Real Estate

10 Reasons to Buy a Home Now

Enough with the doom and gloom about home ownership. Brett Arends explains why owning a home is a good thing.

With newspaper headlines declaring that foreclosures are on the rise, short sales are difficult to navigate, and the rate of home ownership is on the decline, some home buyers may no longer see the value of purchasing a home.  However, there are several reasons why home ownership makes economic, financial, and personal sense.

MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY FOR CONSUMERS

  • Home prices have declined approximately 30 percent from their peak, according to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Index, which is good news for home buyers hoping to purchase a house at an affordable price.  As a result, statewide affordability reached 64 percent in the second quarter of this year, meaning 64 percent of California households could afford to purchase an entry-level
    home in the state.
  • Although home buyers should not view a home strictly as an investment, generally speaking, homeownership does offer risk capital.  The median home price in California has risen year-over-year for nine consecutive months, which implies home equity will increase over the next few years.
  • Owning a home also can be beneficial because it acts as “forced savings.”  While the monthly mortgage payment may be slightly higher than renting an apartment, most renters do not put the difference into a savings account.  The portion of a monthly mortgage payment that’s allocated toward the principal of a mortgage shouldn’t be viewed as a cost, but rather as a forced monthly saving, because in the long run it’s building equity in the home.

Read the full story in the Wall Street Journal

animals, Business

Have a Pet Business? Add an Online Channel to Multiply Your Sales

by Lisa J. Lehr

If you own a small business in the Grass Valley-Nevada City area, you may already feel that your livelihood is precarious. Small business are getting shoved out by large chains, and in “this economy,” customers set aside some of their loyalty to locally-owned businesses in favor of stretching their own purchasing power.

If you own a pet-related business in this area, you may be worried about what’s happening in the local economy. But don’t give up hope! By adding an online channel to your business, you’ll be able to reach outside the local area to bring in customers (and their money) from all over the country.

America is a nation of animal lovers. We provide homes for pets in greater numbers than any other country on earth; most households in America have at least one pet, and those pets are cherished family members. And most people in the pet products and services business do what they do for the love of animals—not for the love of money.

Yet the money is there for the taking. Pets are the new status symbols; a well cared-for pet is a sign of achievement. Check out these figures from the AAHA’s 2004 (US and Canadian) Pet Owner Survey:

* 94% think their pet has human like personality traits.
* 93% would risk their own life for their pet.
* 87% include pets in their holiday celebrations.
* 84% consider themselves Mom or Dad to the pet.
* 82% think of their pets at least once a day when they’re away.
* 80% said “companionship” is the major reason for having a pet.
* 78% greet their pet at the door before they greet their spouse.
* 67% of pet-containing households recognize pet birthdays.
* 62% sign letters or cards as being from their pets as well as themselves.
* 57% would rather have a pet than a person with them if stranded on a deserted island.
* 55% have an emergency preparedness plan that includes their pet.
* 43% of pets (not including fish and snakes) share beds with their people.
* 36% say their pet enjoys watching TV.
* 33% talk to their pets on the phone or through the answering machine.
* 25% say they brush their pet’s teeth.
* 24% of dog owners sometimes dress their pets.
* 18% have attended a birthday party for someone else’s pet.

Now, as you look at this list of statistics, you may notice a theme: pet owners increasingly treat their pets like people. As the number of children per household declines, the number of pets is increasing. Baby boomers, a powerful segment of today’s market, are quickly becoming empty-nesters and replacing their grown two-legged children with four-legged ones. Indeed, many people now call themselves pet parents or guardians rather than “owners.” Thus we have a hugely profitable strategy for entrepreneurs in the pet business: position pets as members of the family. With this in mind, you can create human-like products for pets:

  • ·         Gourmet and specialty pet foods.
  • ·         Doggy and kitty treat cookbooks.
  • ·         Pet clothing.
  • ·         Human-type pet furniture.
  • ·         Coordinating “Mommy and pet” jewelry.
  • ·         Designer pet carriers, buggies, and strollers.
  • ·         High-end grooming products, such as aromatherapy baths.
  • ·         Pet birthday party supplies.

