http://CBStagecoach.com/blog/archive_202009/sort_entrydatetime-desc/ Even lifelong residents of the Texas Hill Country cannot claim to know the full extent of its beauty—it’s nearly endless. With so many sights unseen to both locals and tourists alike, it’s long past due to start your exploration. In order to kickstart your adventure, we’ve compiled some of our favorite Hill Country destinations for you to check out.1.     Historic Fredericksburg ????This quaint town has a little something for everyone (and is a favorite among wine lovers). The winding country roads are peppered with vineyard after picturesque vineyard, with peach stands filled to the brim with the juicy peaches Fredericksburg is so famous for. After your wine or beer tastings, head into Main Street and pick up all the home décor, clothes, and artisanal honey you can carry. Refuel at one of the nearby restaurants, and if you are hankering for some more wine, Main Street is also home to an assortment of wine tasting rooms. Stay at one the charming inns or any of the idyllic short-term rental properties.2.     Go Country in Kerrville ????This gorgeous Hill Country town is home to rustic resorts, like the Y.O. Ranch or the Cowboys and Angels Cabin Getaways. After you relax and unwind in your room or lay out by the pool, visit some of Kerrville’s fascinating tourist attractions! Among these is Stonehenge II, an exact replica of the English monument. Fans of the jewelry brand, James Avery, will be excited to hear that it first began in Kerrville and will want to hit the James Avery Visitors Center & Store to learn more about the history of the company and do some shopping. The wine drinker in your life will love Kerrville Hills Winery, the first winery in Kerrville, where they can enjoy a tasting. As an added bonus, this winery is close to Y.O. Ranch and has a complimentary shuttle to and from the resort for guests of Y.O. Ranch.3.     Float or Kayak the Comal River in New Braunfels ??‍????‍??With so many riverfront rentals available on the picturesque Comal River, it’s easy to unwind within nature. If you get tired of this natural body of water (sounds impossible, I know), make the short trip to Gruene for great shopping and local cuisine!Try one or try all of these Hill Country escapes and create some new memories. http://CBStagecoach.com/blog/1171/top-texas-hill-country-weekend-getaways/ Thu, 24 Sep 2020 04:37:24 -0600 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, a Realogy brand, today announced the expansion of its successful pilot home improvement program, RealVitalizeSM, to include Coldwell Banker Affiliates. Coldwell Banker D’Ann Harper in San Antonio and Coldwell Banker Distinctive Properties in Grand Junction, Colorado, will lead the affiliate pilot program. Following a successful beta pilot period, which launched RealVitalize to Coldwell Banker’s company-owned offices in 2019, the program also features process enhancements to enable more affiliated agents to sell homes faster and for more money. All Coldwell Banker Affiliates will be invited to enroll in the program in 2021.RealVitalize provides home sellers with home improvement resources prior to or during the home listing period with no up-front costs or interest charges. Realogy partnered with HomeAdvisor®, a leading digital marketplace that evolves the way homeowners find, connect with, and purchase home services, to provide direct, superior home improvement options to consumers.  To participate, a Coldwell Banker affiliated agent connects their home seller with a dedicated HomeAdvisor project consultant. The consultant manages the project from start to finish by finding experienced, pre-screened service professionals from HomeAdvisor’s network to complete the improvements. This allows the agent to focus on marketing and selling the home, and is a huge value add for consumers.During the pilot program,1 the use of RealVitalize saw:·       Homes sell more than 25% faster compared to other homes on the market·       Homes sell a full 4 percentage points closer to list price·       An average brokerage commission rate 15 basis points higher·       Overall agent satisfaction with the program was 95% Since its inception one year ago, thousands of listings have been enrolled in RealVitalize. The program is currently available in 29 major markets nationwide in Coldwell Banker company-owned offices, except for Delaware and Rhode Island. “We are more than halfway toward our goal of making RealVitalize available to our entire network of more than 94,000 affiliated agents within the next year who handle a total U.S. sales volume of $240.1 billion, a true advantage that most brokerages can’t match. Now, even more consumers will have access to this unique program that can help sell their home faster and for more money.”- M. Ryan Gorman, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate “It is my responsibility as a broker to equip our family of agents to be the best trained, and most competitive agents in the market. RealVitalize helps me fulfill that responsibility, and we strongly believe this is a game-changing initiative for our agents. I am confident this program will succeed for my agents and ultimately for our customers and clients.” - Leesa Harper Rispoli, broker owner of Coldwell Banker D’Ann Harper “Right now, we are seeing a fundamental change in the way people think about their homes. Our homes have become the center of our world - allowing us to work, learn, play and live all in one place.  As our needs in and around our homes have grown and evolved, we see people moving to meet these new needs. We are excited to see the expansion of this partnership and RealVitalize to more agents and sellers.” -Brandon Ridenour, CEO of ANGI Homeservices. HomeAdvisor is an operating business of ANGI Homeservices (NASDAQ: ANGI). 