Attorney John Villines and JV LAW are hosting a FREE Tax Seminar on Business and Payroll Taxes.

• Find out the truth about IRS collection strategies!

• Hear what the IRS is afraid of – powerful information about resolving your IRS problems.

• Discover what happens if you try to ignore to the IRS.

• Learn how to recover and prevent future issues with the IRS.

When: Saturday October 27, 2007
From: 10am-12pm
Where: At the Hampton Inn, conveniently located off FWY 99 one exit north of Modesto.

Coffee, donuts, and scones, will be served.

Only 30 seats are available, so call today to reserve yours. 209.524.9903 or e-mail your Name (first and last), with a return address, e-mail, and phone #’s to mark@jvlaw.net.

This is a handy tool for real estate investors looking towards the bay area for investment opportunities. Now anyone accross the United States can get a street level view of cities like San Francisco, New York, San Diego and other major metropolitan areas.

Have family in the city? Slam that there address into Google Maps and see if you can take a gander at their driveway.

Does this violate privacy laws? Probably not. But in any case, I’m sure the Google legal team can handle whatever lawsuit comes their way.

[Via NuWireInvestor.com]

By Ruth Mantell - From MarketWatch

As a growing number of borrowers fall behind on their mortgage payments, the smartest move they can make is to contact their lender, mortgage-industry experts and consumer advocates say.

These days, there’s more incentive for companies to work with borrowers to avoid foreclosure: Regulators and lawmakers, prompted by troubles in the mortgage market, are encouraging companies to assist troubled borrowers.

Major lenders in the subprime mortgage market have agreed to a set of principles proposed by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., calling for servicers to try to modify loans before the interest-rate reset if borrowers will be unable to afford the new payments, among other actions.

Lenders also have a financial incentive to keep you in your home: They can lose tens of thousands of dollars for each loan that goes into foreclosure, according to a June report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Also, a bank’s reputation can be sullied by borrowers who go into foreclosure. Read the rest of this entry »

I have a keen interest in psychology and the humanities.

I regularly check About.com’s psychology section. They have links to interesting theories regarding human nature. Including results from the latest studies on how people or other animals react to their environment.

Here is an excerpt from an excellent article published by the New York Times that gives you some insight into the characteristics of priming and subliminal influences:

“New studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there’s a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there’s a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like “dependable” and “support” — all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it.

Psychologists say that “priming” people in this way is not some form of hypnotism, or even subliminal seduction; rather, it’s a demonstration of how everyday sights, smells and sounds can selectively activate goals or motives that people already have.”

Continue reading the full article here: Full Article

You’ve heard the advice: “Think outside the box,” to find new clients. Well this certainly is outside the box. PMZ Agent Pete Schaber of our Turlock Office recently debuted his new YZ125 Racing Motorcycle decked out with PMZ pride! He started hand-building this bike three months ago and designed the custom graphics from scratch. So what’s this is all about, you ask? A great example of marketing to a niche audience - motocross racers, enthusiasts and their fans.

Pete has grown up in a racing environment - his family owns AMP Racing. They setup racing events throughout northern California, from preparing tracks to providing beginner motocross training - they do it all. Pete’s also a motocross racer himself (on other motorcycles that he has built, of course). He now displays this bike at regional events to attract business. “I set it out on display at the races and have a little sign that tells people that I can help them find property. I usually have a list of the top 25 properties that has enough room to build their own recreational race tracks,” said Shaber.

We post this example as inspiration for everyone. Pete has combined his love for motorcycles with existing opportunities for new customers and appears to have come out a winner.

According to Pete, the custom decals were produced by ZLTMXID.com. The bike was built by Pete - feel free to give him a call to find out more.

What three letters make bankers cry but can help industrious REALTORS® thrive when there is a prolonged real estate slowdown?

