Manny Kagan

A client who works and lives in San Francisco wanted to buy a house for $250,000 outside the City and close to the BART station. Though he saved over $40,000, he wanted to have a small down payment.

When we asked him why $250,000, he told us that this is what he thought he could be qualified for. After checking different options, we ended up with the purchase price of up to $350,000 (which allows him to buy a better home in a better location).

To avoid mortgage insurance, we suggested increasing the down payment to 5%. After running his credit report, we also suggested paying off some small consumer debts to enable him to be qualified for a great mortgage.

Whom Do You Know That Might Benefit From Our Tailored Mortgage Solutions?

Don’t Forget to Attend Our September MeetUP Event!

Date: Thursday: September 11, 2014
Address: 2345 24th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94116 (Taraval Police Station)
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Flyer: Click here

RSVP on Meetup.com OR Facebook OR email Ausra@Pacbay.net

Where The Heck Is Murphys?

“History evokes memories. Memories evoke feelings. Feelings help us relate to history.”

If you have a blank stare on your face before looking for the answer to my question on Google, do not feel excluded. Murphys is located in the Sierras in Calaveras county. Many Californians are not familiar with their own backyard and history.

What if I would told you that if not for Murphys, there would not be a San Francisco?

I am exaggerating just a little bit. Murphys and all the surrounding area is where the Gold Rush took place. Apparently, the rush did not end in 1880 when the last golden nugget was found.

As recently as December 26, 1992 in the crystalline mine near Jamestown, Tuolumne County, the Sonora Mining Corporation uncovered 1.568 ounces of specimen gold. It is the largest specimen of crystalline gold in the world. I found this information in the Ironside Vineyards Heritage Museum located one mile from the Main Street in Murphys.

Murphys is considered the wine tasting capital of the Sierras. There are many wine tasting stores just on Main Street alone. We visited the Lavender Ridge store, where Jennie Fleming paired excellent cheeses together with the wine. There are many fun stores that spread along the Main Street. Actually, an idea to write about this place came after visiting the spice store off of Main Street. I wish I could capture the aroma—in the photo I took.

While visiting this place, you can stay in the historic Murphys Hotel or in The Garden just a few minutes from the center. We actually came to Murphys a few times and enjoyed very good dinners (one of them in a great sushi restaurant). We were in the area for a week-long vacation in our timeshare not far from Arnold, 11 miles from Murphys.

One of the major attractions here is The Calaveras Big Trees State Park, three miles away from Arnold. It is impossible to describe the beauty and imposing majesty of the old sequoia trees. Another attraction is the Mercer Caverns, a mile away from Murphys’ town center. There are other caves in the surrounding area, close to the Angels Camp, 9 miles from Murphy. Samuel Clements AKA Mark Twain based his short story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” on a story he claimed he heard at the Angels Hotel in 1865. Now it is difficult to imagine, but only 168 years ago it was a different world.

The California Gold Rush officially started on January 24, 1848 when James W. Marshall found gold at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California. During the next few years, about 300,000 people moved to California. As a result, San Francisco grew from a small settlement of about 200 residents in 1846 to a boomtown of about 36,000 by 1852. California became a state as part of the Compromise of 1850.

We live in a world created by others. Do we know who those people were and where they came from? What were their dreams and aspirations? Do you think they were much different from us? Our family came to California in 1980 in search of our “gold”–as did millions of the newcomers from all over the world. As King Solomon (about 2950 years ago) wrote:

“What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:4-11)

P.S.

Though a “picture is worth a thousand words”, it cannot convey the real experience (and definitely not the smell of spices or taste of wine). Nevertheless, here are some of the images I took on my visit. The wise man I photographed sitting in front of Murphys Hotel was the one who told me about “the nugget”. I decided to include 5 images because there is so much to see. Next week, you will read about my other experiences in the area and the beauty of its surrounding nature. Enjoy!

Do Not Keep Me As A Secret!
Smile And Please SHARE It With A Friend!

Cheers,