How To Lower Your Real Estate Property Taxes...

How to lower your property taxes

Despite home prices in major urban centers decreasing 31 percent between 2005 and 2009, property taxes across the U.S. increased by nearly 20 percent. There is good news, however; homeowners can fight back.

Making sense of the story

- Homeowners should keep in mind that property taxes do not always correspond with home values, because local governments typically don’t measure values every year and some have limits on annual property-tax increases.

- As a result, current property taxes might reflect the home’s value when the market was healthier. According to the Congressional Budget Office, property-tax adjustments lag behind changes in home prices by an average of three years.

Although homeowners cannot change their property-tax rate, which is set by the local government, homeowners can get their assessment lowered if they appeal to their local assessor.

One key to a successful appeal is fact checking the assessor’s work. About half of all successful appeals come from homeowners pointing out an error in the assessor’s description of the home, according to one property tax expert.

- During the appeal process, which is similar to a less-formal court hearing, homeowners may present their case to several local officials or representatives. The simplest way to convince officials that a property has been incorrectly valued is to provide evidence of the sales price of homes that are comparable to the property being discussed. This should include square footage, amenities, and neighborhood characteristics. Sale documents and photos of the property in question, as well as the comparable properties also should be brought in.

- Homeowners who have made improvements or substantial changes to the property should be cautious about appealing an assessment though, as it could have negative effects and actually increase the property’s value and, in turn, the property taxes.

From Aug 25th, 2011. C.A.R's Market Matters
Reprinted with permission of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®


Contact me if you have any questions or need any help with Real Estate,

Oliver Graf

Real Estate Expert
Follow me on Twitter: Twitter.com/OliverGraf360

Senate Bill 458 gives added protection to short-sale hopefuls

On Friday July 15th 2011, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 458 (Corbett) into law. The new law, which contained an urgency clause and became effective upon signing, protects homeowners pursuing short sales by barring first and secondary lien holders from going after sellers for money owed after the short sales close.

Making sense of the story

-- A short sale – a transaction in which the homeowner sells the property for less than is owed on the mortgage – must be approved by the lien holder or lien holders, if there is more than one.

-- Under previous law (SB 931 of 2010), a first mortgage holder could accept an agreed-upon short-sale payment as full payment for the outstanding balance of the loan, but the rule did not apply to junior lien holders. SB 458 extends the protections of SB 931 to junior liens.

-- The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) sponsored the bill and urged lawmakers to pass this much-needed legislation.

-- “The signing of this bill is a victory for California homeowners who have been forced to short sell their home, only to find that the lender will pursue them after the short sale closes and demand an additional payment to subsidize the difference,” said C.A.R. President Beth L. Peerce. “SB 458 brings closure and certainty to the short-sale process and ensures that once a lender has agreed to accept a short-sale payment on a property, all lienholders – those in first position and in junior positions – will consider the outstanding balance as paid in full, and the homeowner will not be held responsible for any additional payments on the property.”

From July 21, 2011. C.A.R's Market Matters
Reprinted with permission of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®



Contact me if you have any questions or need any help,

Oliver Graf

Real Estate Expert
Follow me on Twitter: Twitter.com/OliverGraf360

How to Get More Real Estate Deals Tip 1: Legal Notices and Notice of Defaults

Legal Notices / Notice of Defaults

You can start to look for legal notices in small papers usually on weekdays. There are also legal newspapers in many communities that most of the general public is unaware of. Do a little research in your local community to find where you can find these free postings to prospect.

The County Records/Courthouse is another place to find these lists for free. Sometimes they can be a bit tricky to find so I'd recommend asking for help as soon as you get there.

The best place to go for the lists is the County Recorder’s Office or the County Clerk. Usually, there will be a computer or filing system that you can use to pull the most current recordings of default.

Purchasing NOD Lists: There are a lot of companies out there that can help you pull the list for you every day. These companies are great and they make your job a lot easier by pulling all the NODs for you as well as doing a reverse look up to find their numbers as well. Depending on the city of your choice you can find prices anywhere from $20-$140 per month.

