At the Nevada County Fair you can sponsor and drive a car in the Fair’s demolition derby and have chance to win $1,000 for your favorite charity.
For the second year, the Nevada County Fair is providing organizations and businesses the opportunity to sponsor and drive a car in the Fair’s popular Demolition Derby, while at the same time raising money for a favorite charity or service organization.
Organizations and businesses can purchase a car for $500 and the Fair will provide a Derby car to use in the Demolition Derby. The organization can choose to provide its own driver or the Fair will provide a driver for the car. Additionally, the car can be picked up on August 7 to customize the car or it can be left at the Fair, where it will have a number painted on it.
The sponsored Derby cars will participate in their own event at the Demolition Derby, held on Sunday, August 16, at 7 pm in the Arena. The last of the sponsored cars moving will receive $1,000 towards the charity or service organization of their choice.
There are only a limited number of cars available, so call the Fair Office at
(530) 273-6217 to reserve your car, and obtain a list of rules and all the necessary forms.
With so many foreclosures and all the negative news that you hear, it’s refreshing to hear that home inventories are decreasing. But this is making it difficult for home buyers in parts of the country where there are lots of foreclosures to buy. Investors are bidding up prices thousands above the original asking price.
Federal legislation slowing the number of foreclosures is adding to the problem by reducing the number of homes on the market. For instance, in Las Vegas, one of the areas where the bidding problem is greatest, home inventories are down 10 percent since March, according to the Las Vegas Association of REALTORS®.
When a bidding war erupts, the problem is particularly difficult for traditional buyers because investors are usually cash purchasers. They can bid up a property without concern whether the appraisal will prevent them from getting a loan.
Experts say the problem is not unlike the situation at the height of the housing bubble. “This market is about as abnormal as the hypermarket that we came out of a few years ago,” says Jay Butler, director of the Realty Studies program at Arizona State University.
Do you feel that your property tax bill is too high? Was it raised recently in a declining real estate market? You do have the right of appeal. Listed below are some of the information that you would need to appeal your property tax:
According to the Wall Street Journal, M.P. McQueen (07/16/09)
“The going rate for a property tax consultant, who makes the pitch to the appeals board on behalf of the home owner, is often 25 percent to 50 percent of the amount saved in the first year.
Winning an appeal requires persuading an assessor or appeals board that the current assessment is inaccurate or outdated. Often the window for appeal is very small, so it pays to have key information gathered and ready.
The National Taxpayers Union offers these tips for filing an appeal:
• Check the assessors’ information on file for accuracy, including lot number, zoning category, sales records, land value and dimensions, and significant features.
• Make sure that defects like a leaky basement that could lower the value of the property are on record.
• Provide three to five comparables that prove the point that the property is over-assessed.
• Get a full appraisal if the information on file appears to be hopelessly incorrect.”
Let me know if I can help you in appealing your property tax bill, why pay more than you have too?
If You Want to Enter an Exhibit, You Can Still Enter On-Line
The deadline to enter an exhibit (or two) in this year’s Nevada County Fair has been extended for another week.
Nevada County residents interested in entering a still exhibit in one of the many exhibit categories can enter on-line, using the Fair’s on-line entry system, until Friday, July 24 at 5 pm. There is no on-line entry fee! Simply log-on to the Fair’s website at Nevada County Fair, and follow the step-by-step process.
Complete descriptions of all categories are also available online in the Fair’s Competition Handbook.
This year’s Nevada County Fair is August 12 – 16. For more information, call the Fair Office at 530-273-6217 or visit Nevada County Fair
To make a long story short, if possible don’t leave your home vacant if you are trying to sell it. However, if you do have to vacate your home, here are some guidelines that will help you.
To begin with, if you leave your home vacant for thirty days, your homeowner’s insurance policy may expire or be cancelled. Check with your insurance agent to protect yourself. You know how Insurance companies are, they are notorious in finding ways not to pay on your insurance policy. Remember, it could be considered fraud if you leave your home vacant for a long period of time and then say you have occupied it if something happened to your home in your absence
• Have your real estate agent (like myself) advise you on how to make your house look occupied and have him check your house on a regular basis.
• Again if at all possible, don’t move out until you’ve sold the home. If you are one of a couple, consider staying behind, or living there occasionally until the home is sold.
