All posts by jd

Real estate broker, civil engineer and general contractor.
Center for the Arts

35th Annual San Francisco Stand-Up Comedy Competition in Grass Valley

The Center for the Arts located in Grass Valley, is hosting a portion of the Annual San Francisco International Stand Up Comedy Competition this coming Saturday, September 18, 2010. There will be a matinee only at 2:00 pm and tickets are $20.00

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_Zb6zvgNFA

Host  Karen Rontowski –

Past contestants include Dane Cook, Dana Carvey, Ellen Degeneres and Robin Williams.  1977 comedy champ Dana Carvey went on to Saturday Night Live.  Marsha Warfield won in 1979, than starred as everyone’s farorite Night Court baliff.  Two first runners up, Ellen DeGeneres and Mark Curry landed their own TV series.  1993 Crown Prince Patton Oswalt kept the laughs going on King of Queens.

Only thirty are chosen. You’ll have a chance to see about a dozen of them at this preliminary round of the competition. These contestants aren’t newbies; they’re hot, comedy-club headliners who bring audiences nationwide to tears. Now, they’ll pull out all the stops trying for a future in TV and film.

The performers come from far and wide, hoping to gain the kind of notoriety that can open doors in Hollywood and a share of $25,000 in prize money. Performers will be judged in the areas of delivery, material, stage presence, technique and audience response.

You can purchase tickets at The Center for the Arts

Farther information at 35th Annual San Francisco
Stand-Up Comedy Competition

Real Estate

Beware the Credit Repair Scam

Recession-hammered homeowners’ credit scores are on the decline across the country, say scoring industry experts, and that makes more consumers vulnerable to scams that purport to erase delinquencies, judgments, foreclosures and other problems from files at the three national credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

What sort of scams? A Federal Trade Commission settlement in early September with a Florida “credit repair” company provides a fresh example. The FTC’s complaint against Clean Credit Report Services Inc. of North Miami alleged that the firm promised clients it could boost their credit scores dramatically and quickly — even if the derogatory information in their files was accurate and current.

In national radio advertisements, plus Internet and TV pitches, Clean Credit said it could make records of “late payments, collection accounts, charge-offs, repossessions and bankruptcies” simply disappear from credit files, according to the FTC’s complaint.

Lower scores, in turn, are preventing many homeowners from qualifying for new or refinanced mortgages under toughened underwriting standards imposed by lenders and investors such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The takeaway here for anyone with depressed credit scores who nonetheless is seeking a mortgage: Don’t believe claims of credit-repair operators who say they can perform miracles on your credit files, boosting your scores overnight and keeping them that way permanently. They can’t. If the delinquencies and other derogatory information in your files are accurate and current, the only way to boost your scores is to reverse your previous credit behavior and make responsible use of your credit accounts over time.

Finally, never pay money upfront. Not only are demands for advance fees for credit-repair red flags for scam operations, they’re also blatant violations of federal law.

Read the full story at: Washington Post

Real Estate

Cal HFA Offers New 30 Year Mortage


The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) announced this week the launch of a new fixed-rate, 30-year, FHA-insured mortgage program for low- and moderate-income home buyers.

MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY FOR CONSUMERS

  • CalHFA provides financing and programs for low- and moderate-income Californians.  The program announced this week enables qualified, first-time home buyers in California to receive a 30-year mortgage with a fixed interest of approximately 4 percent.
  • The CalHFA program includes upfront mortgage insurance, which is required for most FHA- insured home loans.  Borrowers are eligible to use the California Home buyer’s Down payment Assistance Program, which can provide up to 3 percent of the purchase price of the home for down payment or closing costs.
  • In addition to being a first-time home buyer – defined under federal law as not having owned and occupied a home for the past three years – borrowers also must meet income limits, which vary by county and family size.  Income limits can be found on the CalHFA Web site at http://www.calhfa.ca.gov/homeownership/limits/income/income-main.pdf.
  • Borrowers also must purchase homes within FHA’s loan limit and CalHFA’s sales price limits.  Mortgage loans are limited to $417,000 under FHA guidelines, while CalHFA’s sales price limits vary by county.
  • Additionally, borrowers must meet the minimum credit score requirements and maximum debt-to-income ratios and complete a HUD-approved home buyer education program.  More information about the CalHFA program can be found at CalHFA Home Page.

Read the full story.

Real Estate

Real Housewives of New Jersey” Star Teresa Giudice Accused of Bankrupty “Falsehoods”

Teresa Giudice
Teresa Giudice

I guess it doesn’t make a difference how much money you make. If you spend beyond your means, you can get in Trouble. So it is with the Real Housewife of New Jersey Teresa Giudice and her husband Giseppe “Joe” Giudice. Among other things, apparently they left out a rental that they owned.

Back in October, Giudice and her husband, Joe, filed for Chapter 7 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, N.J., People reports.

According to the documents, the two owe nearly $11 million to creditors against their annual household income of $79,000, due to unpaid mortgages, hefty credit card bills and renovation obligations.

