All posts by jd

Real estate broker, civil engineer and general contractor.
Construction, Education

Is Your Deck Safe? Deck Safety for Nevada County Residents

deck-failure

Picture From The Home Doctor

 Nevada County is beautiful, scenic and in many areas serene.  Most homes in Nevada County have decks—so folks can enjoy the views, sun and solitude.  Nevada County also enjoys autumn and winter-rains and a few days of snow.  Due to the four seasons, decks and structural members are exposed to elements year-round, and lack of maintenance can make decks unsafe. 

Decks built without permits that are constructed incorrectly, or have inadequate structural members, make these decks unreliable and often dangerous.  Failure in building construction may not be immediate.  Sometimes deterioration can take place many years after construction. 
Continue reading Is Your Deck Safe? Deck Safety for Nevada County Residents →

Entertainment

Michael Vick, Back in the NFL, Why?

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Michael Vick playing with the Falcon's 2006 Photo Courtesy Wikipedia
Michael Vick playing with the Falcon's 2006 Photo Courtesy Wikipedia

This article is not about Nevada County real estate or Nevada County. I just felt I had to write about Michael Vick going back into football and the NFL. Michael Vick, former quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons and once the highest paid player in football, was convicted in August 2007 of conspiracy and running a dog fighting operation.

He did not just bank roll the operation; he was part of it, hanging dogs, electrocuting and drowning them. He served 23 months in prison and house arrest. He was banned indefinitely from the NFL, well, that is until he got off house arrest in June of this year. On June 20th, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell conditionally lifted Vick’s suspension, allowing him to sign with a team.

Continue reading Michael Vick, Back in the NFL, Why? →

Real Estate

Investing in Foreclosed Homes in Nevada County

money-tree

Smart investors are continuing to take advantage of the present foreclosure market. I don’t have an exact figure of how many foreclosures there are in Nevada County, but I just had one of my investors open escrow on two foreclosed homes in Nevada County. With some existing home prices under $200,000 in the county, there are some buying opportunities that are hard to pass up if you have the money to invest and willing to ride out the present downturn in real estate.

Continue reading Investing in Foreclosed Homes in Nevada County →

Real Estate

More on Zillow.com & Home Values

I recently wrote an article about National Community Reinvestment Coalition filing a complaint with the Federal Trade commission about the accuracy of Zillow.com. In their complaint, a NCRC, a group for advancing appraisers, stated that Zillow.com gave false and mis-leading values of homes.

Zillow.com has prepared a video to address this issue and I found it very informative.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaeAgfay01o

If you can’t see this video, you need to download flash from Adobe Flash

Real Estate

What is My House Worth?

Ready to sell your home, than how do you value it? I’ve worked with many sellers over the years and here’s what I hear from some of them. But first, a funny video from Youtube that illustrates our perception of values: .

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RJOGzFuVBE

Some comments I’ve heard from sellers:

1. I built this home and I know how well it’s built and I want to sell my home for —— (It’s too bad we can’t value a home this way)

2. I need to get this much for my house. (It’s too bad buyers will only pay market value for a home and not what a seller needs to get)

3. I don’t care what the market is, I know what my house is worth. (It’s too bad buyers will only pay market value for a home)

4. If I can’t sell it for what I want, I will not sell it. (Than why put it on the market?)

5. The house up the street just sold for —————— and my house is better, so I should get a higher price for my home. (Maybe, you don’t know if the seller of that house gave concessions to the buyer, which reduced the actual price paid or what other variables might be involved.)

The only way to set a value of the sales price of your home is to have a Realtor® do a comparative market analysis (I do them for you for free) or get an appraiser of your home.

So if you are ready to sell or want a free comparative market analysis, send me your e-mail me at

Error: Contact form not found.

Please fill in your home address and any other information that you think would be helpful.

Real Estate

Want to Buy a Foreclosure? Be Ready For Multiple Offers

house-sold

It seems like the real estate market is coming back with some what of a roar. Want to buy a foreclosure? Be ready for a shock. Agents are getting multiple offers on foreclosure homes. The number of foreclosures and distressed properties are drying up.

Cesar Dias, became some what famous for his “foreclosure tour” in Stockton, CA, in which he packed potential buyers on a bus and ferried them around to some of the thousands of distressed properties. The tour is now history. For every listing that comes out, there are ten buyers, said Dias, an agent for Approved Real Estate Group. According to Dias, “We had a lot of inventory last summer. Now we are down to 1,500 listings, down from 5,000.”
Continue reading Want to Buy a Foreclosure? Be Ready For Multiple Offers →

Entertainment, nevada county fair

Woodturning at the Nevada County Fair

Woodturning-photo

Join the Gold Country Woodturners each day at the Nevada County Fair for hands-on demonstrations on woodturning and using a lathe.

Each day, from noon – 8 pm, under the tent outside the Northern Mines Building, skilled woodturners will provide hands-on woodturning demonstrations to adults and children. Using a lathe and a grinder, these experts will be making tops, tool handles, magic wands, and small wooden boxes for the audience. The group will begin at 9 am on Friday, the Day for People with Disabilities.
Continue reading Woodturning at the Nevada County Fair →

Entertainment, nevada county fair

Cap City BMX Stunt Team to Perform at Nevada County Fair

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BMX-Backflip

The Cap City BMX Stunt Team and two of its world-renowned riders, Mike Saavedra and Pete Brandt, will be performing at this year’s Nevada County Fair. Both riders are known world-wide for their high-energy biking skills and their ability to perform amazing feats and tricks on a bicycle.
Continue reading Cap City BMX Stunt Team to Perform at Nevada County Fair →

Real Estate

Zillow.com has Complaint Filed Against Them by NCRC

house-listed-on-Zillow

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) filed a consumer protection complaint to the Federal Trade Commission alleging Zillow.com is misleading consumers, real estate professionals and financial service providers.

Humm, I don’t know too many consumers, real estate professionals and financial service providers that put much stock in home prices by Zillow.com or other on-line valuation services. Zillow.com states you are looking at home values, not home appraisals. How could Zillow.com come up with an accurate price of your home by just using data from recent sales? To begin with, an appraiser, in order to get a true value of your home, has to look at the exterior and interior of your home in order to find homes similar to yours. Then after finding homes that were recently sold and that are similar to yours, adjustments, plus and minus, have to be made on the homes he finds that are similar to your home to account for neighborhood, landscaping, etc. Continue reading Zillow.com has Complaint Filed Against Them by NCRC →

nevada county fair

Ride purchased from Jackson’s Neverland Ranch Amusement Park to be at Nevada County Fair

Ballon Samba Ride from from Jackson's Neverland
Ballon Samba Ride from from Jackson's Neverland

The Nevada County Fair, which opens on Wednesday, will feature a ride purchased from Michael Jackson’s infamous Neverland Ranch amusement park. The ride, Balloon Samba, was previously owned by Michael Jackson, operated at the Neverland Ranch and was purchased in the fall of 2008 by California-based carnival company, Butler Amusements.

The ride is designed to look like a hot-air balloon and features hot air balloon carriages. The Balloon Samba seats 32 children in six air balloons. The ride will be part of the carnival area during Nevada County’s five-day Fair.
Continue reading Ride purchased from Jackson’s Neverland Ranch Amusement Park to be at Nevada County Fair →