Homeowners

UPDATE: The southbound lane of I-580 through Washoe Valley was blocked this afternoon after a semi-truck overturned. Traffic is being diverted to Highway 395A at Bower's interchange, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation. Motorists are to take Highway 395A to the far south end of Washoe Valley and return to I-580 at Lake View Hill on ramp. The road should be clear by around 5 p.m.

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High winds have moved into Carson City this afternoon with reports of downed lines, toppled trees and flying debris.

The Carson City Sheriff's Office is warning residents of a man posing as a lieutenant who is telling them that they will go to jail unless they use a credit card or money order to pay for traffic tickets.

According Sgt. Scott McDaniel, a man is calling homeowners identifying himself as "Lt. Steven Mills" with the Carson City Sheriff's Office or the Ormsby County Sheriff's Office.

Carson City District Attorney Neil A. Rombardo and Assistant District Attorney Mark J. Krueger of the Criminal Division, warn of a potentially misleading solicitation for land deed processing from Property Transfer Services.

The District Attorney’s Office received information from local attorneys that Property Transfer Services has been sending solicitations to new property owners in and around Carson City recommending “all Nevada homeowners obtain a copy of their current Grant deed as evidence that the title to the property was in fact transferred to the new owner.”

All hands were on board Saturday as the Women's Council of the Builder's Association of Western Nevada answered the call to help two Carson City homeowners in need of upgrades and repairs.

Ramsey Circle homeowner Nora McGinley fought back tears as a team of local contractors with power tools and building materials arrived at her doorstep with one mission in mind: Lending a helping hand to a good neighbor.

"I'm so grateful. It's just wonderful to know there are people in our community who go out of their way on a Saturday to do something like this," said McGinley. "It's more than I ever imagined."

A voluntary wood stove change-out program available in Carson City and Douglas County has been launched by two state environmental agencies.

The program, operated through the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and the Bureau of Air Quality Planning, provides rebates ranging between $600 and $1,000 to homeowners who remove their pre-1992 wood stoves and replace them with new, clean-burning EPA-certified wood, pellet or gas stoves installed by a licensed contractor.

Treat or treating in Carson City will be held on Halloween night, Thursday, Oct. 31. Just like it is celebrated throughout the country.

If you're a Carson City resident, the question as to when Beggar's Night falls on isn't a dumb one to wonder or ask since wrenches have been thrown into the mix every few years due to Nevada Day festivities.

Because Nevada Day sometimes falls on Oct. 31, there have been instances where the annual trick or treating ritual in Carson City has been moved up or down the calendar.

Coldwell Banker Select Real Estate in conjunction with Stanford Mortgage and First American Title Company had a tremendous turnout for their recent Luxury Home Tour event in the Reno area.

REALTORS® and other Real Estate Professionals were invited to go on a tour of four luxury Coldwell Banker listings and to gain insight into the world of luxury home sales.

The Builders Association of Western Nevada Women’s Council, which serves Carson City, Douglas County and Lyon County, will continue its Helping Hands program this year by giving single female homeowners or senior citizens some help with upgrades and repairs to the homes they own.

Helping Hand signups continue through Sept. 12. To be considered for the program applicants:

— Must be a single female homeowner or senior citizen
— Applicant’s name must appear on the assessor’s role.
— Is to be done at your owned residence.
— Can be completed within 1-2 days or less.

This week's Women to Women Nevada features Tricia Lincoln, an interior designer in Carson City. Her business is called A Very Fine House.

Tricia explains to host Carol Paz how she guides homeowners in the selection of colors, fabrics, and furnishings to create an environment that reflects their vision, values, and style. Whenever possible, she incorporates environmentally sound principles and materials into every project.

Nevada Sen. Harry Reid said he's pleased the Obama Administration has provided a second extension of the Making Home Affordable Program.

“Nevada has been hit the hardest by the housing market crisis. It is imperative that we work to help struggling homeowners who have lost so much in something that they have worked so hard to keep," said Reid in a press statement.

Ed Smith of the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension talks about Nevada Wildfire Awareness Week on the Carson City public access program It's Your City.

“Reduce the Fuel – Reduce the Risk!” is the theme of this year's Awareness Week, with a community public awareness event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at Mills Park in Carson City.

This is the second year the Carson City Chamber of Commerce has organized a Home & Garden Show to showcase the many businesses that can help homeowners improve their homes and gardens.

This Saturday, April 20th, Greenhouse Garden Center will again take center stage showcasing their expertise and creativeness in creating a unique garden setting that only the professionals at Greenhouse can create. Owner David Ruf and staff will be on hand to conduct informative seminars as well.

The plan for making downtown more pedestrian, bike, and business friendly will be presented and voted on at the Board of Supervisors meeting this Thursday April 18, at 6:30 PM, in the Carson City Community Center’s Sierra Room.  Your attendance at this meeting is vital to ensure that this project moves forward!

Federal officials say they have finished rounding up 11 “problem” wild mustangs in northern Nevada and that the horses will now be offered for adoption.

The last of a band that once numbered 50 mustangs were enticed into a trap last week, as concerned residents of the Carson City neighborhood watched in dismay, questioning why the Bureau of Land Management insisted on removing animals that had peacefully coexisted with surrounding homeowners for years.