1Based on pilot program data from company owned Coldwell Banker office locations in specific markets where the pilot program was offered from Aug. 26, 2019-April 1, 2020.About Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC Powered by its network of over 94,000 affiliated sales professionals in 3,000 offices across 43 countries and territories, the Coldwell Banker® organization is a leading provider of full-service residential and commercial real estate brokerage services. The Coldwell Banker brand prides itself on its history of expertise, honesty and an empowering culture of excellence since its beginnings in 1906. Coldwell Banker Real Estate is committed to providing its network of sales professionals with the tools and insights needed to excel in today’s marketplace and is known for its bold leadership and dedication to driving the industry forward with big data and smart home expertise. Coldwell Banker Real Estate was the first real estate brand to harness the power of big data; the CBx Technology Suite uses predictive analytics and machine learning to analyze markets, target buyers and sellers and provide agents with a simple platform to create unique and effective marketing plans for each listing. The brand was named among the 2020 Women’s Choice Award® Most Recommended brands for customer experience and overall quality. Blue is bold and the integrity and values of Coldwell Banker give the Gen Blue network an unbeatable edge. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated. To join Coldwell Banker Real Estate and unlock the possibilities of Gen Blue®, please visit www.coldwellbanker.com/join. About Realogy Holdings Corp.Realogy Holdings Corp. is the leading and most integrated provider of U.S. residential real estate services, encompassing franchise, brokerage, and title and settlement businesses as well as a mortgage joint venture.  Realogy's diverse brand portfolio includes some of the most recognized names in real estate: Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate, CENTURY 21®, Coldwell Banker®, Coldwell Banker Commercial®, Corcoran®, ERA®, and Sotheby's International Realty®. Using innovative technology, data and marketing products, best-in-class learning and support services, and high-quality lead generation programs, Realogy fuels the productivity of independent sales agents, helping them build stronger businesses and best serve today’s consumers. Realogy's affiliated brokerages operate around the world with approximately 187,500 independent sales agents in the United States and more than 130,800 independent sales agents in 114 other countries and territories. Recognized for nine consecutive years as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, Realogy has also been designated a Great Place to Work and one of Forbes’ Best Employers for Diversity. Realogy is headquartered in Madison, New Jersey.About HomeAdvisorHomeAdvisor® is a digital marketplace evolving the way homeowners connect with service professionals to complete home projects. With HomeAdvisor's on-demand platform, homeowners can find and vet local, prescreened home service professionals; view average home project costs using True Cost Guide; and instantly book appointments online or through HomeAdvisor's award-winning mobile app, which is compatible with all iOS, Android and virtual assistants, including Amazon Echo. HomeAdvisor is based in Denver, Colo., and is an operating business of ANGI Homeservices, Inc. http://CBStagecoach.com/blog/1167/coldwell-banker-d’ann-harper-realtors®-to-lead-realvitalize-pilot-expansion-to-national-affiliate-network/ Tue, 08 Sep 2020 12:50:51 -0600 The longer we stay at home, the more chaotic our desk slowly grows. However, there’s one phrase we know to be true: a decluttered space is a decluttered mind. Luckily for all of you buried under the disorganized piles taking over your space, we took it upon ourselves to gather some tips on how to organize your home office, and in turn, your life. Here are a few of our favorites:1.     Contain YourselfIt’s time to invest in some storage! There should be a place for everything. Get containers to put inside your desk drawers to separate out your paper clips, highlighters, tabs, and other supplies. Every desk needs to be topped with a cup to make pens, pencils, and your favorite pair of scissors within reach. With these, along with an assortment of containers, baskets, and bins, you can easily take the first step in getting your area in order.2.     Label ItNext, it’s time to label all of the storage items you just bought and separated your items into! Not only is it a clear reminder for you to put things back in their proper space, but it’s helpful for others who need to find or put something up in your area. Adding labels to your life leaves no room for confusion.3.     Go VerticalJust like a crowded city, when there’s no longer room to grow out, grow upwards. Take advantage of your unused wall space in your quest to organize. Whether it’s hanging your calendar on the wall, shelves, or extra filing space for some additional storage, utilizing the walls in your office can free up space on your desk.4.     Book ItThis tip serves you as aesthetically as it does organizationally. There’s nothing that elevates a home office more than bookshelves filled with your beautiful books. Whether you already have some bookshelves, or are in the market for some, it’s as pleasing to the eyes as it is to the mind getting your books in order. You can organize your books however you prefer: by genre, author, or year. Another increasingly trendy way to organize your books is by color. Color coordinating your bookshelves adds a beautiful design element to your office along with its organizational function.5.     Purge Your SpaceTime to kiss all of the unnecessary junk and clutter goodbye. Put aside a little time in your day to sort through different areas of your office and toss what you haven’t used in a while. This doesn’t necessarily just include the old sticky notes and granola bar wrappers stashed in your drawers. Supplies, equipment, knick-knacks, even furniture, are all fair game. Everything taking up space that’s not being used only serves to further clutter up your office. Decorations and plants (real or artificial) covered in dust can have the opposite effect of their intended beauty. Try all of these tips, or just a few! By putting these organizational ideas into practice, you can decrease your stress and increase your efficiency. Make your home office a sanctuary once again. http://CBStagecoach.com/blog/1166/organization-for-your-workstation/ Tue, 08 Sep 2020 11:35:09 -0600