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- Written by: Better Business Bureau
The company came to BBB’s attention in 2016.
Consumers primarily report that they order wine barrels from the Napa-based company, but have not received their order and are unable to contact customer service.
Dirt Cheap Barrels responded to some consumer complaints, but on those occasions, the consumers were unsatisfied with Dirt Cheap Barrels’ response, claiming that Dirt Cheap Barrels was not following through in refunding the purchases.
As of Feb. 4, 2020, the company has 17 unanswered complaints on file with BBB.
Dirt Cheap Barrels informed BBB that they are based in the United Kingdom, although the company’s address is listed as 2700 Napa Valley Corporate Drive in Napa, California on customer invoices.
When Better Business Bureau called a company in the commercial building at that address, the company indicated that Dirt Cheap Barrels was not located in the office building, and stated that they receive many calls from consumers asking for the location of Dirt Cheap Barrels.
When BBB mailed a letter to the company’s Napa address, the mail was returned from the post office as “insufficient address.”
If you are looking to make an online purchase, BBB recommends researching the company prior to making any purchases.
You can evaluate a company’s credibility by referencing their business profile at www.bbb.org .
Reading reviews and customer complaints on www.bbb.org is a great way to learn more about a company before spending money.
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- Written by: Konocti Realty
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Hannah Wright, Realtor associate with Konocti Realty, has been named Top Producer for 2019 at Konocti Realty.
Wright has also received the Million Dollar Club Award with over $8 million in sales for the year.
Wright has been in real estate in Lake County since 2014 and specializes in a wide variety of properties from residential to ranches.
“Hannah is a pleasure to be around,” said Stacey Mattina, co-owner at Konocti Realty. “She is a sweetheart that loves the profession. She will always go the extra mile for her clients.”
Konocti Realty was established more than 50 years ago and has consistently been a local leader in sales and providing an excellent experience.
With exceptional local knowledge and professional expertise, their agents offer real estate services throughout Lake County.
Stop by and see Wright in the company’s newest location, 9505 Main St., Upper Lake.
For more information, check out www.konoctirealty.com or contact Hannah Wright directly at 707-671-3604.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Those 493,066 properties with foreclosure filings in 2019 represented 0.36 percent of all U.S. housing units, down from 0.47 percent in 2018 and down from a peak of 2.23 percent in 2010.
ATTOM’s year-end foreclosure report provides a unique count of properties with a foreclosure filing during the year based on publicly recorded and published foreclosure filings collected in more than 2,200 counties nationwide, with address-level data on nearly 25 million foreclosure filings historically, also available for license or customized reporting. See full methodology below.
The report also includes new data for December 2019, when there were 53,279 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings, up 7 percent from the previous month and up 2 percent from a year ago.
“The continued decline in distressed properties is one of many signs pointing to a much-improved housing market compared to the bad old days of the Great Recession,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer for ATTOM Data Solutions. “That said, there is some reason for concern about the potential for a change in the wrong direction, given that residential foreclosure starts increased in about a third of the nation’s metro housing markets in 2019. Nationally, the number also ticked up a bit in December. While that’s not a major worry, it’s something that should be watched closely in 2020.”
Lenders repossessed 143,955 properties through foreclosure, or REO, in 2019, down 37 percent from 2018 and down 86 percent from a peak of 1,050,500 in 2010 to the lowest level as far back as data is available — 2006.
While completed foreclosures, or REOs, are on the decline, California and Florida combined have totaled nearly 1.5 million over the last 10 years. Other states leading the nation in REOs include Michigan (333,312), Texas (323,806), Illinois (312,057) and Georgia (304,964).
Metropolitan statistical areas with a population greater than 200,000 that saw a year-over-year increase in REOs included Honolulu, Hawaii (up 34 percent); Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (up 28 percent); Florence, South Carolina (up 18 percent); Buffalo, New York (up 16 percent); and San Luis Obispo, California (up 9 percent).