As Prepared for Delivery Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013:

Madam Speaker, Mr. President, Distinguished Members of the Legislature, Honorable Justices of the Supreme Court, Constitutional Officers, Senator Heller, honored guests…...

Friday, Jan. 18 is the deadline for qualified borrowers who lost their homes in foreclosure to file claims for a one-time payment under the $25 billion national mortgage foreclosure settlement, Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said.

With night and early morning temperatures around Northern Nevada plummeting to single digits to below zero for the next few days, water pipes in homes with little or no insulation are likely to freeze and break when the temperature drops below 20 degrees.

CARSON CITY — As the holiday season is in full swing, most families are not thinking about insurance. But as the year comes to an end, it’s a good idea to conduct a home inventory and year end insurance policy review. This is the best way to make sure that your home and possessions have the insurance protection they need.

For the first time since 1987, Lake Tahoe has a new regional plan for development and land use.
Twelve of the 14 voting members of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's governing board voted in favor of the new plan, with one member voting against it and another abstaining, according to TRPA spokesman Jeff Cowan.

Business interests say the plan is an overdue overhaul of regulations that will jump-start Tahoe's tourism economy while also protecting its environment.

The Carson City Sheriff’s Office is asking the public for their assistance in identifying two subjects who were noticed looking into vehicles, early morning on Sunday, Nov. 4. These subjects may be connected to other burglaries occurring in Carson City.

The first 10 seconds of the video clearly shows two subjects, one easily identified as a white male with glasses and short hair wearing a white or light-colored hooded sweatshirt and jeans. Use the scroll button (the circle below the frame of the video) to play and repeat. Viewers can also hit the pause button at the 4 and 5 second mark.

Along with neighborhood trick or treating, a handful of Halloween events are lined up for Wednesday including A Halloween Festival planned at Carson Mall. Costumed kids, face painting, games, prizes, snacks and more are featured from 1 to 5:30 p.m. Parents and children can then move on to the Governor's Mansion for an annual Halloween meet and greet, trick or treat.

RBS Financial Products will pay a $42 million settlement to resolve an investigation into the firm’s role in purchasing and securitizing subprime and payment option adjustable rate mortgages in Nevada.
The assurance of discontinuance, filed in Eighth Judicial District Court, requires RBSFP to commit to certain changes in its practices to the extent it securitizes Nevada mortgages and to pay the State $42 million to be used for payments to affected borrowers, mortgage fraud enforcement, and foreclosure prevention, and attorney’s fees and costs.

CARSON CITY – Several lawmakers raised questions today about a proposal put forth by Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto to spend $33 million over three years on outreach, counseling and legal assistance to homeowners who are facing foreclosure.

**Press Release available for download below**

The Carson City Sheriff's Office has issued a press release cautioning citizens to be aware of their surroundings due to a recent string of burglaries. The suspect (a hispanic female) is described as approximately 5 feet 2 inches to 5 feet 4 inches tall, thin, with medium length black or brown hair with possible blonde highlights. She is described as wearing a black backpack. She targets cash and small items such as jewelry, coin, and baseball cards during the daytime when the homeowners are at work.

CARSON CITY – The deadline for a free, federal independent foreclosure review for Nevadans whose homes were in foreclosure in 2009 or 2010 has been extended to Sept. 30, 2012, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said today.

The previous deadline was July 31.

Dear Editor:

It's time to make it easier for millions of homeowners around the country to refinance their mortgages and save hundreds of dollars each month.

Cutting through the red tape will be good for families, good for communities, and good for the country at large. Interest rates are at historic lows, yet millions of homeowners have not taken advantage of these rates, either because it's too expensive, or because banks and regulations make it hard or impossible. This month, Congress has a chance to pass real home mortgage relief.

A reader wrote in today asking about the property tax hike the Carson City Board of Supervisors approved unanimously last week. What follows is a breakdown:

The property tax rate will go from $3.1872 to $3.66. If you do the math, that works out to a 13 percent increase. However, state law limits the amount of increase that homeowners have to pay to 3 percent per year, 6.4 percent on commercial properties. They estimate that taxes on average will increase 3 percent next year under this new rate, and account for about $3 million more than they would under the old rate.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is encouraging local residents and part-time homeowners to become “wildfire aware” by taking advantage of public education activities during Lake Tahoe Wildfire Awareness Week happening May 26 to June 3.

“With the fifth anniversary of the Angora fire coming up, this is a good opportunity for our community to discuss the importance of wildfire awareness,” said Joanne Marchetta, Executive Director of TRPA.

RENO – President Barack Obama made a brief stopover here today, visiting with a couple who refinanced their home through a White House initiative helping underwater homeowners who have government-backed loans.

After meeting with Paul and Valerie Keller, Obama urged Congress to expand the Home Affordable Refinancing Program (HARP) to other mortgages as well.

In today's economically stressed environment, it would be quite the political feat to enact any kind of tax increase.

But the backers of the Carson City Center Project, aka Nugget Project, are going to have to hope they can pull off a miracle two-fer.