Real Estate starts with market value and market values are always fluctuating. Knowing how to conduct transactions in real estate equates to understanding how to calculate market value, basically understand how to do your own appraisal. The irony is that appraisal is not widely understood even with real estate experts. Appraisal is not hard, it is simple and the critical factor to everything in real estate. Whether you are purchasing a house, refinancing, lowering your property taxes, investing, etc. everything correlates to market value and the irony is that real estate market values are always changing. Real Estate values are always changing so the key is: understanding appraisal and how market values are calculated. When you know appraisal and how market values are determined you will have the tools needed to work with your banks on loans and your Assessor’s Office on property taxes. The California Little Black Book and the National Little Black Book walk you through the appraisal process step-by-step so that you know how to determine your market value and this is a tool you can use over and over again. Once you have the tool, the Little Black Book, you can appraise an infinite number of residences.