Giudice told the magazine in a statement. “What is true is that due to the economy, most of my husband’s real estate ventures failed despite his hard work and effort. As a result, we looked to the Bankruptcy Court for a ‘fresh start.'”

U.S. Trustee Roberta A. DeAngelis filed a Complaint Objecting to Discharge Sept. 2, which indicated her opposition to the couple’s bankruptcy petition – suggesting that it be denied because the two failed to disclose pertinent financial information and reported various “falsehoods,” reports RadarOnline.com.

READ: US Bankruptcy Court’s Complaint Against Giudices

According to DeAngelis, Teresa received a “$250,000 initial advance, a $30,000 additional advance, and royalties based on sales of her cookbook Skinny Italian.”

TGFabulicious.com also had over $100,000 deposited into its bank account over the course of six months following their October 2009 filing.

The complaint also pointed the finger at husband Joe, who admitted he presented falsified federal income tax returns to DeAngelis, and that the tax returns were never actually filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

Joe also did not disclose he owned the property at 1601 Maple Avenue in Hillside, New Jersey and that he was collecting rent from the location.

DeAngelis stated “the defendants have concealed, destroyed, mutilated, falsified, or failed to keep or preserve recorded information from which their financial condition or business transactions might be ascertained.”

History of Nevada County, Nevada County Information

History of the Nevada County Narrow Gage Railroad


Nevada County Narrow Gage Museum, Grass Valley, CA

The need for rail service in the semi-mountainous and wooded area of Grass Valley and Nevada City was precipitated by mining operations subsequent to the California Gold Rush. In addition, timber operators wanted to make their land accessible to the Southern Pacific Company in Colfax. On March 20, 1874, the California legislature and Governor Newton Booth approved the right to build and operate a narrow gauge railroad from Colfax, through Grass Valley, to Nevada City. On June 20, an Act of Congress granted the railroad right of way through public lands.

J. H. Bates estimated that construction and equipment would total $411,132. Only one bid came in and it was for $500,000, signed by M. F. Beatty; he received a lump sum of $500,000. Construction began January 1875. Knox were subcontracted for earthwork. John Flint Kidder was the chief engineer. Within two months, 600 men were employed in the railroad’s construction.

Construction included two bridges, two tunnels, and five trestles. After leaving the Colfax depot, the road headed north, parallel with the Central Pacific Railroad, then crossed Bear River, and into Nevada County. One of the first stations was at the town of You Bet which serviced the Goodwin Drift Gravel Mine. The road proceeded into Chicago Park, a fruit and grape growers colony, and then continued into Grass Valley. All cars and locomotives had Westinghouse railway brakes, and cars used for passenger service had Miller Platform couplers. As the first contractor, Beatty, was unable to complete the project, a second, J. K. Bynre, was brought in; construction was completed in the spring of 1876. The inaugural train, from Colfax to Grass Valley, ran on April 11 and by May 20, the first train reached Nevada City.

The company’s first President was John C. Coleman, president of the North Star Mine. Kidder, the builder, decided to settle down in Grass Valley, becoming the General Superintendent, and in 1884, became the second president. Upon his death in 1901, Kidder’s widow, Sarah, took over, becoming the first female railroad president in the world.

In September 1907, a 3.56 mi (5.73 km) “cut-off”, at a cost of $132,285 was built, bettering the grade. The following year, construction was completed on the Bear River Bridge. By 1912, the NCNGRR was running three mixed trains daily, each way, between Nevada City and Colfax, while a fourth mixed train ran daily, each way, between Grass Valley and Colfax. Sarah Kidder sold her interests in 1913 and retired to San Francisco.

In 1926, Earl Taylor and his associates purchased the railroad for $1. With the outbreak of World War II, they sold it in 1942 for $251,000 to Dulian Steel Products Company and the last train to run over the line was on May 29.

Each combination coach had a small iron safe in the baggage compartment. Though $200,000,000 in gold was hauled out of Nevada County by the NCNGRR during its operation, there was never an attempted robbery.

Resources for further information:

Nevada County Narrow Gage Museum

Approximate location map of the museum on Kidder Court, map is a little off of exact location. But this will get you there.


View Larger Map

nevada county fair

Enter Your Exhibits in Nevada County Harvest Fair at the Draft Horse Classic

It’s free and all exhibitors will receive free tickets to a Draft Horse Classic performance

Entries are now being accepted for the Harvest Fair, which takes place during the Draft Horse Classic, September 23 – 26, at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. The deadline for Nevada County residents to turn in entry forms to enter exhibits is 5 pm on Monday, September 20. It’s free to enter, and all exhibitors will receive complimentary tickets to the Thursday evening performance of the Draft Horse Classic.

Entry forms are now being accepted at the Fair Office and on-line at www.NevadaCountyFair.com.

There are more than 100 different categories to choose from, including fruits and vegetables, cobblers, harvest pies, scarecrows, dried flowers, jams, honey, cut flowers, produce characters, and birdhouses. There’s even a garden photo contest. So many fun categories to choose from!

There’s also a special division for youth and teens, which includes categories like apple face dolls, decoupage, Halloween masks, painted pumpkins, poetry, table settings, and wreaths.

