Probate Real Estate

The Ultimate Hoarder House

Yesterday the news featured a house in Granada Hills that was being sued by LA County because it was overrun by junk and trash. Working probate real estate for over 20 years, I’m normally used to this kind of stuff. But this house takes hoarding to a whole new level. And the crazy thing with

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Probate Nugget, Probate Property

Secret Sentence That Unlocks Killer Africanized Bees and Six Figures

My secret strategy that resulted in a huge payday, a Jeep, and Africanized killer bees. A group of us were on the phone yesterday discussing a favorite question that has helped me to identify if there are more properties in the estate than what is recorded in the court records. On the call, I was

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Mindset

Real Estate Wisdom From Mark Twain

Snippets of wisdom can come in all forms. Some people like Confucius. Me? I’m more of a Mark Twain kind of guy. The housing market has been taking a dive. It hasn’t jumped off the rails yet, but its current state has a lot of people worried. There’s a particular Mark Twain quote that I

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Mindset

Are You Ready for Zero Percent Mortgages?

Bank of America announced that they will be offering mortgages to people in disadvantaged areas who meet certain income requirements. They’ll get loans with no closing costs, no down payments, and no minimum credit scores. They’re not the first bank to offer something like this either. TD Bank and JPMorgan Chase have also rolled out

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Business

Archeologists Discover Vampire Burial Site

Archeologists discovered a 16th-century grave that had a woman buried with a sickle around her neck and a padlock on her toe. Apparently, the citizens of the town where she lived were afraid of this lady coming back to life. I guess people were paranoid even back then! Zombies and vampires have been all the

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Coaching, Mindset, Probate Niche

The Real Reason Why Everyone Isn’t Working Probate Real Estate

Money. Success. Travel. Family. Freedom. Everyone has their own reasons for getting into real estate. Whatever they are, achieving those goals always looks easier on paper. When you actually get your hands dirty and try to make those dreams a reality, there are a million things that can get in your way. The quickest way

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Coaching, Mindset

Is This What Labor Day Is Really About?

Well, now that it’s Labor Day, summer is officially over, at least for the Vargas family. We homeschool so we get to choose when the school year starts and Labor Day is our last hoorah before we start back up. Labor Day is our last chance to celebrate summer. Cookouts, hanging out with family &

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Personal Story

So Long John. Until We Meet Again.

Big cities are full of activity, action, and progress. Most people are busy running from one place to the next that they will often miss beautiful opportunities to connect with their fellow man on a real and meaningful level. I just found out that my friend John passed away the other day. John was a

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Probate

You Can’t Surf In Venice

Back in July when I toured Italy with my family, we made it a point to stop in Venice. Its beauty is unparalleled. Its history is evident in its architecture. And the ancient Italians built all of this on top of the water! Venice is actually a protected world heritage site and a number of

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Marketing

I Think Facebook Hates Me Now

Lately, I’ve been posting most of my emails on a bunch of different social media like Facebook. Now don’t stop opening my emails – because you’ll likely miss some golden nuggets because Facebook is just plain old dumb. Censorship is real in America and it happened last week to yours truly. Yup, I’m in Facebook

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Negotiations, Personal Story

The Five Love Languages of Real Estate

On Wednesday, I told you about how knowing the local language helped me close a deal because I spoke the language of the locals. No, it wasn’t because I knew Spanish (which I do) or some other foreign language. Have you ever read the book The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman? It’s a great

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Personal Story

I Just Wanted Pancakes But Ended Up In A Gang War

If you’re old enough, you’ll probably remember hearing about the huge feud between the L.A. street gangs known as the Bloods and the Crips. Living in Los Angeles, I am no stranger to different gangs and I am not at all intimidated by gang members. But the truth is that even though the cost of

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