If you decide to purchase these NOD lists it is important that they are selling you CURRENT filings. You do not want to be calling on NODs that are a month old. You also want to make sure that they include the Homeowner’s phone number. Some companies will sell you these lists without phone numbers. This is a big waste of time. Also, make sure they will send out new lists daily. You want to do your best to be the very first person to call the Homeowner. The early bird gets the worm. You will want this information as fast as possible every day.

For optimum results, combine your phone prospecting efforts with your mailing campaigns. Think about it... how powerful would it be to call or door knock a prospect AFTER they have already received a few of your marketing pieces. It will get you the deal every time and chances are no one else is doing it!

Make sure you track your NOD lists by date so that when you follow up on your mailings with a phone call or a door knock it is all organized in a manner to make your follow up easier. Write out your marketing plan for you list in advance and then follow it.

Remember...it can take up to 7 touches before you get the deal. Don’t stop short, keep calling, mailing and knocking your list.... The fortune is in the follow up!

Good luck, now go out there and get more deals.


To your success,

Oliver Graf
Real Estate Expert

Understanding the Real Estate Foreclosure Process (3 Steps)

In this market, housing values are declining as unemployment is increasing. For a homeowner, that means that the value of the house will be “upside-down”, and the market value of the home is actually less than the loan amount. Due to high unemployment we have seen a rise of foreclosures, where the bank takes back the property.

Foreclosure is the proceeding in which a bank or other secured creditor sells or repossesses a real property after the Homeowner has failed to comply with an agreement between the lender and the borrower (a mortgage or a deed of trust).

This happens when a property owner stops making their mortgage payments. After consistently missing payments the lender will usually consider the loan in default and begin with the foreclosure proceedings. The Lender at this point has the right to sell the property or even call the loan due.

All short sale / foreclosures have 3 steps in the timeline towards the property being sold.

1. Notice of Default (NOD):
A Notice of Default is a public notice given to the homeowner. In some states the notice is posted on the window or door. When a borrower is in default, or behind in mortgage payments, the lender will seize the home. In California lenders usually do not file an NOD until the homeowner is at least 90 days behind in payments.

2. Notice of Trustee Sale (NOTS):
A Notice of Trustee Sale is a public notice, published in a newspaper communicating a date for auction. This is also generally posted on the door; it will be a minimum of 21 days before the sale takes place.

3. Auction:
An auction is a public place where properties are auctioned to the highest bidder.



To your success,

Oliver Graf
Real Estate Expert

Success Tips: How to Pre-qualify Prospects and Referring Partners so you get more Real Estate Business

How to Pre-qualify Prospects and Referring Partners so you get more Real Estate Business

For Real Estate Agents, Brokers, and Investors...

Generating new clients is a key to success in any business. So you want to make sure you are focusing on clients that are ready to move forward and not wasting time others. When you are talking a lead or potential prospect, ask yourself these questions as a way to qualify them. If they meet all five, you have yourself a solid prospect and you will be on your way to doing business with them. If someone doesn’t meet all FIVE requirements, they are probably not a good match and your time would be best spent speaking to other potential clients.

One thing to keep in mind, especially when speaking with prospects, is that some of them will be very well off and others have been through a very difficult time and are going to be defensive. Always be as pleasant as possible and don’t take things personally.

1) Cooperate: When speaking with them, are they amiable and willing to cooperate? Although they may be facing challenges because of today’s market or because of credit issues, that is fine, but if they get belligerent or angry with you, you do not have to work with them.

2) Plea for Help: Do they want to be helped? Find out their “hurt” and show them how your product or service is the “cure”

3) Realistic: Do they have realistic expectations? Does the prospect realize that the currentor may not be the same as it was few years ago? If financing is involved, do buyer prospects realize that loan programs are not the same today as they were 2 years ago. market may

4) Conversation: Are they willing to have a conversation with you? Do they even answer the phone or have they been avoiding you for weeks? Are they short with you and give clipped, one word answers or do they at least provide a little dialogue? Follow the rule of three, once you have left them 3 messages if they do not respond throw them away and move on.

