All posts by jd

Real estate broker, civil engineer and general contractor.

Nevada County Fairgrounds Foundation to Host Halloween Event, Barn Raising Celebration

Livestock-Pavilion-

Bring your family and friends and come enjoy the festivities at the Nevada County Fairgrounds on Halloween day. Rain or shine, in costume or in street clothes, you’ll enjoy the many events planned inside the new livestock pavilion at the Fairgrounds. We’ll be serving hamburgers and hot dogs, and there will be live entertainment, treats for the kids, a pie auction, and special projects from the Ag Mechanics from our local high schools. You don’t want to miss the costume and scarecrow contests!

Hosted by the Nevada County Fairgrounds Foundation, this Barn Raising celebration and Halloween event is Saturday, October 31, from 2 – 5 pm at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. This event is in celebration of the completion of the Fairgrounds’ new livestock pavilion, the Whitney Pavilion, as well as a fundraising event for the new building.

The cost is only $5 per person and includes food, treats and entertainment! Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Nevada County Fairgrounds, at all Citizen’s Bank branches, or at the Book Seller in Grass Valley. Tickets can also be purchased on the day of the event at the Fairgrounds.  Call 530-273-6217, or visit www.NevadaCountyFair.com for information.

Source: Wendy Oaks, Publicist Nevada County Fairgrounds

Nicolas Cage Facing Real Estate Liquidation

nicolas-cage

Nicolas Cage, one of my favorite actors, is facing a real estate liquidation sale, having to sell properties he owns all over the world. He has made millions of dollars over a long career, however, he claims his business manager has sent him “down a path toward financial ruin”.

Cage has filed a lawsuit in Los Angles against business manager Samuel Leven. In his lawsuit, Cage states that Leven was so reckless and incompetent with his money that he has been forced to sell off major assets and investments and is face with gigantic tax liabilities.

Cage claimed that his recently-fired business manager had failed to pay taxes when they were due and had placed him in speculative and risky real estate investments “resulting in (the actor) suffering catastrophic losses.”

In the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and first obtained by celebrity web site TMZ.com , Cage said he had now been forced to “sell major assets and investments at a significant loss” because of the actions of his business advisor and accountant over the past seven years

Consequently, Cage has had to unload two properties in Bath, England, a Bavarian castle he owned in Germany, houses in New York, Las Vegas and California, and his 132-foot yacht.

Cage put his Gray Craig castle in Middletown, R.I., on the market a year ago for $15.7 million but has recently reduced the asking price to something in the neighborhood of $12 million.

The lawsuit said the advisor had also failed to alert Cage to the fact that his money was running out, and had over-extended his lines of credit with banks.

Cage, 45, is one of Hollywood’s most prolific actors with more than 50 movies to his name, including an Oscar-winning role as an alcoholic in “Leaving Las Vegas” and action movies such as “Face/Off” and “Gone in Sixty Seconds”.

Cage earned some $40 million last year according to Forbes .com

End of the World in 2012

exploding-earth

I’ve talked to a few people who are really concerned about the world ending in 2012.  Much like those who were sure that the world would crash when the year 1999 rolled over to the year 2000. They were totally convinced that that all the computers on Earth would stop working because the computers were not programmed to use any date beyond 1999.

I remember people hoarding food, selling their homes and moving deep into the mountains, sure that marauding bands of starving people would be out doing whatever it took to keep alive. Well, 1999 flowed quite smoothly into 2000. Now we have the latest and greatest scare which of course is the end of the world in 2012.

Feeding  this fear factor, Sony Pictures, in order to promote an upcoming disaster movie called 2012, has set up a website for an organization called the Institute for Human Continuity which predicts a cataclysmic denouement for Earth three years from now. How sleazy can you get to promote a picture?

It suggests that “after two decades of rigorous research from the world’s top astronomers, mathematicians, geologists, physicists, engineers, futurists, we know that in 2012 a series of cataclysmic forces will wreak havoc on our planet”.

It even details how elections have begun for the leader of the post-2012 world, offers survival kits and asks people to sign up to a lottery to be saved.

All this hype is based on the assumption that Mayan calendar ends on 2012, which in fact does not. Apolinario Chile Pixtun, a Mayan elder, notes there are other inscriptions at Mayan sites for dates far beyond 2012 – including one that roughly translates into the year 4772.

A significant time period for the Mayans does end on the date, and enthusiasts have found a series of astronomical alignments they say coincide in 2012, including one that happens roughly only once every 25,800 years.

Along with the sleaze factor there is a website that states scientists are supposed to be tracking an unknown Planet X which is on the edge of the solar system, and yes, you guessed it, is on a collision course with Earth. The site is so successful that hundreds of people are now convinced something terrible is about to befall the planet.

Dr. David Morrison, a senior scientist at Nasa’s Astrobiology Institute, said he had received more than 1,000 inquiries from worried members of the public.

That included teenagers saying they would rather commit suicide than witness the world end. Dr. Morrison said the website was “ethically wrong”. But Vikki Luya, Sony’s publicity director said: “It is very clear that this site is connected to a fictional movie. This can readily be seen in the logos on the site.” Yep, but some people don’t read the details that Sony tries to hide.

