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Real estate broker, civil engineer and general contractor.
Real Estate

Cash Buyers Are Driving Home Prices Downward

 

Cash buyers are sending home values down much lower than they otherwise would be, suggests a new survey by Campbell Inside Mortgage Finance, which polled more than 2,500 real estate agents nationwide.

In its December Housing Pulse Tracking Survey, the company found that investors accounted for one out of three real estate transactions last month, and about 74 percent of those purchases by investors were made using all cash.

“Investors have an over-sized command on the market since their ability to pay cash in the majority of transactions puts undue downward pressure on home prices,” an article at Housing Predictor notes about the study.

Cash buyers can be attractive to home sellers, banks, and mortgage companies, since they do not usually come with contingencies, require extra time to secure financing, and tend to move more quickly to closing. As such, cash buyers tend to make purchases at lower prices than those who may need financing or come with contingencies.

Source: “Cash Buyers Pushing Home Prices Lower,” Housing Predictor (Jan. 24, 2012)

 

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nevada county fair

Nevada County Fairground’s CEO To Serve As President Of Western Fairs Association’s Board Of Directors

Sandy Woods, CEO of the Nevada County Fairgrounds
Sandy Woods, CEO of the Nevada County Fairgrounds

By Wendy Oaks

Sandy Woods, Chief Executive Officer of the Nevada County Fairgrounds, has been elected as President of the Western Fairs Association’s (WFA) Board of Directors. Woods was recently inaugurated at the association’s annual conference in Anaheim.

Woods will serve a one year term as President. During the past two years, she has also served as Vice President and Treasurer. All WFA directors are elected by their peers.

As President of the Board, Woods will represent the more than 800 WFA members and will work on their behalf for legislative advocacy, as well as govern the activities and policies of the association.

“The President of Western Fairs serves as the Chair of the 19 member elected Board of Directors and is ultimately accountable for all of the associations programs, including the legislative advocacy efforts,” noted WFA Executive Director Stephen Chambers. “It’s a challenging job in these tumultuous times. The fairs of the West are strong, however, funding and oversight issues continue to impact their success and our members stand ready to support Ms. Woods leadership.”

The Western Fairs Association is a non-profit trade association serving the Fair industry throughout the Western United States and Canada. WFA serves fair-related businesses, fair management, fair board directors, festivals, and industry associations.

The 2012 Nevada County Fair, “Barnyard Safari,” is August 8 – 12.
Wendy Oaks
Publicist, Nevada County Fairgrounds
(530) 273-6217
wsoaks@gmail.com

Website: www.NevadaCountyFair.com
Facebook: Nevada County Fairgrounds

Nevada County Fair                          August 8 – 12, 2012
Draft Horse Classic                            September 20 – 23, 2012
Halloween at the Fairgrounds      October 27, 2012
Country Christmas Faire                  November 23 – 25, 2012

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Real Estate

Shopping For The Best Mortgage Interest Rates

Loans
Image by jferzoco via Flickr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shopping for the best rates
Interest rates are the lowest in decades, enticing many borrowers to shop for a loan.  Mortgage lenders adjust their rates based on perceptions of risk, so unless the borrower can show they’re a low-risk individual, the borrower is unlikely to qualify for a rate that matches those seen in recent advertisements and headlines.

  • The rates quoted are averages drawn from a variety of financial institutions, and lenders use varied approaches to set them.  Consumers who want to try for the lowest rates available need to consider basic factors, such as credit score, points, property type, down payment, and length of the loan.
  • Credit score: The ideal borrower has a FICO score of 740 or higher, which puts the individual in the best place for pricing.
  • Points: The lowest rates usually are decreased by paying a fee called a point, or 1 percent of the loan amount.  Borrowers may buy points in order to get the best rates at many banks.  Points might make sense depending on the borrower’s financial situation and how long they expect to stay in the home.
  • Property type: Borrowers planning to buy a duplex or a four-unit build likely will have a higher interest rate.  Condominiums also may have a rate premium rate, especially if they are newer or the down payment is less than 25 percent.  Lenders also may charge more if the borrower is not planning to live in the home.
  • Down payment: Borrowers who put down at least 25 percent are more likely to obtain the best interest rates.  Lenders offer different breaks on rates if equity in the property is higher, so borrowers should ask what is available.
  • Length of loan: Borrowers who are likely to move in a few years may want to look into an adjustable-rate loan with a low interest rate fixed for a few years, and adjusted afterword.

 

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nevada county fair

Nevada County Artwork Design Contest 2012

Gold :: Locality: Grass Valley, Nevada City Di...
Nevada County Heart of the Gold Country Image via Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WIN IN $250 IN ARTWORK DESIGN CONTEST
Submit the winning artwork for the 2012 Nevada County Fair and you could win

The Nevada County Fairgrounds is sponsoring a contest to find the best artwork to illustrate the 2012 Nevada County Fair theme – “Barnyard Safari.” If you’re a talented artist, and you’d like $250, this is the contest to enter!

