyers.

Existing law requires homeowners' associations (HOAs) to provide specific documents to prospective purchasers of homes in a CID (Common Interest Development) -- a form of real estate ownership in which each homeowner has an exclusive interest in a unit and a shared interest in the common area property. In addition to the standard residential property disclosures that must be provided to purchasers of residential property, purchasers of a unit within a CID must receive basic financial; bank statements, units in default and the percentage amount, information on the structure, monthly and yearly operations, emergency repairs, additional scheduled repairs for the year, as well as any litigations.

Current state law requires that this information come from the HOA and prohibits it from charging fees in excess of what is "reasonable," not to exceed the actual cost of processing and producing these document. HOAs generally provide the documents for approximately $75 to $250. Increasingly, the HOAs are delegating document preparations to third party vendors or contractors who, under a 2007 court decision, are exempt from this fee limitation. This delegation of responsibility by HOAs sometimes results in home purchasers being forced to pay additional fees for other documents which are "bundled" with the required documents.

Assembly Bill 771 (Butler, D-Torrance) addresses this situation by specifying that only fees for the required documents may be charged when such documents are provided, effectively prohibiting any "bundling" of fees for other documents with these fees. The bill also creates a new form detailing which documents are required. The seller of a CID must complete this form and transmit it to the prospective purchaser along with the required documents. This will eliminate any uncertainty for the prospective purchaser as to exactly which documents are being provided.

AB 771 passed off the Assembly Floor Monday by a vote of 69-0. The measure now awaits the Governor's signature into law.** Let’s keep our fingers crossed that our governor signs it.