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        <title>Real Estate Blog</title>
        <link>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/</link>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/beware-the-shadow.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/beware-the-shadow.html</link>
            <author>elsa@RakeTeam.com (Elsa Rake)</author>
            <title>Beware The Shadow</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
For months, we&rsquo;ve been expecting the next wave of foreclosures to hit the market.&nbsp; With a record number of homeowners defaulting on their mortgage payments, it&rsquo;s bound to happen sooner or later.&nbsp; According to yesterday&rsquo;s headlines from Housing Watch, we&rsquo;ve got a &ldquo;shadow inventory&rdquo; of almost 1.8 million homes that are on the brink of foreclosure.&nbsp; Of the 1.6 trillion in existing mortgages packaged into mortgage backed securities by Wall Street, ... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:28:25 -0600</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/built-for-military-home-sellers.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/built-for-military-home-sellers.html</link>
            <author>elsa@RakeTeam.com (Elsa Rake)</author>
            <title>Built for Military Home Sellers</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Since the height of the market in the summer of 2006, homes prices
across the United States have fallen a great deal.&nbsp; Many homeowners who
purchased prior to that summer, and now have orders to move, are faced
with the prospect of selling a home that may now be half the value it
was when purchased.&nbsp; Fortunately, there is hope.


As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the Department of Defense (DoD) expanded the Housing Assistance Program
(HAP) to p... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:00:02 -0600</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/how-did-you-determine-that-listing-price.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/how-did-you-determine-that-listing-price.html</link>
            <author>elsa@RakeTeam.com (Elsa Rake)</author>
            <title>How Did You Determine That Listing Price?</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Successfully&nbsp;selling homes isn&rsquo;t rocket science.&nbsp; Or, is it?&nbsp;

Does a home sell itself, or is smart marketing the key?&nbsp; Or, is it a little of both?&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp;

While most of us realize that targeted marketing is a sound sales strategy, it is tough to sell a lemon in any market.&nbsp; But most would agree, rarely is&nbsp;a buyer willing to pay more than an item is worth, unless of course, there&rsquo;s more to the item than meets the eye.&nbsp; But, that is sel... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:04:29 -0600</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/burn-your-mortgage.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/burn-your-mortgage.html</link>
            <author>elsa@RakeTeam.com (Elsa Rake)</author>
            <title>Burn Your Mortgage?</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Recently, I came across an article on AOL&rsquo;s Real Estate page&nbsp;highlighting an article&nbsp;in the blog DailyKos.&nbsp; For those not familiar with the &lsquo;Kos, it is devoted&nbsp;mainly to political and social commentary, along liberal lines.&nbsp; In the article AOL cited, the &lsquo;Kos urged those homeowners struggling with their mortgage to, walk away from their unpaid mortgages.&nbsp; In their words:

&ldquo;The real risk to the banks and investors is that the people in those ... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:12:44 -0600</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/what-is-your-must-have-home-feature.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/what-is-your-must-have-home-feature.html</link>
            <author>elsa@RakeTeam.com (Elsa Rake)</author>
            <title>What is Your Must Have Home Feature?</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
The Avid Ratings Co., which conducts an annual survey of home buyer preferences, has published its most recent findings.&nbsp; According to their survey, there are 10 &ldquo;must have&rdquo; features in new homes.&nbsp; These features include.

1.&nbsp; Large kitchens with an Island.

For many, the kitchen serves as much more than just a place to cook.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s also, more often than not, used for relaxing and socializing as well.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

2.&nbsp; Energy ef... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:52:25 -0600</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/appraisal-changes-come-due.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/appraisal-changes-come-due.html</link>
            <author>elsa@RakeTeam.com (Elsa Rake)</author>
            <title>Appraisal Changes Come Due</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
In September of last year, the U.S. Department of Housing &amp; Urban Development (HUD)&nbsp;announced a change to FHA appraisal validity periods.&nbsp;&nbsp; The announcement was met with unanimous approval from all sectors; lenders, home owners &amp; buyers, and yes, even appraisers.



The change to appraisal periods involved decreasing the validity time for FHA appraisals from six&nbsp;to four months for both existing homes and those under construction.&nbsp; Since the first of this calenda... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:19:46 -0600</pubDate>
                    </item>
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            <guid>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/healthy-home-tips-green-alternatives-for-homeowners.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/healthy-home-tips-green-alternatives-for-homeowners.html</link>
            <author>elsa@RakeTeam.com (Elsa Rake)</author>
            <title>Healthy Home Tips &amp; Green Alternatives for Homeowners</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
I&rsquo;ve recently been contacted by Mesothelioma Cancer Center and asked if I&rsquo;d assist in spreading the word about this form of cancer, which is caused, almost always,&nbsp;by exposure to asbestos.&nbsp; Rarely, in life, do things happen by coincidence.&nbsp;&nbsp; We buried a friend of mine less than three weeks ago.&nbsp; He had been&nbsp;diagnosed with Mesothelioma&nbsp;less than&nbsp;four months ago.&nbsp; Please pay attention to the Center&rsquo;s article that follows.&nbsp; Asbest... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:35:21 -0600</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/is-a-31-percent-failure-rate-acceptable.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/is-a-31-percent-failure-rate-acceptable.html</link>
            <author>elsa@RakeTeam.com (Elsa Rake)</author>
            <title>Is a 31 Percent Failure Rate Acceptable?</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
&ldquo;Incompetents invariably make trouble for people other than themselves.&rdquo;Larry McMurtry

Did you see the news?&nbsp;&nbsp;Yesterday&rsquo;s New York Times carried an article detailing the&nbsp;results of recent federal mandated licensing exams&nbsp;for loan officers around the country.&nbsp; The results thus far are anything but encouraging.&nbsp; According the Times article,&nbsp;&nbsp;&rdquo;31 percent of the roughly 10,000 people who took the national test from July 30 to Nov 30 f... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:25:53 -0600</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/whats-in-your-stocking.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/whats-in-your-stocking.html</link>
            <author>elsa@RakeTeam.com (Elsa Rake)</author>
            <title>What&#8217;s In Your Stocking?</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Well, Christmas is finally here.&nbsp; On this Eve of what many consider our most celebrated, and certainly costliest holiday, what are you hoping to find in your stocking, or under your Christmas tree?&nbsp; According an associate of mine, for men at least, they&rsquo;re looking for something electronic.&nbsp; She informed&nbsp;that men&nbsp;always seem to want the latest electronic gadget.&nbsp;&nbsp;Women, according to her, are much more practical.&nbsp; Hmmmm, interesting.&nbsp;

So, what i... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:08:40 -0600</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/let-it-snow.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/let-it-snow.html</link>
            <author>elsa@RakeTeam.com (Elsa Rake)</author>
            <title>Let It Snow</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Yes, if you haven&rsquo;t heard yet, we&rsquo;re snowed under!&nbsp; As you can see, the front yard is blanketed in&nbsp;almost two feet of snow, and the Northern Virginia area is struggling with a bit more of the stuff than they were ready for.&nbsp; Outside my front door this morning, it looked like this.



And, as I&rsquo;ve said previously in this blog, when there&rsquo;s any show on the ground in Northern Virginia, driving on our roads is akin to bumper cars lite!&nbsp; While that might b... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Sun, 20 Dec 2009 07:43:40 -0600</pubDate>
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