“The home-foreclosure rates continued shrinking dramatically across the United in 2019 to a level not seen in 10 years, as the strong economy leaves more people in a position to make their mortgage payments. Completed foreclosures dropped 37 percent overall, with decreases in all but one state and almost every metro housing market,” said Ohan Antebian, general manager for ATTOM’s consumer-facing business, RealtyTrac. “As wages rise, interest rates drop, the stock market keeps hitting new highs and the broader economy remains healthy, the factors that lead to foreclosure simply aren’t there. While home prices are rising, homeowners can afford them. The drop-off has been so steep that for every 10 completed foreclosures following the housing market crash a decade ago, there now is just one.”
Lenders repossessed 13,898 U.S. properties through completed foreclosures (REOs) in December 2019, down 1 percent from last month, but up 34 percent from December 2018.
Lenders started the foreclosure process on 335,985 U.S. properties in 2019, down 9 percent from 2018 and down 84 percent from a peak of 2,139,005 in 2009 to a new all-time low going back as far as foreclosure start data is available — 2006.
States that saw the decline in foreclosure starts from last year included Nevada (down 30 percent); New York (down 28 percent); New Jersey (down 21 percent); California (down 13 percent); and Arizona (down 11 percent).
“With foreclosure inventory down and interest in that inventory up, it’s a good time for sellers with distressed inventory to sell while the sun shines,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president of market economics with Auction.com, which sold more than 50,000 foreclosure auction and bank-owned properties through its platform in 2019. “Foreclosure buyers still enjoy sizable discounts below estimated market value due to the distressed nature of foreclosure inventory, but the average sales price for foreclosure auction properties sold through the Auction.com platform rose to a new record high in 2019 even as the rate of sales to third-party buyers increased.”
Counter to the national trend, 14 states posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure starts in 2019, including Rhode Island (up 54 percent); Mississippi (up 39 percent); Georgia (up 24 percent); Arkansas (up 14 percent); and Louisiana (up 11 percent).
Those metropolitan statistical areas with a population greater than 1 million that saw a double-digit percent increase in foreclosure starts from last year included Baton Rouge, Louisiana (up 43 percent); Atlanta, Georgia (up 25 percent); Salt Lake City, Utah (up 17 percent); Orlando, Florida (up 16 percent); and Portland, Oregon (up 16 percent).
States with the highest foreclosure rates in 2019 were New Jersey (0.82 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing); Delaware (0.73 percent); Maryland (0.66 percent); Florida (0.63 percent); and Illinois (0.63 percent). New Jersey has held the top spot since 2015.
Rounding out the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rates were Connecticut (0.53 percent); South Carolina (0.52 percent); Ohio (0.48 percent); Nevada (0.42 percent); and New York (0.41 percent).
Among 220 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in 2019 were Atlantic City, New Jersey (1.33 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing); Trenton, New Jersey (0.91 percent); Jacksonville, Florida (0.85 percent); Rockford, Illinois (0.82 percent); and Lakeland, Florida (0.81 percent).
Metro areas with a population greater than 1 million that had the highest foreclosure rate, including Jacksonville, Florida were: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (0.75 percent); Cleveland, Ohio (0.73 percent); Chicago, Illinois (0.71 percent); and Baltimore, Maryland (0.68 percent).
U.S. properties foreclosed in the fourth quarter of 2019 had been in the foreclosure process an average of 834 days, a 1 percent decline from the previous quarter, but an increase of 3 percent from a year ago.
States with the longest average time to foreclose in Q4 2019 were Hawaii (1,712 days); Indiana (1,629 days); Arizona (1,434 days); Nevada (1,339 days); and Georgia (1,257 days).
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Signers highlighted the potential harmful effects on the American wine community, which has a year impact of $220 billion on our economy.
The bipartisan letter to Ambassador Lighthizer is below.
