Bank of America has introduced a new program for homeowners seeking to refinance their variable rate home loans with conforming 30 and 15 year fixed-rate loans and nonconforming 30 year fixed-rate loans. Thousands of single family variable rate first mortgages will face a payment reset in 2007 which will increase their monthly payments.
Sacramento builder Tim Lewis Communities has ranked highest in customer satisfaction for the Sacramento real estate market in two 2007 studies by J.D. Power and Associates.
This is the first time that a locally owned home builder has finished at the top of J.D. Power’s customer satisfaction study and new-home design study.
Tim Lewis began building homes in Sacramento over 25 years ago. They have new-home projects from Roseville to Elk Grove.
Rancho Cordova’s historic Sheepherders Inn has reopened after a remodeling effort that dragged on more than two years. The Folsom Boulevard restaurant is now serving a menu of “comfort foods” that includes braised lamb shanks and barbecued salmon.
Parlare Euro Lounge has opened at the corner of 10th and J streets, beside and above Rodney’s cigar shop in downtown Sacramento. The name comes from the Italian verb “to speak”. It offers a “small plates” menu, along with a full bar and a diverse helping of musical entertainment.
The construction of the new lounge took over a year and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars of family money,
The California Bankers Association has a new chief executive, Rodney Brown, who spent the last 12 years as president and chief executive of Montecito Bank & Trust in Santa Barbara.
The California Bankers Association was founded in 1891 and is one of the largest state banking trade associations in the nation. Its membership is comprised of more than 300 institutions.
Whole Foods has acquired smaller natural foods rival Wild Oats Markets for $565 million.
Whole Foods announced the acquisition in February, bu the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the deal on antitrust grounds. A federal appeals court recently denied the FTC’s request to temporarily block the sale.
Sacramento area building permits for new homes declined almost 25 percent last month, as homebuilders face a significant slowdown of the residential real estate market.
Homebuilders received 549 permits for single-family homes last month in the four county (Sacramento, El Dorado, Place and Yolo) region, a drop from 663 permits in July 2006.
Stewart Title Company has agreed to pay a penalty of one million dollars to the California Department of Insurance.
The statewide title company was accused of paying more than $500,000 in kickbacks to lenders, builders, and title agents in exchange for receiving business referrals. Stewart Title Company has agreed to halt the illegal activities and pay $1 million in penalties.
Stewart Title has about 10 percent of the California title insurance market and has local branch offices in Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer and Yolo counties.
Safeway has remodeled its Fair Oaks supermarket into its lifestyle format. The remodel of the 46,000 square foot store, which opened in 2003, took about a month and a half.
The Safeway at 5450 Dewey Drive gained a soup cart and olive bar; a gourmet cheese table; a culinary center with the latest cooking gadgets; and expanded organic, wine, bakery, floral, and pharmacy departments.
Safeway has converted a dozen of its 19 Sacramento area stores to the new format, leaving seven more to remodel. Safeway began switching to the new look four years ago and expects to transform all of its 270 stores in Northern California within two years.
The Residence Inn by Marriott Sacramento at Capitol Park is now open for business. The new hotel is 15 stories high and has 235 suites.
The hotel is located at 15th and L streets in downtown Sacramento, across the street from Capitol Park and a block away from the Sacramento Convention Center.