All of these can shipped to online buyers, and you can probably locate drop-shippers to streamline the process.

So if you’re a pet-business owner in Nevada County who’s struggling with the economy and the encroachment of big-box stores, you may be able to give your business a boost by offering your products to a national customer base. Get a website. Set it up to sell. Create a system to capture your site visitors, keep in touch with them, and keep them coming back.

If you don’t know how to do this, get help from someone who does.

Lisa J. Lehr is a writer and copywriter as well as animal lover 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 a message series, and receive a free Marketing Guide.

—
Lisa J. Lehr
I write words that make you money–just ask me how.
www.justrightcopy.com
Visit my website and sign up for my fr~ee marketing tips.
New! No~cost Marketing Guide now available at my website.

Community Events

Fund Raiser for Nevada County Habitat for Humanity Heritage Oaks Project in Grass Valley

Enjoy an evening of celebration and of building community – All to benefit the first four homes of Habitat’s Heritage Oaks Project in Grass Valley. 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PPBDVBIzbk
Learn more about Nevada County Habitat for Humanity

This year the funds raised will go directly towards building the first four homes of the Heritage Oaks 16-home “Green” project on Joyce Drive. They are working hard to increase the number of homes they are able to build in order to serve more hard-working families and uplift the community at the same time.

In 2009, the Street of Dreams event had 180 guests and raised enough money to purchase construction materials for a third of a home.  In 2010, their goal is to double event attendance to raise enough money to purchase the construction materials to build half of an entire home.

Delightful Food – Live Band – Great Auction Items – Wine & Beer          A Special Habitat Signature Drink and More!

This event is Friday, October 22, 2010 at 6:00 pm at the Miners Foundry in Nevada City

Tickets $30 Event sells out fast so register today!

For information call or e-mail  – (530) 274-1951 or lorraine@nchabitat.org

Location Map of Event


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nevada county fair

Nevada County Fair Offering Barn Tours at this Year’s Draft Horse Classic

Get behind-the-scenes and meet the stars of the Classic – the beautiful Draft Horses

Barn Tours will be offered to visitors to this year’s Draft Horse Classic and Harvest Fair – giving them an up close and personal visit with the magnificent Gentle Giant Draft Horses.  The behind-the-scenes Barn Tours, led by Draft Horse Classic commentator and teamster Eleanor Roberts, are another way for visitors to be able to meet and talk with Draft Horse exhibitors, as well as meet the stars of the Classic.

Barn tours will be held on Friday, September 24, at 4 pm and Saturday, September 25, at 2 pm. Advance reservations are recommended, as there are a limited number of openings for each tour. The cost for the tour is $10 per person, and advance reservations can be made by calling the Fair Office at 530-273-6217. If there is still availability, tickets may also be purchased the day of the event at the Arena box office.

Each tour will last approximately 45 minutes and will include meeting the exhibitors and learning about how they got involved with Draft Horses; discussing and seeing the different Draft Horse breeds; a show-and-tell of Draft Horse equipment, and a discussion about the training of Draft Horses and what it takes to put a team together.  You’ll also get to roam to the various barns on the Fairgrounds to meet the beautiful Draft Horses!

The 24th annual Draft Horse Classic and Harvest Fair starts Thursday, September 23 and runs Sunday, September 26 at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley.  The Draft Horse Classic features six stunning performances in the arena. Additionally, live entertainment at the Pine Tree Stage, a world class art show, Treat Street goodies, vendors with western wear and items, a clogging jamboree, a live horse shoeing competition, and an historic photography exhibit are all part of the Harvest Fair, which takes place at the Fairgrounds during all four days of the Classic.

For tickets to the Draft Horse performances or tickets to the Barn Tours, call the office at 273-6217 or visit www.NevadaCountyFair.com for information about the various activities.

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.


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