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        <title>Real Estate Blog</title>
        <link>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/tags/relocation/</link>
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            <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>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/can-you-separate-fact-from-fiction.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/can-you-separate-fact-from-fiction.html</link>
            <author>elsa@RakeTeam.com (Elsa Rake)</author>
            <title>Can You Separate Fact From Fiction?</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
As I was skimming&nbsp;this morning&rsquo;s New York Times headlines, when a piece on &ldquo;Mega Content&rdquo; sites caught my eye.&nbsp; The article&rsquo;s emphasis centered on the the quality, or lack thereof, of&nbsp;&rdquo;Content Sites&rdquo; like Answers.com&nbsp; The bottom line is, that while these sites are rich with content, and are quickly attracting viewers, maybe we need to consider what&nbsp;the quality of the material found there is?&nbsp; In other words, there&rsquo;s mounds ... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:07:17 -0600</pubDate>
                    </item>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/please-read-the-real-estate-fine-print.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.raketeam.com/blog/please-read-the-real-estate-fine-print.html</link>
            <author>elsa@RakeTeam.com (Elsa Rake)</author>
            <title>Please Read the Real Estate Fine Print</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
&rdquo;IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBABLY IS&rdquo; 

Unknown

This morning&rsquo;s Boston Globe ran a story of&nbsp;a real estate investment venture gone bad.&nbsp; Sound&nbsp;familiar?



&nbsp;

In this case, a young Virginia Beach couple, among others, were sold &ldquo;a bill of goods&rdquo;,&nbsp;left high and dry, broke, and are facing a&nbsp;lengthy legal battle&nbsp;to simply try and reclaim their good name.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If there ever was a real estate swindle that exempl... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:35:06 -0600</pubDate>
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