Support for the Salvation Army’s annual fund raising using the pot and bell ringing has been elevated to many organizations this year. The Rhode Island Association of Realtors, the statewide organization for Real Estate brokers and agents, volunteered its members’ time to man the pots on Friday, December 9th. This saves the group nearly $5,000 per day to be used in other support roles.

Residential Properties offices collected at four different locations this year – Providence, at the Stop and Shop on Branch Avenue and the Eastside Marketplace on Pitman, the Stop and Shop on Mendon Road in Cumberland, and inside the Warwick Mall.

Our team has entered into several charitable endeavors this holiday season, as we have in the past years. We are proud that our agents are actively involved in so many diverse organizations, such as the ‘adopt a family’ drives and this small but important role manning the pots. It seems we always recognize the giving during the end of the year, but the tireless commitments made every day by all of our associates is indicative of their resolve to be part of each community.

Residential Properties Ltd. continued its 30th anniversary celebration in style at the Chace Center Gallery of the RISD Museum of Art on the East Side of Providence. This most recent event, held on June 7, 2011, featured a private viewing of the current exhibit, “Cocktail Culture”, and a performance by Los Angeles based comedian Beth Lapides of her show “100% Happy 88% of the Time.”  Beth is a cousin of our owner, Sally Lapides.

In 1981, Sally and her friend, Liz Chace, had an idea to develop a real estate company that would re-define how business was conducted in Rhode Island. Over the past 30 years, Residential Properties’ commitment to building a top-notch, service oriented business has grown because of our real estate professionals, a full-time relocation department and continual investment in technology.

During the evening, we also premiered the following short video which tells our story – We hope you enjoy it!

How important is the proficiency of a school system in the decision process for a new home? As the school year draws to a close it is a good time to evaluate that question.

GoLocalProv.com, the online newspaper for Rhode Island,  posted their second annual ranking of public high schools around the state.  During their research on the article, we were asked to give our opinion on that decision process from a first hand experience.  Specifically, they wanted to report on how our clients evaluated the schools information.

According to the article the top five high schools in Rhode Island were East Greenwich, Narragansett, Exeter-West Greenwich, South Kingstown, and Barrington.  To see where your school ranked and the rest of the extensive research visit the golocalprov’s site.

As you may know, we hold a seasonal photo contest and the Spring Photo Contest is always the most challenging. The Spring weather in New England can be difficult to predict. It can be 70 degrees and sunny one day and a surprise snow shower can suddenly strike the next. However, this year’s Spring has brought some pleasant days and stunning scenery to our little state.

We get more and more submissions to the Photo Contest each season. In fact, we received a record number of submissions for this Spring’s contest. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, at Residential Properties we have some of the most creative and talented sales associates in the business!

I am excited to announce that CC Wall has submitted this season’s winning photograph. CC captured a stunning view of the Ocean House in Watch Hill, RI. CC’s photo captures a natural vanishing point of the grand Victorian hotel deck leading to the ocean off in the distance.

An honorable mention goes to Liz Bodell, sales associate in our Providence office and super talented photographer. Liz submitted a fantastic shot of Richmond Square in Providence.

With so many quality photos submitted this Spring, it was certainly difficult choosing photos to be added to the home page slide show. We have included 5 photographs this season. Thank you to all the participants!

Winning Photo: CC Wall – The Ocean House in Watch Hill, RI

Runner-up: Liz Bodell – Richmond Square in Providence

Holly Applegate – Historic Homes on Benefit Street – The East Side of Providence

Holly Applegate – Roger Williams National Park – Providence, RI

Phil Retamoza – Old Stone Bank Building – Providence, RI

We recently made some really cool changes to our Facebook page. If you haven’t seen it lately, check it out.

We’ve uploaded some great photo sets including several spectacular shots of Block Island photographed by our own Chris Whirlow. We also have some beautiful photography of our Capital City and the East Side of Providence. The photos of Providence showcase all four seasons and show many popular landmarks including, Historic College Hill.

Our YouTube channel is now streamlined to our page and visitors can watch property tours and other video content directly on our page.

As stated on our site, “There’s nothing better than the feeling of a great neighborhood” so we’ve added community information to our Facebook page. Utilizing the community drop-down menu, users can choose the different counties in Rhode Island to learn more about our wonderful little State. Want to learn more about the East Bay and Bristol County? Give it a try!

Best of all, we’ve added our Home Search! Visitors can now access our property search right from Facebook. Just select the “Home Search” tab and click “Search Properties” to get started. As an added bonus, we’ve included our weekly featured properties.

If you’re a mobile power user and love using Facebook on your device, be sure to check out our mobile site. Just launch your browser and enter ResidentialProperties.com!