Foreclosure Floodgates Opened?

foreclosed-home

Depending on your perspective on the market, the promised wave of foreclosures may have already hit California—but there’s a huge difference between filing for foreclosure and foreclosing, and that difference may be making all the… difference.

RealtyTrac on Thursday released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for the third quarter, which shows that foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) experienced a 5% increase from the previous quarter and an increase of nearly 23% from Q3, 2008. That means one in every 136 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter. That’s the highest quarterly foreclosure rate since RealtyTrac began issuing its report in 2005, according to the real estate information service.

The news was much worse for California. With 250,054 properties receiving foreclosure filings, California accounted for nearly 27% of the nation’s total, according to RealtyTrac. In fact California, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Illinois and Michigan accounted for 62% of the nation’s total foreclosure activity in the third quarter, the RealtyTrac report states.

Source LBPost.com

The Smothers Brothers Are Coming to Grass Valley

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Kj_ZoQZUps

The Smothers Brothers in Boil That Cabbage Down
If you can’t see this video you need to download Adobe Flash (It’s free)

I’ve always enjoyed the The The Smothers Brothers and now they are coming to Grass Valley this Saturday October 17.  They will perform at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 255 S. Auburn Street, Grass Valley. They will start at 8 pm, General Admission is $45.00. If you want to spend a little more money, for $125 per person you can get reserved table seating in front of stage, pre-event cocktail party with entertainment, complimentary beer, wine and appetizers and reserved parking.

Starting the affair will be The Yo Yo Man who begins his tricks with a trademark dance-like step that signals he’s in a “State of Yo” and ready to proceed. With each successive trick, the spirits rise until the crowd can no longer contain itself and contagiously fills the air with shouts of “Yo!”

For the younger one’s in the crowd, it was five decades ago that Tom and Dick Smothers first took stage together professionally. Comedy was about to change. Many comedy duos, have had success but none as enduring as the Smothers Brothers whose lengthy career has surpassed all other comedy teams in history. Their cutting-edge humor has not only been ahead of its time but has remained timeless as well. With their singular blend of comedic and musical talents, the irrepressible brothers have made a sweeping impact on diverse generations of fans. Such lasting power is a testimonial to their intuitive humor, natural warmth, superlative showmanship and the pure unadulterated joy they bring to audiences of all ages.

For more information including tickets go to Center of the Arts

Mother of All Mortgage Frauds

mortgage fraud

Oct 14 2009

The “mother of all mortgage frauds” came to an end Friday when an Indianapolis man has pleaded guilty for his lead role in a massive mortgage fraud scheme believed to the largest of its kind ever.

Though Federal law enforcement authorities are still investigating, to date the scheme may have ripped off more than 100 people for as much as $80 million.

Robert A. Penn pleaded guilty to criminal counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.   Penn faces a maximum possible prison sentence of thirty-five years and a maximum possible fine of $750,000.00. He faces sentencing at a later date.

Operating through a number of companies he had formed, Penn signed purchase agreements on a number of properties in Indiana at highly inflated prices. Family members in Martinsville, Va. convinced friends and parishioners of their church to participate in a “no risk” investment to buy the properties, mostly located in the Indianapolis area. They were told there was no financial investment involved; they merely had to allow use of their names and good credit and sign some documents. Most of these straw purchasers were unwitting participants in the scheme.

Robert Penn then completed purchase of the homes he had under agreement in the names of his Virginia investors. He paid the sellers of the homes only the actual market value while recording highly inflated values on the purchase and loan documents. They prepared fraudulent loan applications, containing false statements, including: that the straw purchasers owned bank accounts, stock (in Penns companies) and other assets which they did not own; that the straw purchasers had income which they did not actually have; and that the straw purchasers were making the down payments on the properties from their own funds. In reality, other participants in the schemes actually provided the down payments for the properties, and were paid a fee of $1,000.00 – $3,000.00 for doing so.

Appraisers were employed by Penn and his co-conspirators to prepare appraisals which vastly overstated the values of the properties, in order to support the sales price which was ultimately shown on the closing documents. The false loan applications, appraisals, and other fraudulent documents were then submitted to the lenders. The lenders, relying upon the false statements in the loan packages, issued the loans. The loans were handled through mortgage companies which were apparently either owned or controlled by Penn.  They were funded via wire transfers of money from the lenders to a title company, which the scheme participants used to assist them in preparing false closing documents and issuing title company checks. At the time the loans closed, the properties sold for the fraudulently inflated sales price, and the fraudulently obtained loan proceeds were shared by scheme participants. The sellers were paid the amount they had negotiated to receive, and the co-conspirators shared the excess proceeds.

Source Real Estate Economy Watch

The Landscape Design Process, Nevada County, CA

Elizabeth Dunn, Licensed Landscape Architect
Elizabeth Dunn, Licensed Landscape Architect

Hello readers, I am Elizabeth. John has extended an invitation for me to contribute to this blog.  My contributions will revolve around the continuing education of my profession.  I have a degree in Landscape Architecture and some people are still surprised that such a degree is available.  In this first post, however, I will talk about the design process learned in school.  We learned this process over and over for all sorts of projects including, private home landscapes, private business developments, community parks, vacation resorts, public developments, state and national parks, etc.  During those 5 years of undergraduate education, these 5 steps were essential to creating a successful design.

