Home sales continue upward in Nevada County, increasing by 7% for the period April, May and June of this year compared to the same period last year. Nationwide, they have continued upward for the fifth consecutive month, the first time in six years for such a streak, according the National Association of Realtors®
Continue reading Pending Homes Sales Continue Upward
The Nevada County Fair starts this month and if you haven’t been to the fair, you are in for a real treat. It is a park like setting, with many tall pine trees and a small town flavor. Its hard to figure out if you are in a park or a fair, since it is so nice. I like the exhibits and love Treat Street, where all the food vendors are. You can find anything there from knishe to hot dogs on a stick. There are many local exhibits and of course the vendors booths trying to sell you anything from a trinket to whatever you might imagine.
Continue reading Nevada County Fair Starts This Month
Since the days of the Wild West in doing home mortgages, more and more tightening of appraising and mortgage lending is occurring. I think the changes are for the good, since you can blame the banks, wall street and some large mortgage companies who are no longer in business for the meltdown we had in the housing market.
There is so much double talk in some mortgage companies, such as advertising low teaser rates to lure you into doing business with them. Once you start working with these companies, the true cost of the loan becomes apparent. I always advise my clients to work with their local bank or mortgage company, rather then an online mortgage company. My experience with them is that they tell you the rate for your mortgage upfront and that’s what you get.
The locals know the market better, and in Nevada County and other Gold Country Counties that is very important. These counties tend to have a variety of homes, and there are few if any major subdivisions. Getting a comparable home to the one you may buy is sometimes quite difficult. Unlike a large city, where you may have a thousand homes that are similar, here you are lucky to find another home similar to yours.
Anyhow, the new rules that revise the disclosure requirements for mortgage loans under Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) went into effect July 30, 2009. The revisions implement the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act (MDIA), which was enacted in July 2008 as an amendment to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). It is possible that these new requirements may cause delays in getting loans, and if you are purchasing a home, it may delay your closing date.
The MDIA requires creditors to give good faith estimates of mortgage loan costs (“early disclosures”) within three business days after receiving a consumer’s application for a mortgage loan and before any fees are collected from the consumer, other than a reasonable fee for obtaining the consumer’s credit history, according to information from the Federal Reserve. The MDIA also requires early disclosures for loans secured by dwellings other than the consumer’s principal dwelling, such as a second home.
In addition, the rules would implement the MDIA’s requirements that creditors wait seven business days after they provide the early disclosures before closing the loan; and that creditors provide new disclosures with a revised annual percentage rate (APR), and wait an additional three business days before closing the loan, if a change occurs that makes the APR in the early disclosures inaccurate beyond a specified tolerance, according to the Federal Reserve. The rules also would permit a consumer to expedite the closing to address a personal financial emergency, such as a foreclosure.
The world famous Budweiser Clydesdales will be at this year’s Nevada County Fair, August 12 – 16. This magnificent team of horses will be available in the livestock area for viewing each day of the Fair, during regular Fair hours.
The first team of Clydesdales arrived at the Anheuser-Busch brewery on the heels of Prohibition’s repeal by Congress; they were a gift to St. Louis beer maker August A. Busch from his son. In April 1933, the team first thundered away from the brewery carrying cases of beer. Since then, the prancing team and their red, white and gold beer wagon have become one of the world’s most recognized advertising symbols.
The Budweiser Clydesdales are a continuing reminder of the work Draft Horses performed in the earlier days of our country’s growth.
The Nevada County Fairgrounds extends their thanks to NorCal Beverage Company for their support in bringing the Budweiser Clydesdale Hitch to the 2009 Nevada County Fair and for serving as a Premier Fair Partner.
This year’s Nevada County Fair, “A Hare’s Magical A-Fair,” is August 12 – 16. For information about special contests, ongoing entertainment, and demonstrations, visit Nevada County Fair
For amazing Draft Horse performances, the Fairgrounds also hosts the 23rd annual Draft Horse Classic and Harvest Fair, September 24 – 27, at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. For tickets or information, visit us at Nevada County Fair or call (530) 273-6217.
Two new arena events – Mutton Bustin’ and Calf Scramble – are planned for young children and teens in the Arena on Wednesday and Thursday night of the Nevada County Fair, August 12 – 16.
Featured in the Arena during the Professional Bull riding on Wednesday and the Rodeo on Thursday will be Mutton Bustin’, where eight young cowboys and cowgirls between the ages of 5 and 7 years old will get the chance each evening to mount their trusty sheep and head for the thrill of their young lives. Participants must be between the ages of 5 – 7, and must not weigh more than 65 pounds.
Also featured at the Arena on the same two nights will be the Calf Scramble, where ten teams, each consisting of a boy and girl, will compete with one another to catch, halter and coax their calf across the finish line. Participants must be between the ages of 12 – 18, and must weigh at least 100 pounds.
Western attire is required for both events, and there is no entry fee. Great prizes will be awarded for both events. For the Mutton Bustin’, prizes are $50 for first prize, $25 for second prize, and $10 for third prize. For the Calf Scramble, prizes are $100 for first prize, $50 for second prize, and $25 for third prize. There are a limited number of spots available, so call the Fair Office at (530) 273-6217 to reserve a spot in either event, as well as obtain an application and a list of rules.
This year’s Fair is August 12 – 16. Each evening of the Fair features a thrilling arena event. Wednesday is Professional Bull Riding; Thursday is the Rodeo; Friday is Tuff Truck Racing and Monster Trucks; Saturday is Free Style Moto X Riders and Monster Trucks; and Sunday is the Demolition Derby. Purchase your arena event tickets before August 11 and get admission to the Fair for only $5. Visit < href=www.nevadacountyfair.com>Nevada County Fair for more information
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.
This year’s Fair is August 12-16. Visit Nevada County Fair Grounds for more information.
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
By Wendy Oaks
Nevada County Fair Grounds
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.
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.
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.
Want to enter something in the Nevada County Fair? There’s still time! To enter on-line using the Fair’s on-line entry system, the deadline is Friday, July 17 at 5 pm. It’s easy, it’s fun, and it’s free. Just log-on to the Fair’s website at Enter Online and follow the step-by-step process.
Join the thousands of Nevada County residents who enter exhibits each year in the more than 300 available categories. It’s always fun to show-off a special creation, baked good, home-grown item, a collection, an antique, or a photograph. Don’t delay – enter now!
Complete descriptions of all categories are available online in the Fair’s Competition Handbook. The handbook is also available at the Fair office, area libraries, chamber of commerce offices, and various sponsoring merchants.
For more information, visit Nevada County Fair or call (530) 273-6217.