5) Action: Do they want to move forward anytime within the next 0-14 days? Are they motivated and ready to move forward now?


Qualifying your prospective clients quickly and effectively is a skill that is sure to bring you massive success in any industry. Click Here to learn the secrets to prospecting, qualifying, and how powerful the use of scripts can be to make BIG money in sales






To your success,

Oliver Graf
Real Estate Expert
Follow me on Twitter: Twitter.com/OliverGraf360



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Real Estate Apps
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Real Estate Help San Diego Based Real Estate Blog

Top 7 FREE Real Estate iPhone Apps – Download them for Free!

You have to take a look at the following list of the top 7 free real estate-related iPhone apps to help take your real estate game to the next level.

Now more than ever homeowners, agents, and investors are doing more business remote, this list of apps will help you navigate the real estate market and take your super charge your real estate business. Try them out and let us know what you think?

1) Real Estate Resource Directory - This is a great app that provides real estate agents and investors resources like comparable sales data, easy to use calculators, property valuation functions, demographics for a particular area, and a nice list of contractors and real estate related professionals.

2) Realtor.com: With this app you can search homes that are for-sale in given areas, view property details, store searches and listings, find open house information, send listings to friends and family, and save ratings and notes.

3) Real Estate Hunter: Real Estate Hunter lets you store and maintain all of your search information of for-sale or for-rent listings by inputting the property information such as what type of property, prices, property address, square footage, property tax information and other fees. It also allows users to automatically calculate mortgage and monthly costs. You can compare asking and offer prices for various properties and add your own photos and contacts. Within the application, the user can rate each property; save additional information in custom fields; and e-mail a CSV file of your data to open in Excel and other programs. The free version lets you store information for up to three properties; you can add additional properties for a small fee.

4) Google Maps: This is one of my favorite apps because it is so easy to use and has a solid list of features. With Google Maps you can search Driving directions, Transit and walking directions, Biking directions, Latitude, Layers, Street View, Satellite view, Real Time Traffic Reporting, Location Business listings, and Business reviews.

5) Zillow Real Estate: With Zillow’s app you can find property valuations by address, filter properties by monthly payment, price, number of bed and baths, publish listings by email, Facebook or Twitter. You can receive updates when properties pop up that match your criteria.

6) Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Home Selection Assistant: This one is a lot of fun, you can track and organize photos by location; see comparable home values, local school information, area demographics and amenities; store photo albums of favorite properties and different rooms; easily share photos on Facebook or through e-mail; and access the vault of read real estate-related articles directly through bhgrealestate.com.

7) AgentFirst Real Estate: This is a top notch tool while out in the field. With this app you can Search First American Title's property information database, find parcel/tract information and property sale data. You can directly order tax information, recorded documents, sales comparables and property profiles. To use this app you have to first have an active AgentFirst account.

Bonus Tip: Another great tip for Real Estate Agents and Investors who have an iPhone or iPod is TubeTilla. With Tubetilla it is easy to store and watch videos of properties you are working on your iPhone or iPod. Being able to store and play videos with your phone can be an incredibly powerful sales tool because anywhere you meet prospects, agents, and clients you can show them videos of all your properties without even having an internet connection. As they say a picture is worth a thousand word and a video is priceless! You can store and watch YouTube videos right on on your iPhone, iPod or Zune!

To your success,

Preston Matix

Real Estate Investor

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How to Successfully Launch a profitable Real Estate Business

How to Successfully Launch a profitable Real Estate Business

The hardest part of getting your Real Estate Investing business started is overcoming the fear of the unknown that comes with attempting anything new. Many of my students get stuck before they even start suffering from analysis paralysis. Getting caught in the train of thought that if they just buy one more seminar, they will finally feel confident enough to get in the game and finally start doing deals.