• You can rent out the home. Not only will the home be lived in, the rent will help cover your carrying costs. You may still have to change your homeowners’ insurance policy to reflect the property’s new rental status — say to reduce your contents coverage — but it’ll be cheaper than vacant home insurance.. Of course, renting carries its own problems, making sure that you get a good tenant to start with. Then there is a law which states that you have to give the tenant 24 hours notice before you can show the home. This could result in a lost sale. Otherwise, hire a house-sitter or let someone you trust live there until it’s sold.
•If you must move out make the home look lived in. No matter what you do, you still have to keep the home maintained by cleaning the yard and gutters, trimming trees, clearing the gutters, checking for leaks, shoveling the sidewalks and driveway, and winterizing or summer-izing as necessary.
• A good way to protect your home if you must vacate, is to install a home security system that is monitored. Our local Beam Center provides excellent service and I have used their services for years.
• Give the lived-in look some redundancy. Have an acquaintance bring in mail (Security experts say to stop mail and other deliveries when you are away). Ask your neighbors to keep an eye on your home and to report any suspicious activities to the police. Ask a neighbor to park their car in the driveway. Install timers on lights and leave window coverings and some furniture in the home.
I believe that one of the nuggets of Nevada County is the Empire Mine State Park. Located in Grass Valley, nestled among tall pines, oaks and cedars, it has been brought back to its original grandeur of the mining days of old.
This is really one of the state parks that is a must visit. To mention some of the activities there are 12 miles of beautiful trails for hiking, mountain bike riding and horse back riding. I have ridden my mountain bike on many of the trails and the trails range from flat to very, very steep. Visting the park is like going back in time to the 49’s era, seeing how the miners worked and how the rich mine owners lived.
Hardrock Trail - Photo by Jeff Herman
Tours are available inside the Bourn Cottage, as Volunteers in period dress recreate characters from Empire’s colorful past. This two story country home of William Bourn, Jr., styled after the noble estates of nineteenth century England, was built in the late 1890’s. The architecture is distinguished by a remarkable redwood interior, leaded glass windows and massive granite walls. Cottage Living History tours are available every weekend May through mid-October.
A brief history of the mine:
“For more than a century, from 1850 to 1956, the grumblings and rumblings of the stamp mill could be heard for miles around Grass Valley. Twenty-four hours a day, huge banks of machines sent iron rods crashing into chunks of ore blasted from deep inside the Earth. The noise was a constant. Living near the Empire Mine was like living near an interstate highway: You got used to it, or you went nuts.
“People only noticed when it stopped,” says Donna Jones, interpretive ranger at Empire Mine State Historic Park. “And one of the few times it stopped was when Maude Bourn married. They turned it off for three days.”
Maude Bourn was the daughter of William Bowers Bourn Jr., who took over the mine from his father in 1887 and went on to become a big name in California, leaving, among his many legacies, the 43-room Filoli mansion in Woodside and the Greystone Winery (now headquarters for the Culinary Institute of America) in St. Helena.
Empire Mine was one of the first — and eventually the largest and most productive — hard-rock mining operations in California, having its start with the discovery, in 1850, of flecks of gold in an outcropping of quartz where the park’s main parking lot is now. Some 5.8 million ounces were eventually extracted from the vein.
The usual method of entering the mine was aboard a cable-operated “man skip,” which resembled a giant toboggan on tracks. Twenty men at a time would pile on for the rip-roaring, 600-feet-per-minute ride into the bowels of the Earth.
“They always put the new men in front so that, if they lost their breakfast, it wouldn’t affect anyone else,” Jones says dryly.”
Source Sacramento Bee
For more information of the activities, fees and tour dates visit Empire State Park
If you have visited the park, please leave your comments of your impression of the park.
Not too long ago I wrote an article about people trashing their homes during the foreclosure process. Somehow, they feel that its the mortgage company’s fault that the home they bought is now in foreclosure.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms6IzSSfcoI
(Note, if you cannot see the video, download Adobe Flashplayer)
Although this video is a few months old, it’s still shows what happens to many of the homes that have been foreclosed on. The reason I’m reposting about trashed forclosed homes, is because just the other day I know someone that moved out of their condo which will soon be in foreclosure. Abandoning the condo, they decided to take the kitchen stove, built-in micro wave, the dishwasher and some of the light fixtures, none of which is personal propery and is an integral part of the condo. The condo will soon be in foreclosure, since they are not making any more mortgage payments. They decided that the place was not worth the price they paid for the condo. So much about honoring any part of your debt.