The contest, which is open to Nevada County residents only, takes place now through Friday, February 10.  If you submit the winning artwork, you will win $250 and a 2012 Nevada County Fair package that includes admission tickets, parking and carnival coupons. Additionally, the winning artwork will be used on various Fair promotional pieces, print ads, buttons, t-shirts, banners, posters, and flyers.

Interested artists may use any medium and can submit up to three entries, which must be on 8-1/2 by 11-inch paper. Entries can be delivered to the Fairgrounds Office at 11228 McCourtney Road or mailed to the Fair Office at PO Box 2687, Grass Valley, CA  95945. A complete set of rules can be found on the Fair’s website at the Nevada County Fair Website, or by calling the Fair Office at (530) 273-6217.

The 2012 Nevada County Fair is August 8 – 12.

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Business

Popular Web Sites Shut Down Today in Protest

Image by Sashala via Flickr
Image by Sashala via Flickr

WordPress.org, Craigslist, Wikipedia, Moveon.org, Reddit, and Firefox browser creator Mozilla are among more than a dozen Web sites that are going dark on Wednesday for a 24-hour period to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), which critics say threaten free speech on the Internet.

The antipiracy legislation is a move by Congress to crack down on the sales of pirated U.S. products overseas. But U.S. Web site makers say that the legislation infringes on their freedom of speech and could have potential widespread, negative effects for Internet users.

“The proposed bills pave the way for authorities to shut down Web sites accused of online privacy — something that concerns huge sites like Google, Twitter, and others,” Fox News reports.

Google, Twitter, and Facebook — who also are strongly opposing SOPA — say they will not be participating in Wednesday’s blackout. However, at midnight Eastern time Wednesday, Google blacked out its logo on its home page in protest. Visitors who click on the blacked-out logo will be directed to more information about the protest.

The 24-hour blackout starting Wednesday on more than a dozen web sites is expected to detour millions of Internet users.

“We want to give people a visceral example of what would happen when content is blocked,” Rob Beschizza, managing editor of the blog Boing Boing, told USA Today. The blog will be shutting down Wednesday, giving visitors an error message that explains the protest.

Source: “Web sites Go Dark in Protest of Proposed Legislation,” USA Today (Jan. 17, 2012) and “Sites Go Dark to Protest Anti-Piracy Proposals SOPA, PIPA,” Fox News (Dallas) (Jan. 18, 2012)

Read More

Wikipedia: Stop Online Piracy A

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Bits & Pieces

January’s Funniest Video 2012

1 Comment

httpv://youtu.be/h3bWsanTsps

When I run out of things to write, I search the internet for something that is funny and fun to watch. This video has had about 4,200,000 views.

I’m always looking for contributors to this website.  If you have something to share that’s not controversial, just drop me a line.

 

Thanks

John J. O’Dell
Real Estate Broker
O’Dell Realty
(530) 263-1091
Email jodell@nevadacounty.com

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History

Martin Luther King Biography

President Lyndon Johnson signing Civil Rights Bill as Martin Luther King looks on. Source: Wikimedia Commons
President Lyndon Johnson signing Civil Rights Bill as Martin Luther King looks on. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Martin Luther King, Jr., (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin. His grandfather began the family’s long tenure as pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, serving from 1914 to 1931; his father has served from then until the present, and from 1960 until his death Martin Luther acted as co-pastor. Martin Luther attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen; he received the B. A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, a distinguished Negro institution of Atlanta from which both his father and grandfather had graduated. After three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he was elected president of a predominantly white senior class, he was awarded the B.D. in 1951. With a fellowship won at Crozer, he enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University, completing his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and receiving the degree in 1955. In Boston he met and married Coretta Scott, a young woman of uncommon intellectual and artistic attainments. Two sons and two daughters were born into the family.

Continue reading Martin Luther King Biography →

Real Estate

Good Rental History Can Help Borrowers


First-time home buyers planning to purchase a house later this year may have a better chance of qualifying for a mortgage if they have had a history of paying their rent on time.

  • Last year, credit-reporting agency Experian added a section to millions of credit reports showing on-time rent payments and raised the credit scores of many people.  The company said that this year it would add in negative marks, including mentions of bounced checks or of tenants’ leaving before a lease was up.
  • Incorporating rental payments into credit scores could affect millions of people who have not established credit histories through credit cards, student loan repayments, and other credit sources.
  • Almost half of consumers considered “high-risk” experienced an increase of 100 points or more after their positive rental history was added, according to Experian’s rent bureau.  Those with average or higher scores did not experience major movement.
  • Although it is still too early to show the effects of the new credit report, which began in December, the changes are intended to allow lenders and consumers to have greater transparency, according to Corelogic.
  • People who have lost their homes to foreclosure and are now leasing may be able to rebuild their credit histories by being responsible renters.
  • However, consumer groups and advocates are skeptical, noting that reports are sometimes riddled with mistakes and some landlord-tenant disputes may be difficult to capture in a credit report.  Rent may not have been paid, for example, because the furnace was left unrepaired for months.