What we all need to understand is that fear will never go away no matter how many courses you buy, or how many boot-camps and seminars you attend. The only way to get over this fear is by actually getting in the game, you need to face your fears and execute! We do not need to start with huge deals getting started, or even any of our own money. So many times, investors think that they need to put everything on the line to get into real estate investing. That is so far from the truth, I did my first almost 50 deals without ever using any of my own money or credit. This are what everyone has heard of called "baby steps", everyone that is successful today started with baby steps. These are just stepping stones to growing a big investing operation like myself and my partners have. It all started with finally pulling the trigger and doing are first deal. Looking back on it now with over 300 deals under my belt, the only regret I have is not getting started sooner!

Here is an easy action guide for you to start using today, this will help you finally start working towards your goals. Follow these easy steps and you will be well on your way to being a successful real estate investor!

Attend a REIA / Meetup / Investment club meetings : Networking with other investors is the best and first step to starting your investing career. The people you will meet at these events can be a big help to you while first getting started. I always say that "Relationships are the only shortcuts to success". For a lot of us this can seem a little nerve wrecking in the beginning, but be rest assured that this is the most important step in starting your business. Another major bonus is that these meeting are usually free! If this is a big challenge to overcome, you might want to consider attending one of my events to help you sharpen your networking skills. Remember... you are always on the air!

Meet with successful Investors: Sometimes we need to see before we can believe. Meeting with an active successful investor will give you the inspiration you need to get your butt into gear. When I was first getting started I made it a point to meet and surround myself with as many of these people as I could. We have all heard that saying..."You income is the exact average of the 5 people you hang out with most"...so why are you hanging out with your broke friends? If you need help finding successful investors to meet with, a REIA or Networking group as explained above is a great place to start.

Take Action: The only way to invest in your first deal is by finding your first deal!! Whatever your chosen model is, you need to find properties to invest in. So if you are going to be looking for motivated sellers, then you need to get on the phone with sellers. The only way we can get better at talking to our clients is by talking to more and more of them. Practice makes perfect, right? No! Perfect practice makes perfect! Practice your scripts, roll play your scripts and get on the PHONE!! Read this very carefully...TAKING ACTION WILL MAKE YOU RICH!!

Getting starting and making money investing in real estate is not easy and anyone that tells you it is has not done any deals. If you want to be successful you need to be ready to get outside of your comfort zone and act in spite of fear! Because of this we must make sure we are always surrounding ourselves with the right people on a regular basis as well as feeding our mind positive thoughts on a regular basis. Make sure to check back for my next post on "The Winning Mindset."

What are you going to do to get started?


Yours in Success,

Sam Khorramian

Success Expert



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How to get more Short Sale Business Tip #2 of 8 (For Investors, Realtors, and Brokers)

How to get more Short Sale Business Tip #2 of 8 (For Investors, Realtors, and Brokers)

Tip #2 of 8 on how to get more Short Sale Business

I am committed to helping Realtors and Brokers expand
their business by providing marketing tips and structuring
the short sale experience so you keep your full
commission and do minimal work.

This tip is all about:

CALLING LOAN MODIFICATION COMPANIES TO GET TURN DOWNS

This is an excellent way to generate
short sale listings! Many homeowners want to
explore a loan modification before resorting
to a short sale, however most simply
do not qualify. Mainly because they have a
permanent hardship (like loss of job)or they
can't afford the three grand that the loan
mod company charges.

Most Loan Modification companies have
large quantities of these "bad" leads (bad for them, good for you).
Partnering with just one large company could staff a
full office of agents listing short sales for months!

The idea is that you call them and set up a relationship
where both you and the loan mod company are
benefiting. If you call and simply try to ask
for business you might not get very far, but if
you get creative and come up with a plan
where everyone will benefit from the relationship
you can have great success!

Now is the time to make those partnerships
happen and then sit back and watch the short sale
listings come to you.

Keep in mind, with Short Sale Pros you keep
all your commission and we do all the work work with the bank!


What other methods are you using to take advantage of the short sale market? Look out of tip 3 coming out soon!


Keep in mind, you can contact me anytime to help get your short sales closed, with our model you keep all your commission and do none of the work!


To your success,

Oliver Graf
Real Estate Expert
Follow me on Twitter: Twitter.com/OliverGraf360



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