The letter was signed by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Representatives Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Nita Lowey (NY-17), David Price (NC-04), Eleanor Homes Norton (DC-AL), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), Ken Calvert (CA-42), Anna Eshoo (CA-18), Alcee Hastings (FL-20), Peter T. King (NY-02), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40), Nydia Velazquez (NY-07), Lloyd Doggett (TX-35), Michael Doyle (PA-18), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Bill Pascrell (NJ-09), Gregory Meeks (NY-05), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Steve Chabot (OH-01), John Larson (CT-01), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Greg Walden (OR-02), William Lacy Clay, Jr. (MO-01), Rick Larsen (WA-02), Adam Schiff (CA-28), Tom Cole (OK-04), Raul Grijalva (AZ-03), Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-02), Linda Sanchez (CA-38), Emmanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Jim Costa (CA-16), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05), Doris Matsui (CA-06), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Jerry McNerney (CA-09), Ed Perlmutter (CA-07), Peter Welch (VT-AL), John Yarmuth (KY-03), Jackie Speier (CA-14), Tom McClintock (CA-04), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Bill Posey (FL-08), Kurt Schrader (OR-05), Judy Chu (CA-27), John Garamendi (CA-03), Tom Reed (NY-23), Steve Stivers (OH-15), Mark Amodei (NV-02), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Donald Payne, Jr. (NJ-10), Ami Bera (CA-07), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Tony Cardenas (CA-29), Paul Cook (CA-09), Lois Frankel (FL-29), George Holding (NC-02), Jared Huffman (CA-02), David Joyce (OH-14), Doug LaMalfa (CA-01), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Scott Peters (CA-52), Tom Rice (SC-07), Eric Swalwell (CA-15), Juan Vargas (CA-51), Ann Wagner (MO-02), Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-02), Pete Aguilar (CA-31), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), Ted Lieu (CA-33), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), Norma Torres (CA-35), Lee Zeldin (NY-01), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Lou Correa (CA-46), Charlie Crist (FL-13), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Josh Gottheimer (NY-05), Clay Higgins (LA-03), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Stephanie Murphy (FL-07), Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), Thomas Suozzi (NY-03), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Ralph Norman (SC-05), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), TJ Cox (CA-21), Joe Cunningham (SC-01), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Andy Kim (NJ-03), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Chris Pappas (NH-01), Max Rose (NY-11), Donna Shalala (FL-27), David Trone (MD-06), Jennifer Wexton (VA-10), and Greg Murphy (NC-03).
January 14, 2020
Robert E. Lighthizer
United States Trade Representative
600 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20508
Dear Ambassador Lighthizer:
As members of the Congressional Wine Caucus, we write to express our strong concern about U.S. retaliatory tariffs on European wine. These retaliatory tariffs cause economic harm to the thousands of U.S. wineries, exporters, importers, retailers, and restaurants who depend on a vibrant, healthy wine market for their livelihood. Any expansion of these tariffs would further exacerbate the harm already caused.
As you know, our local wine communities are a driving force in the national economy with a total economic impact of $220 billion annually. The European Union (EU) and the U.S. are the largest wine producing regions in the world and they serve as each other’s largest export markets. In fact, the combined wine trade between the U.S. and EU totaled $4.7 billion in 2018.
The U.S. is already targeting certain EU wines with a 25% tariff and any expansion of these tariffs will most certainly lead to U.S. wine exports being targeted by the EU, which has already included U.S. wines on a proposed retaliation list in the World Trade Organization aerospace dispute. We understand that you must find appropriate means to address the WTO decision and France’s digital services tax issue, but we ask that you consider the effects it could have on American businesses. Further escalation of these disputes will lead to even greater disruptions in the transatlantic wine trade and jeopardize thousands of small and medium sized businesses and the tens of thousands of U.S. jobs they support across the country.
Additionally, these new tariffs would come at a time when U.S. wineries are already facing significant retaliatory tariffs in China, one of the most important and fastest growing wine markets in the world. These tariffs are significantly harming U.S. exports to China and negotiations so far have not addressed China’s retaliation, resulting in challenging conditions for the entire domestic market.
The U.S. wine community, from grape to glass, is an essential part of our economy and we urge you not to target wine in trade disputes which have nothing at all to do with wine. We hope you will exhaust all means possible to resolve these issues without resorting to retaliatory tariffs on wine. Thank you for your consideration.