My Blog

OK wine folkies, for those of you who are Barbera lovers Cooper Vineyards in Amador County is hosting a Barbera Festival on June 11th!  This is a state-wide festival and I understand 70 wineries will be in attendance!  For those of you who may not be familiar with Cooper Vineyards, Dick Cooper is a Berbera master. He’s the go-to guy for Berbera in Amador County. 

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Amador County, what the heck are you waiting for an invitation or something?  It’s like 45 minutes from El Dorado Hills.  They don’t charge to taste and the wine makers and growers are hanging around to talk with you!   These folks are making fabulous red’s like Barbera (obviously), Syrah, Petite Syrah, Zin, Primotivo, Mourvedre, Cabernet Sav and a variety of blends.  White’s too.  Viognier, Sav Blanc, Pino Grigio, and Rousanne.  Each winery does one or two unique bottles, Cooper does a nice Marsanne, Il Gioiellio an interesting Aglianico, Andis a tasty Tannat, and Wilderotter a killer Granache Rose that is outstanding chilled on a 101 degree summer afternoon.  You’ll want to stop by and see Tom and Thomas over at Dillian also.  These are two of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet and every one of their wines is delicious.  Sobon has a number of tremendous wines also, their Primo is a particular standout.  Those wineries are just a few of our favorites.  If you make it all the way to Sobon you’re almost to Fair Play in El Dorado County.  Great wineries up  there too but we’ll save that conversation for another day. 

See  you at Cooper on the 11th!

In the next four months the cost of a home loan or mortgage is going to rise.  Mortgage insurance will increase in April and in June interest rates will in all likelihood follow suit.

Now,  I am no economist and I don’t claim to be so I’m going to put this in terms that I can understand: As of April 18th 2011, monthly mortgage insurance will increase from its current level of .9% to 1.15%.  This means that the mortgage insurance for a home purchased for $250,000 will rise $52 per month over current levels.  

In June the Federal Reserve will be making changes to their monetary policy.  The desired effect of these changes is inflation as a means to control escalating federal debt.  What this means to you and me is that home mortgage interest rates will begin to go up.  Is it possible that we could see double digit interest rates in the coming years?  The folks I have been speaking with say it is very possible.  Just to give you an idea of what that means, a $250,000 home purchase with 20% down would result in a $200,000 loan for the borrower.  The monthly payment at 5% would be approximately $1073.64.  At 10% that payment goes to $1755.44, a 61% increase!

The long and the short of it is this:  anyone considering a home purchase would be prudent to do so now.  Waiting could prove very costly.