Step 1 – Existing Site Survey: This is the map showing the current conditions of the property.  The map would delineate the property lines, utilities, existing buildings, significant paved areas, etc. During step 1, the owner of the property should also be interviewed to discover what the intentions and desires are for the project site.

Step 2 – Site Analysis Plan: This plan builds upon the existing site survey by noting the physical conditions that affect the property.  These may include, the location of the sun throughout the year, the direction of the winds, the flow of the water over the land, views to enhance, views to screen, etc. The second step includes the creation of a narrative from the interview in step one.  The narrative defines the objectives of the project and guides the design in the remaining steps.

Step 3 – Concept Drawings: In the pen and paper days, this is the step that would have crumbled up pages strew over the floor.   The pages would get thrown over a shoulder throughout the day and night as ideas continued to evolve.  Finally a concept is developed that best meets the majority of objectives.  Of course the designer and the client might not always agree which concept does this.  Then more crumbled up paper would be strew about until eventually, the final concept is defined.

Step 4 – Construction Documents: This package of drawings help narrow the different interpretations of the concepts so all the different eyes on the project are seeing the same thing.  These documents describe with detailed drawings how the ideas will come to life by studying the individual elements in relation to the specific environmental factors of the site.

Step 5 – Construction Administration: This fancy title describes the continued communication between the designer and installer.  This communication is important, because even with the perfect set of construction documents, questions arise during the installation of a project.   The other important part of this step is to create a set of As-Built drawings.  These drawings record who installed the project, the final location of underground lines (i.e. irrigation and electrical lines), type of materials used and where they were purchased and specific plants installed.

So those are the 5 steps learned over 5 years in school.   1 year of tuition for 1 step in the process.  You’d think I would have learned it all for that price!  It is true that those years of education taught more than just those 5 steps and it also taught me to continue to study my profession.  So thanks to John for providing me the motivation to get the books out!

Elizabeth Dunn is a licensed Landscape Architect.  She spends the majority of her work days in the studio of Rebecca Cofffman Landscape Architects in Nevada City, CA.

I’m Building a Barn, Part 3

Side of barn, siding is on, roof sheathing completed
Side of barn, siding is on, roof sheathing completed

October 12, like I said in my last two posts about I’m building a barn, one of my former clients is having me build them a 28′ x 42′ barn with a sheltered overhang that is 14′ x 42′ at the back of the barn. I had built their home several years ago and a workshop last year. This year they decided to get horses, so I designed a barn for them and this is a progress report.

Since a week ago Friday, we have compled the exterior framing and siding including the sheltered area. We have all the roof sheathing on, ready to roof. However it is supposed to rain tonight and for the next couple of days. So as you can so we are placing heavy duty plastic down over the roof and laying 2×4’s on top of the plastic so it won’t blow away.  The roof sheathing inside the barn has an aluminum face on the inside to help keep the barn cool in the summer.

In addition, the corral fencing is being moved so the horses can stay in the sheltered area to stay dry in the coming storm. This is another reason we placed the plastic over the entire roof area.

Nailing off the roof sheathing before laying plastic over the roof for temporary protection for the next few days of rain
Nailing off the roof sheathing before laying plastic over the roof for temporary protection for the next few days of rain

We’ll be ready to roof as soon as the weather breaks.  Interested in having a home, garage, workshop or barn, designed and built?  Call John O’Dell 530-263-1091

Overcoming Fear of Foreclosure Critical for Many People to Keep Their Homes

foreclosures

Foreclosure numbers continue to rise and many homeowners are at an increased risk of losing their home. While foreclosure can be prevented, many homeowners remain confused or afraid to confront their mortgage problems and take action to help save their home. “Fear often prevents many consumers from seeking help,” said Michelle Jones, senior vice president of counseling for Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of Greater Atlanta, Inc. “Overcoming these fears can mean the difference between staying in your home and losing it.”

CCCS counselors address some of the common fears homeowners have about seeking help:

Fear: Homeowners are afraid to let the mortgage company know they are having a problem because they think it will speed up the foreclosure process.

Contacting your lender is an important first step if you want to save your home from foreclosure. It provides you with an opportunity to explain why you have fallen behind on your payments and what steps you are taking to get back on track. Lenders have a financial interest in keeping you in your home and may be willing to alter the terms of your loan or devise a repayment plan.

Fear: Homeowners believe that if their mortgage company has already turned them down for a loan modification, there is no point in contacting a counseling agency.

Many homeowners are turned down for a loan modification because the information they provide to their lender indicates that their expenses exceed their income or that they have not provided accurate documentation and information about their loan. In other cases, the lender may have made a processing error or the investor who owns the loan will not modify loans in accordance with the Making Home Affordable program.

A housing counselor may be able to suggest alternatives that better suit your current financial situation or help you make adjustments that make you a better candidate for a loan modification with your lender.

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