Do you love to sing? If so, the Nevada County Fair is looking for talented vocalists to sing in the Nevada County Fair’s “Hare’s A Magical” Idol Competition at this year’s Fair.
Nevada County residents between the ages of 16 and 28 are invited to participate in this crowd favorite on Wednesday, August 12, at 8 pm on the Pine Tree Stage at the Fairgrounds.
The grand prize is $100, as well as a paid entry fee of $250 into the State Fair’s “Talent Star Search” competition in Sacramento.
Singers will be judged by a panel of local celebrities, who will narrow it down to three finalists. Audience members will then vote with quarters for the grand prize winner. The quarters will be weighed on stage and the winner will be announced that night. All quarters collected will be donated to the non-profit of the winner’s choice.
Early entry is encouraged, as there are only a limited number of spaces available. The entry fee is only $5, and entries close on Friday, August 7 at 5 pm. All contestants will receive a free admission pass to the Fair on Wednesday, and 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive Fair packages that include Fair admission, parking and arena tickets.
A complete list of rules and a registration form can be obtained from the Fair’s website at Nevada County Fair, by calling the Fair Office at 273-6217, or sending an e-mail to Debby at debby@nevadacountyfair.com
Bring your friends, your quarters, and be prepared for a great night of music and entertainment at this year’s Nevada County Fair, August 12 – 16.
Robert C. Weaver Federal Building HUD Headquarters
The FBI and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG) urge consumers, especially senior citizens, to be vigilant when seeking reverse mortgage products. Reverse mortgages, also known as Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM), have increased more than 1,300 percent between 1999 and 2008, creating significant opportunities for fraud perpetrators.
Reverse mortgage scams are engineered by unscrupulous professionals in a multitude of real estate, financial services, and related entities to steal the equity from the property of unsuspecting senior citizens aged 62 or older or to use these seniors to unwittingly aid the fraudsters in stealing equity from a flipped property.
In many of the reported scams, victim seniors are offered free homes, investment opportunities, and foreclosure or refinance assistance; they are also used as straw buyers in property flipping scams.
Seniors are frequently targeted for this fraud through local churches, investment seminars, and television, radio, billboard, and mailer advertisements.
A legitimate HECM loan product is insured by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA). It enables eligible homeowners to access the equity in their homes by providing funds without incurring a monthly payment. Eligible borrowers must be 62 years or older who occupy their property as their primary residence and who own their property or have a small mortgage balance. See the FBI/HUD Intelligence Bulletin for specific details on HECMs as well as other foreclosure rescue and investment schemes.
Seniors should consider the following:
* Do not respond to unsolicited advertisements.
* Be suspicious of anyone claiming that you can own a home with no down payment.
* Do not sign anything that you do not fully understand.
* Do not accept payment from individuals for a home you did not purchase.
* Seek out your own reverse mortgage counselor.
If you are a victim of this type of fraud and want to file a complaint, please submit information through our electronic tip line or through your local FBI office. You may also file a complaint with HUD-OIG at HUD Complaints or by calling HUD’s Hotline at 1-800-347-3735.
One of the scam’s that has been going on since at least 2007 is to send an e-mail to you stating they are interested in viewing one of your properties. The e-mails are usually sent to someone who is renting property and Realtors® seem to be a prime target.
The e-mail goes something like this:
“I am interested in viewing one of your properties, could you please call me on my foreign mobile +882 135 502 99 to setup a time. As I am travelling at the moment I am unable to pickup emails regularly so please call.
Kind regards,
Liz Casey
———
Mobile: +882 135 502 99 (of course do not call!)
Email: lizcasey@zapak.com”
~~~~~~~~~~
It’s obvious that if you receive an e-mail like this that it’s a scam. There is no mention of what property they are referring to, or if there is, the next thing they will do to get your money is send you a bogus check as a deposit to hold the property, most often in the form of a certified check. Next, they will e-mail you and say they have overpaid you, or they decided they did not want the property and request a refund.
I Googled this scam and came up with someone who had experience with this and here is what they wrote:
“They will eventually get around to talking you into discontinuing the ad then they will send a counterfeit check. Next comes a request to refund some of the money from the bogus check claiming they overpaid. It’s amazing that folk’s fall for these scams. We played one along and got a $25.00 reward for turning the check over to the bank. If you play along with a scammer and receive a check. don’t handle it, the FBI may want to lift prints from it.”
I’m not sure the FBI is interested at all. The last time I tried to report a scam they were not interested and really did not even want to talk about it..
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