REO. That’s shorthand for “Real Estate Owned,” which is what lenders call properties they own following formal foreclosure proceedings against borrowers who have defaulted on their mortgages. Lenders truly dislike assuming physical ownership through foreclosure. When they do, they often turn to REALTORS® for help.

REALTORS® who were active from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s will remember neighborhoods filled with REO properties, particularly in inland Southern California and after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Because foreclosure numbers lag behind sales and price trends, the REO market didn’t peak until 1997—well after the market showed signs of the recovery that led to California’s most recent real estate boom.

Today, as the market slows and foreclosures rise, banks, secondary market institutions, and REO specialists are gearing up to handle the expected increase in REO properties. While banks are mum about the topic, some veteran REO specialists offered to share their expertise with REALTORS® looking for ways to diversify their business.

Click “READ MORE” below to view the entire story.

Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK (Money Magazine) — If prospective buyers looked at your house today, what would they see outside? A giant evergreen that looks as if it might swallow the station wagon, perhaps, scraggly old foundation plants or maybe a kitchen-table view of the neighbors’ kids’ trampoline?If so, you have a truly inexpensive opportunity to boost your home’s curb appeal.

By spending $500 to $3,000 on plants and materials and a few hours of time, you can achieve a well-landscaped look without shelling out for professional help.

Besides the personal enjoyment you’ll get from a prettier yard, landscaping adds more value than almost any other home renovation.

A recent Michigan State University study found that depending on where the house is located, high-quality landscaping adds 5 percent to 11 percent to its price.

If you have no immediate plans to move, all the better: Landscaping is the one home improvement that actually appreciates over time.

So how do you decide which projects to tackle? That depends on how long you think you’ll be around to enjoy the results.

Click READ MORE below Read the rest of this entry »

I found this list of “totally stupid” business ideas and it inspired me to think.  You know, even if you think your plan is “stupid,” or will never work - think again.  Many of these people had faith in themselves and took a risk - and succeeded!  So if you’re in a slump in this housing market, don’t start drinking and sink into a depression.  There’s hope!

Get those creative, innovative thoughts crankin’ and take a chance.  Perhaps try a different marketing strategy using our new QuantumMail system?  How about reaching out to a new audience?  Check out the training being offered at PMZ University and take a class you may not have previously attended because you were too busy.  Drop into the office of one of your colleagues that has been in the business for a while and ask them what they think you should do.  You know the saying, “think outside the box!”

To inspire you, take a look at the stories of success below (click on READ MORE) Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re like me, you dread getting caught in the automated menu systems of most institutions.  Take, for example, Wells Fargo Bank.  I have had accounts there since I was a kid, and it pains me to call their 1-800 number because I know it will take me at least 5 minutes to get a live person on the phone.  That’s the only reason I am calling - to get a live person!  Otherwise I can find out everything online.

For those of you who share my pain, here’s a helpful resource to skirt around systems you’re most familiar with and get a live person to answer.  Check out this tip list >> DIAL A HUMAN chart

PMZ.com has arranged a special rate for virtual tours provided by Circlepix.com.

PMZ agents now get $10 off the regular price of the tours and the audio tour is included. You can burn your tour to CD for free or purchase duplicate CD’s. You can also build and print Flyers for free. There is a free 800 number that a client can call that will present the audio tour information and capture the phone number of the caller. (click Read More below for details and download CirclePix Data Sheet & Info)

“Virtual tours” is an industry name for a photographic process that allows an individual to view a room as if he were standing in it and turning to look at every angle. The technology gives a potential buyer a much better idea of the space, light, and architecture of residential houses, hotels, nursing homes – even boats - anywhere that a physical tour would be useful. Allowing the buyer or renter to see the property as if he were actually there – to “virtually tour” the property – give the technology its name.

The tours are hosted on the Internet and allow buyers to tour properties from any location with web access. Data show that over 80% of homebuyers begin their search for property on the Internet, an increasingly crowded market where sellers are looking for ways to stand out from the crowd.

Click >> READ MORE << below for package rates and details  Read the rest of this entry »