Hello everyone.  I just wanted you all to know that I have left Pacific Auction Exchange as an employee and presently serve on an ad hoc consulting basis.  I have transitioned back to being a self-employed consultant full time working trough San Joaquin Bookkeeping & Tax Services.  San Joaquin ha many clients in real estate, mortgage lending, appraisers, inspectors  and other supporting occupations.  Since I am back to being a free agent this means I am better able to help a wider range of individuals throughout the Valley and California.  I am periodically in the Greater Los Angeles area at various assignments as well.  Feel free to reach out any time and be sure to review my updated profile.

Another winner as far as timely advice!  The economy is probably forcing all of us to stay a little closer to home than we would like this year.  Even so, many of us still need to take those summertime trips to Lord know where.  Here's som frindly advice to help Uncle Sam take a little of that bite along with us (http://www.sjbts.net/newsletter.shtml#1 ).

A couple key points to bring up with your tax advisor are that 'if your spouse is not an employee and travels with you on vacation, you can still deduct the cost of your room at the single occupancy per day rate, rather than half of the rate. Meals could also be deductible, if you are paying for lunch or dinner for a customer or business associate and that person's spouse, the full cost of the meals might qualify under the 50% meal deduction.'  I thought you'd find those items to be of good news.  There are a few more you may find of interest as well.

Happy Independence Day!

We all probably sit down at tax time wondering what can or shouldbe deducted for our home office.  Preparing my own taxes sometimes leaves me sweating bullets.  Home office tax deductions are one of the most scrutinized in any audit.  There are some concise explanations here ( http://www.sjbts.net/rep-homeoffice.php). 

One of the biggest suprises I found was for employees in using a home office deduction.  I'll quote here" To qualify for the home-office deduction, an employee must satisfy two additional criteria. First, the use of the home office must be for the convenience of the employer (for example, the employer does not provide a space for the employee to do his/her job). Second, the taxpayer does not rent all or part of the home to the employer. Employees who telecommute may be able to satisfy the requirements for the home-office deduction."  Honestly I raised an eyebrow at this.  In any event, in an audit, it's important how you characterize (justify) a deduction when claiming it.  Just a little food for thought and a word to the wise.

While surfing the web I stumbled across this nice little set of user-freindly calculators that people interested in buying a home may find useful for quick and dirty calculations and budgeting decisions (http://www.sjbts.net/calc-mortgage.html). There are plenty of places to find items like this, but this was a nice simple set.  Figured it would be worth while for a quick look at least.

Pacific Auction Exchange's online auction am www.epaxonline.com has dropped the cost for listing properties.  You can list for no fee up front.  The only fee is paid out of escro and is $750 and is paid only if the property sells through EPAX.  Please consider this and partnering with one of our auctioneers to get your listing or home slod in 30 days.

We are skilled at moving residential, commercial, industrial and raw land and can put commission dollars in your pocket fast.

Some of you may be aware that we lost or CEO and co-Founder early in May in a car accident.  Things were touch and go for a while, yet the company has overcome the difficulties through strong company culture and support from the community.  www.paxinc.com and www.epaxonline.com have been rejuvinated and listing properties with the company on either site has been made easier than ever.  Concerns about selling at auction, the commission potential is great and we sell at market.  Call us at 661-665-7960 if you have questions notanswered on the websites.  Want to list a property?  Give us a call too.  We have a lot of incentives.

I found something that may be useful for some of you.  The following link http://www.sjbts.net/calc-section.html has multiple calculators including one for 1031 Exchanges.  It's always a benefit to have tolls like this when dealing with investors, sells, agents or anyone who may be impacted by like kind exchanges or business decisions with potential tax consequences.  I hope you find it to be of benefit.

Well, an internal one anyway.  We just broke 50 listings today for the first time.  Next thing you know, three digits.  We expect this right about the end of March 08.  Bidders are signing up right and left.  If you haven't done so already, take a minute to register and be able to watch auction properties with no strings.  We're on out way to 10,000 registered bidders.  More news to come.  Keep your eye on www.epaxonline.com.  We're an easier solution to high inventory than you may think.  Special incentives are on for REO's and pre-forclosure listings.

We've rolled out another in a series of new features yesterday.  The 'Buy Out' feature is for our online real estate auctions on http://www.epaxonline.com/.  You can see the specific pilot example here (http://epaxonline.com/auction_details.php?name=35673571-Hwy-140-Catheys-Valley-California-95306&auction_id=100058).  This feature is not exclusive, however, and allows one to list a property with a reserve as well.  A bidder can actually accellerate the 2-4 week listing and have a listing agent closed and paid in 30 days or less following a shorter bidding cycle.  Just another option to keep on the table.

You may be familiar with the tired scammers listing and bidding on Ebay listed real estate.  This fact is common knowledge.  One of the problems with such sites is the lack of professionalism and support from a licensed professional.  A lack of specialty has also attracted many unqualified bidders.  www.epaxonline.com  in partnership with RealtyTrac is experiencing rapid growth and a new look.  We have access to a large supply of prequalified bidders and have seen a great deal of bidding activity in the one week since our site update.  If you are looking for a listing alternative or simply are a bidder tired of getting scammed, stop by our site.