Exhibitors must either submit paper entry forms at the Fair office or enter online at www.NevadaCountyFair.com.   There is no entry fee for those who enter an exhibit in the Harvest Fair.

Complete descriptions of all Harvest Fair divisions and categories are available online at www.NevadaCountyFair.com, at the Fair’s Office on McCourtney Road, or by calling the Fairgrounds Office at (530) 273-6217.

The Draft Horse Classic and Harvest Fair runs September 23 – 26 at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. There are six performances featuring the magnificent Draft Horses – Thursday and Friday at 6:30 pm, Saturday at 10 am and 6:30 pm, and Sunday at 10 am and 4 pm.

In addition to the Draft Horse performances, the Harvest Fair is bustling with activities during the four-day event. Live entertainment, Art at the Classic, Treat Street goodies, a Dutch oven cook-off, a clogging jamboree, a lumberjack show, a live shoeing competition, special exhibits, and visits to the barns and breed pavilion make for a family fun day at the Harvest Fair.

For Draft Horse performance tickets or information about entering a Harvest Fair exhibit, call the Fair Office at (530) 273-6217 or visit www.NevadaCountyFair.com.

By: Wendy Oaks
Publicist, Nevada County Fairgrounds
(530) 273-6217
wsoaks@gmail.com

Real Estate

Five Mistakes Home Buyers Make

Affordable home prices and historically low interest rates have created an ideal situation for many qualified first-time home buyers to purchase a house.  Despite this opportunity, some buyers may be overconfident and make mistakes during the home-buying process.

MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY FOR CONSUMERS

  • Some first-time buyers are unaware of the vast amount of paperwork and negotiations that go into purchasing a home.  As a result, buyers may think they can save money by forgoing the use of a REALTOR®.  However, managing the nuances of offers, inspections, financing, and other pivotal steps when buying a home often causes confusion and anxiety for buyers.  Working with a REALTOR®–who is obligated to put the buyer’s best interests first–will help to alleviate buyer concerns during this process.
  • Online mortgage calculators can help buyers estimate the amount of house they can afford, but calculators should not be the sole source for mortgage-approval information.  Buyers are advised to meet with a mortgage broker or banker prior to beginning the home search to help determine the loan amount for which they are most likely to be approved.
  • Although there is a large selection of homes available for sale, home buyers should not assume they can make low offers or unreasonable demands.  Even in hard-hit housing markets, homes in desirable neighborhoods are receiving multiple offers.

To read the full story, please click here.

John J. O’Del
Licensed Real Estate Broker
Call 530-263-1091

Business, Local Writers & Contributors

Profitable Coupon Strategies for Small Businesses

Lisa J. Lehr

by Lisa J. Lehr

Coupons are an especially effective strategy for brick-and-mortar, local-clientele businesses. They can work for online businesses as well, but too many potential buyers will decide not to print the coupon because it requires too much ink, because too many clicks are involved and they bail out along the way, or for any of a number of reasons associated with the short attention span Internet use is so famous for.

But coupons that are already printed and right in front of the customer’s face are tempting. So how do you leverage the power of coupons? Here are a few ideas.

Have a stack of them on your counter or in some high-traffic, prominent location at your business. You can mail them, but that can be costly, and without doing some market research, you’ll be mailing them to everyone rather than just your target market.

Swap coupons with another, complementary business. By complementary, we mean businesses that attract the same type of clientele. Pizza and ice cream go well together, as do pizza and video rentals; massage and fitness go together, as do massage and manicure; fitness and fast food aren’t as good a fit, and pairing pizza with manicure isn’t particularly obvious either. Choose your partner business carefully.

Here’s another strategy: a “50-50” coupon offering. Because of the time constraints of the deal, it works best if you have a website with an opt-in and a list of subscribers so you can send the offer to a large number of people at once. This is done as a broadcast, as explained in an earlier article: “Have you heard about the tool that can bring in 90% of your sales?”

So you send a limited offer to your list, say once a week or once a month. Depending on the size of your list, let’s say 100 coupons are available, and when they’re gone, they’re gone. People hurry to your website and those lucky 100 download the coupon. Yes, they will have to print it—but they will be motivated to do so.

The coupon is worth double its face value. For example, the coupon costs $25, and they can purchase $50 worth of goods or services with it. The catch is that they must pay for it immediately–they don’t simply print it and risk losing it or forgetting about it.

You get your $25 right away. The customer is motivated to make a purchase with you because he or she has essentially put down a $25 deposit. Depending on what your product or service is, the average customer may very well spend above and beyond the $50. If you’re a restaurant, for example, where a group of four will spend $100 on a nice dinner, they’re getting a bargain because they’ve saved $25. You’ve made a profit, and you’ve gained four loyal customers. Everybody wins!

The small business owner who capitalizes on simple strategies like these will be the one who survives in any economy.

Lisa J. Lehr is a writer and copywriter living in Grass Valley. She can help you promote your business with a full range of online and offline marketing pieces. A member of Empire Toastmasters, she’s available to speak to your business or professional group. Visit her website www.justrightcopy.com for more information, opt in for the message series, and receive a free Marketing Guide.