Uncategorized – Page 3 – Parsons Realty

Only Three Days Till Your Property Taxes Are Due

Don’t forget Shasta County Property taxes are due again. The first installment becomes delinquent if not paid at the County Tax Collector’s Office by 5 p.m. on December 10th, or if the payment is not postmarked by that date.

If you are late they add a 10% delinquent penalty to the unpaid balance. You don’t want to have to pay them anymore than you have to.

Contact information for the Tax Collectors Office.

1450 Court St., Suite 227
Redding, CA 96001
Phone: (530) 225-5511
Fax: (530) 245-6488
Hours: 8 AM – 5:00 PM

Happy Thanksgiving

Since it is Thanksgiving eve I thought it would be appropriate to post something about this great holiday.

I came across George Washington’s original proclamation of “Thanksgiving” as a national holiday and thought you would enjoy reading it. As a side note, I can’t help but think if a president were to write this today, it would be considered politically incorrect.

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness”:

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

(signed) G. Washington

Happy Thanksgiving!

From Parsons Realty

Redding Electric Utility Wants To Raise Rates

In a story from today’s Record Searchlight, Redding Electric Utility is proposing a rate increase and will be meeting with the Redding City Council December 16 to consider this proposal.

It looks like our utility bills will be increasing next year. This should help our local economy!

The average Redding household will pay $6.95 more each month for electricity starting in January, should the City Council approve a proposed rate increase.

The council on Tuesday will set a hearing for Dec. 16 to consider what could be the largest Redding Electric Utility rate increase in at least 10 years.

REU had planned to seek annual 5.85 percent increases through 2012 to cover business costs, budget documents show.

But the drought and a slumping economy mean REU will ask for a 7.84 percent increase for 2009 and an identical increase for 2010, said Paul Hauser, utility director.

The council will be given rate increase options ranging from 6.35 percent to 11.57 percent, Hauser said. The 11.57 percent option would raise the average monthly household electric bill by $9.69.

“Hydro is the biggest driver,” Hauser said. “Anybody who has been out to Lake Shasta recognizes that.”

REU gets roughly 22 percent of its electricity from Shasta Dam and other federal hydroelectric projects in average rainfall years. At less than 3 cents per kilowatt hour, hydropower is by far Redding’s least-expensive electricity source.

But no one can predict how much rain will fall each year, Hauser said. That’s one reason why REU keeps a cash reserve, currently at $42 million. The utility would be seeking a much higher rate increase were that reserve not there, he said.

The hydropower supply looked decent when REU last looked at rates in February, after a couple of months of healthy rain and snowfall, Hauser said.

But this past spring was the driest on record in Northern California. REU has had to spend $8 million more than expected buying more expensive electricity to replace the lost hydropower.

The contracting economy has meant an additional $3 million hit for REU in unrealized wholesale and retail revenue it had expected, Hauser said. The utility’s customer base hasn’t grown as quickly as expected, and that means REU has to spread costs for power plants, debt service and other hard fixed expenses over a smaller base, he said.

“The council is extremely sympathetic to the current economy and the pressures people are facing,” Hauser said. “But there’s just no way around this, with the low lake level and the poor economy.”

RealtyTrac Reports Highest Ever Foreclosure Numbers For August

RealtyTrac an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its August 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 303,879 U.S. properties during the month, a 12 percent increase from the previous month and a 27 percent increase from August 2007. The report also shows one in every 416 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the month.

“In August the total number of U.S. properties that received foreclosure filings as well as the national foreclosure rate were both the highest we’ve seen in any month since we began issuing our report in January 2005; however, the annual increase of 27 percent was actually substantially lower than in previous months this year, when it was hovering around 50 to 65 percent,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “The lower annual percentage increase this month is due to a big spike in activity last August — particularly in default activity. Over the past few months we’ve seen annual increases in default activity and auction activity moderating, and that trend continued in August, with default activity up just 10 percent from a year ago and auction activity up 7 percent from a year ago.

“The increases in default and auction activity could be slowing down partly as the result of new legislation passed in several states that is designed to give homeowners in distress more time before foreclosure proceedings are initiated. In addition, some lenders are adopting loan servicing guidelines that encourage more pro-active approaches to helping homeowners avoid foreclosure. The question now is whether these measures will actually reduce foreclosures or simply cause a temporary lull in foreclosure activity.”

Nevada, California, Arizona post top state foreclosure rates

With one in every 91 households receiving a foreclosure filing in August, Nevada continued to document the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate for the 20th consecutive month. Foreclosure filings were reported on 11,706 Nevada properties, a 16 percent increase from the previous month and an 89 percent increase from August 2007.
California continued to document the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate, with one in every 130 households receiving a foreclosure filing in August, and Arizona registered the third highest state foreclosure rate, with one in every 182 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the month.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 were Florida, Michigan, Georgia, Ohio, Colorado, Illinois and Indiana. Michigan, Georgia, Ohio and Colorado all reported annual decreases in foreclosure activity.

California accounts for one-third of U.S. foreclosure activity

Foreclosure filings were reported on 101,724 California properties in August, one-third of the national total and the most of any state. The state’s foreclosure activity increased more than 40 percent from the previous month and more than 75 percent from August 2007.

RealtyTrac’s full report click here.

First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit!

Bill

Great News!! President Bush just signed into law the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

Homebuyers will soon have access to more affordable financing, and first-time homebuyers (those who have not owned a home for three years) will receive a tax-credit to help them enter the market. For more details on all of the provisions in the new law, please use the link below.

See Tax Credit Chart

Summary of Housing & Economic Recovery Act of 2008