San Gabriel Valley

Windstorm Cuts Through San Gabriel Valley

A fierce windstorm cut through the San Gabriel Valley late evening last Wednesday and into the morning on Thursday (November 30 and December 1). The wind blew over trees, electric poles, and debris that caused damage to cars, homes, sidewalks, and caused power outages throughout the area. Our office had power restored early Saturday morning but many of the busier streets still had broken signals. As of Saturday, newspapers were estimating that power would be restored by the end of the Sunday.

The hardest hit areas were the cities of Arcadia, Pasadena, San Marino, South Pasadena, Temple City, Sierra Madre. Here are some pictures I took of the area as well as an interactive incident map (Link).

San Gabriel Valley

Local 4th of July Celebrations in the San Gabriel Valley!

Celebrate America’s Independence Day with your family, friends and neighbors on July 4th, 2011! Several cities in the San Gabriel Valley Area hold July 4th events to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Come out to your local event to participate in fun family activities and marvel at the spectacular fireworks shows.

San Marino

The City of San Marino will hold its Annual Fourth of July Celebration on Monday, July 4 at Lacy Park (1485 Virginia Road). This event will feature game booths and bingo, a community parade, stage entertainment and a fireworks display at approximately 9 pm.

Entrance to the activities in the park require a wristband purchase -
San Marino residents – $5; all others $15.  Children under 2 are free.

If you only want to catch the fireworks, do what other local residents do, and set up along Huntington Drive or on the median for free.

For more information about the event, please call (626) 943-2627.

Pasadena

Pasadena’s famous Rose Bowl hosts the city’s annual Fireworks extravaganza, “Family Fun on the 4th,” the 85th year for this community tradition. There will be food, activities and a Fun Zone for children, admission to the Fun Zone will be free. The show inside the Rose Bowl stadium will begin at 7:00.

Parking Lot opens at 8:00 a.m. admission is $20 per car
The festival starts at 2pm, with stadium gates opening at 6 and live entertainment including bands, motorcycle stunts begins at 7, until the main event.

Fireworks show begins at 9:05pm

General Admission Tickets $13 each, children 7 and younger are free; active military with ID FREE entry.
Preferred Admission tickets are available for $25 each.

Tickets on sale at the Rose Bowl Ticket Booth (Gate B)
Weds. June 29th – Sun. July 3rd
10 am – 5 pm
Mon. July 4th – 10 am – 9 pm

For additional Information please call (626) 577-3101

Alhambra

Almansor Park is host to the city of Alhambra’s annual 4th of July event. Admission is free, and there is plenty of room to have a picnic and several local vendors selling patriotic goods and treats.

Parking will be at a premium. Pay lots will be available at the West San Gabriel Valley YMCA and the Emmaus Lutheran Church, and limited handicap parking will be available in Almansor Park’s lower parking lot.

Most importantly, the fireworks display starts at 9:00 p.m.
Location: 800 S. Almansor St., Alhambra CA

West Covina

This 4th of July celebration is to benefit The Muscular Dystrophy Association. There will be carnival rides, games, and food from 3:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. There will also be live entertainment by Sangria from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Fireworks show to follow.
Location: 1625 W. Durness St., West Covina 91790
Entrance fee $1.00 beginning at 2:00 p.m.
For additional information please contact Community Services Dept. (626) 939-8430.

Pomona Fairplex

This fireworks show starts at 9:20, and is preceded by a wild Monster Truck and motocross stunt show.

Location: 1101 W. Mckinley Ave., Pomona 91768

General Seating $15.00
Trackside Bleachers $17.50
Reserved Box Seats $19.50

Children 2 and younger FREE
Buffet at the Top of the Park $45

For additional information call (909) 623-3111 or visit their website.

San Gabriel Valley

The Increasing Importance of Marketing Your Home Online

In today’s technology driven world, more and more buyers are turning to the internet to look for a home. In a 2006 survey, the National Association of Realtors found that over 75% of buyers start their search online. With so many homes on the market today, it is now essential that these buyers see your home first.

And in the real estate market’s current state, it’s now more important than ever to have a solid internet marketing plan as part of your overall marketing plan. With so many homes for sale, buyers simply don’t have the time to see the hundreds of homes on the market.

What are some ways a technology savvy real estate agent can use to help market your home?

1. Preparing the Home to be Showcased
Even though this isn’t high-tech, preparing your home for showings and pictures is essential for producing showings and eventually offers for your home. In today’s market, buyers are pickier than ever and expecting homes in the like-new condition. If you look at the closed sales, the ones that sell are the ones that are turn-key or in move-in condition. So before you even take a picture, talk with your agent about cleaning, painting, and staging your home to sell.

Below is an example of two very similar homes unstaged (home 1, top left), staged (home 1, top right), staged with a good photograph (home 2, bottom).

2. Photographs, Descriptions, and Virtual Tours
After your home is properly staged or prepared for showing, photographs should be taken, either by a professional photographer or by a realtor with a good, panoramic camera. A panoramic camera will be able to showcase entire rooms and will make the house bigger. So many times, there are beautiful homes on the market with poor photos. And no matter how spectacular your home is, if you have poor quality pictures or a lackluster description, a buyer might eliminate your home without ever stepping onto your property. Also work with your agent to describe the features you love about your house into a description that makes your home stand out. Lastly, virtual tours may also be a good option for showcasing your home but in some instances not having a virtual tour encourages buyers to visit the property instead of just see the virtual tour.

Below is an example of the staircases of the same two homes as above. Left is home 1 and right is home 2.

Below is a picture of the dining room of the two houses. Home 1’s dining room is actually staged better and looks better in real life.

3. Maximizing Exposure for your Home
Now that your home is featured in its absolute best light, it’s essential to get as many people to see it as possible. A technology savvy real estate agent should have a standard way of distributing information about your property online. First, I allow my listings to be sent through the MLS to hundreds of websites, including Coldwell Banker’s, Century 21’s, and Re/Max’s websites. My goal is to showcase my seller’s property to everyone I can, even to agents from other companies because they might just have a buyer for my client’s home. Second, I also have a constantly growing number of sites I submit to, in addition to those above, all to put your property in front of as many buyers as possible.

Although the tools above will help you gain more exposure for your home, internet marketing is not a comprehensive solution but should be used as a part of an overall marketing plan that includes traditional marketing ideas as well. Open houses, broker caravans, signs, and the real estate brokerage network are still vital to selling a home for the most money in this market.