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Delta, Fishing

Kill All the Striped Bass in the Delta – Bay Delta Canal Plan (BDCP) Update

Image via Wikipedia
Image via Wikipedia

By Bill Wells

350 angry striped bass fishermen met with Department of Fish  & Game (DFG) officials at the Portuguese Hall in Rio Vista recently.  Marty Gingras a biologist with the DFG spoke of their plans to eradicate the striped bass due to its predation on the salmon.  The reality, as we have explained before is the striped bass and salmon lived in harmony in the Delta from 1879 until recently when the amount of water exported has increased dramatically.  In recent years both species of fish have declined.  Ironically in 2011 when we had plenty of rainfall and runoff all fish and wildlife in the Delta have rebounded.  Striped bass sportfishing is a huge industry in California with licenses alone bringing in over $12 million per year.  Their plan is to eliminate the striped bass, which will theoretically increase salmon populations, which will build a case to export more water from the Delta and cause further declines in fish populations.

Gingras and the DFG are basically stooges of an organization called Coalition for a Sustainable Delta whose goal is anything but sustaining the Delta.  Their contact Michael Boccadoro appears to be the president of a lobbying organization called The Dolphin Group.  Coincidentally the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta and The Dolphin Group share the same address, 915 L Street in Sacramento.  The judge that ruled in favor of wiping out the striped bass is none other than Oliver Wanger who has ruled in favor of water exporters many times.  You have probably seen Wanger’s name recently when he retired from the bench and shortly thereafter went to work as an attorney for Westlands Water District, a major exporter of Delta water (he has since resigned from the position).  If you think I am trying to write a John Grisham novel about California Water thieves you are wrong.  I could not make this stuff up.  Well, if the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta wants to wipe out the striped bass you can only imagine what the Dolphin Group would like to do to dolphins.

I guess the DFG folks were expecting trouble at the meeting, according to my sources there were no fewer than eight armed game wardens at the gathering.  This is a record number of armed guards for water related meetings I have attended.  Generally even when I have been at meetings attended by department heads they have only had two or three California Highway Patrolmen as bodyguards.

While I was researching this matter I ran across this interesting email from Michael Boccadoro to Lester Snow (former head of the Natural Resources Agency, Joe Grindstaff (a member of the Delta Stewardship Council), and John Moffatt (a member of acting Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s staff)  dated June 03, 2010.

“Just wanted to make sure you saw the most recent letter to CDFG on striped bass from NMFS.  Very powerful letter.  Does anyone in the administration think this is a priority and maybe deserves some action? This is going to go public very soon since the lawsuit is being heard next week in (Judge Oliver) Wanger’s court.  Fish and Game does not seem to have their act together.  I would very much like to get a response on this.

It was signed: Michael Boccadoro President, The Dolphin Group 925 L Street, Suite 800

Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 441-4383

Bill Wells
Bil Wells

Bill is a writer and his articles appear in the  www.yachtsmanmagazine.com

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Real Estate

Mortage Aid Open To More California Borrowers

 

Image by Casey Serin via Flickr
Image by Casey Serin via Flickr

The state-run program, “Keep Your Home California,” which helps homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages now has broader eligibility guidelines.  Borrowers who did “cash-out” refinances and own multiple properties now are eligible for the program, according to California Housnig Finance Agency officials.

  • To date, Keep Your Home California has helped approximately 8,000 low- and moderate-income households that are behind on loan payments or close to default.
  • There are four parts to the program: Mortgage help for the unemployed, mortgage aid for homeowners with documented financial hardship, relocation help for those in the midst of a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, and reduction of principal.
  • Homeowners who completed “cash-out” mortgage refinancing now are allowed to take part in the four programs outlined above, and borrowers who own more than one property also can apply for the program.  Previously, these two groups of borrowers were excluded from participation.
  • Mortgage aid to unemployed borrowers also has been extended to nine months, instead of six.  Such homeowners can receive up to $3,000 a month.  To qualify, borrowers must be receiving unemployment benefits.
  • Additionally, the program has reinstated up to $20,000 in past-due mortgage payments instead of the previous $15,000 cap.
  • To review qualification guidelines, visit www.KeepYourHomeCalifornia.org or www.ConservaTuCasaCalifornia.org.

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