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<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/utility/FeedStylesheets/atom.xsl" media="screen"?><feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xml:lang="en"><title type="html">Richard Strang</title><subtitle type="html" /><id>http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/atom.aspx</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/default.aspx" /><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/atom.aspx" /><generator uri="http://communityserver.org" version="2.1.61019.2">Community Server</generator><updated>2010-09-06T04:43:00Z</updated><entry><title>2 Story Cape For Sale in East Fairhaven &quot;Short Sale&quot;</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2012/01/24/79272c46b4c2461c957b3b20611afbf2.aspx" /><id>http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2012/01/24/79272c46b4c2461c957b3b20611afbf2.aspx</id><published>2012-01-24T18:34:00Z</published><updated>2012-01-24T18:34:00Z</updated><content type="html">&lt;p align="center" style="float:right;margin-left:10px;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.seahorsere.com/Fairhaven/Massachusetts/Homes/East_Fairhaven/Agent/Listing_53102275.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.point2.com/p2a/listing/eab3/c27b/055b/b7f4fee743c9f8ca1ceb/w475h356.jpg" class="Photo ListingPhoto" alt="7 forestview 2" border="0" style="border:black 1px solid;"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;span class="cutline"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;East Fairhaven&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="summary" style="margin-top:0px;"&gt;&amp;bull;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span&gt;1,714 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm 2 story &amp;quot;Cape&amp;quot;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;-&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_r" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;font-weight:bold;"&gt;MLS&amp;reg;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_pl"&gt;$260,371&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;- Short Sale&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span class="dateline" id="LeadIn" style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;East Fairhaven, Fairhaven&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt; East Fairhaven; Three bedroom one and one half bath cape in a small subdivision bordering conservation land. The great home has a two car garage and is in move in condition.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is a &amp;quot;Short Sale&amp;quot; and is subject to 3rd. party approval &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.seahorsere.com/Fairhaven/Massachusetts/Homes/East_Fairhaven/Agent/Listing_53102275.html"&gt;Property information&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.seahorsere.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=1215462" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>44928</name><uri>http://www.seahorsere.com/members/44928.aspx</uri></author><category term="Real Estate" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Real+Estate/default.aspx" /><category term="For Sale" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/For+Sale/default.aspx" /></entry><entry><title>RECORD RATES PUSH HOUSING AFFORDABILITY HIGHER</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2012/01/22/record-rates-push-housing-affordability-higher.aspx" /><id>http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2012/01/22/record-rates-push-housing-affordability-higher.aspx</id><published>2012-01-22T15:46:00Z</published><updated>2012-01-22T15:46:00Z</updated><content type="html">&lt;div class="no-h1-display clearfix"&gt;&lt;h1&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div id="op-content"&gt;&lt;div id="resize"&gt;&lt;div class="section-date-author"&gt;Daily Real Estate News | Friday, January 20, 2012 &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="body-content"&gt;&lt;pre&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;--&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit another all-time low this week, marking the seventh straight week it has averaged below 4 percent, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here&amp;rsquo;s a closer look at rates for the week ending Jan. 19:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;30-year fixed-rate mortgages:&lt;/strong&gt; averaged 3.88 percent, with an average 0.8 point, a new all-time low and dropping from last week&amp;rsquo;s previous record of 3.89 percent. A year ago at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.74 percent.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;15-year fixed-rate mortgages: &lt;/strong&gt;averaged 3.17 percent, with an average 0.8 point, up slightly from last week&amp;rsquo;s record low of 3.16 percent. Last year at this time, 15-year rates averaged 4.05 percent.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5-year adjustable-rate mortgages: &lt;/strong&gt;averaged 2.82 percent, with an average 0.7 point, the same as last week&amp;rsquo;s average. Last year at this time, 5-year ARMs averaged 3.69 percent.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1-year ARMs:&lt;/strong&gt; averaged 2.74 percent, with an average 0.6 point, dropping from last week&amp;rsquo;s 2.76 percent average. Last year at this point, the 1-year ARM averaged 3.25 percent.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.seahorsere.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=1213624" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>44928</name><uri>http://www.seahorsere.com/members/44928.aspx</uri></author><category term="Real Estate" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Real+Estate/default.aspx" /><category term="Market Conditions" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Market+Conditions/default.aspx" /><category term="Announcements" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Announcements/default.aspx" /><category term="Industry" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Industry/default.aspx" /><category term="Finances" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Finances/default.aspx" /><category term="Buyer Information" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Buyer+Information/default.aspx" /><category term="Seller Information" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Seller+Information/default.aspx" /></entry><entry><title>Fairhaven   short sale  &quot;NEW PRICE&quot;</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2012/01/04/9ae992ad1f0140139c60657a13197bef.aspx" /><id>http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2012/01/04/9ae992ad1f0140139c60657a13197bef.aspx</id><published>2012-01-04T18:24:00Z</published><updated>2012-01-04T18:24:00Z</updated><content type="html">&lt;p align="center" style="float:right;margin-left:10px;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.seahorsere.com/Fairhaven/Massachusetts/Homes/420_Sconticut_Neck_Rd_Fairhaven_Ma/Sconticut_Neck/Agent/Listing_36060602.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.point2.com/p2a/listing/1a88/ba7c/3421/3d2520788af109ed58e0/w475h356.jpg" class="Photo ListingPhoto" alt="420 sconticut neck rd 006" border="0" style="border:black 1px solid;"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;span class="cutline"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pristine Home&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="summary" style="margin-top:0px;"&gt;&amp;bull;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span&gt;2,016 sq. ft., 3 bath, 3 bdrm 2 story &amp;quot;Colonial&amp;quot;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;-&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_r" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;font-weight:bold;"&gt;MLS&amp;reg;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_pl"&gt;$347,600&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;- SHORT SALE&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span class="dateline" id="LeadIn" style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Sconticut Neck, Fairhaven&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt; FAIRHAVEN: Well maintained Colonial, move in condition! Spacious yard wth stone walls.&lt;br /&gt;Interior; fireplace, central air, large rooms, hardwood floors. Public access to the water is just a short walk! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;THIS IS A SHORT SALE PROPERTY AND IS SUBJECT TO 3RD. PARTY APPROVAL&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.seahorsere.com/Fairhaven/Massachusetts/Homes/420_Sconticut_Neck_Rd_Fairhaven_Ma/Sconticut_Neck/Agent/Listing_36060602.html"&gt;Property information&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.seahorsere.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=1199835" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>44928</name><uri>http://www.seahorsere.com/members/44928.aspx</uri></author><category term="Real Estate" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Real+Estate/default.aspx" /><category term="For Sale" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/For+Sale/default.aspx" /><category term="Announcements" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Announcements/default.aspx" /><category term="Buyer Information" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Buyer+Information/default.aspx" /><category term="Community Information" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Community+Information/default.aspx" /></entry><entry><title>Waterfront home for sale at Crescent Beach</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2011/07/18/9cafc5326f1948639da41512745127b2.aspx" /><id>http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2011/07/18/9cafc5326f1948639da41512745127b2.aspx</id><published>2011-07-18T17:45:00Z</published><updated>2011-07-18T17:45:00Z</updated><content type="html">&lt;p align="center" style="float:left;margin-right:10px;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.seahorsere.com/Mattapoisett/Massachusetts/Homes/4_Union_Ave_Mattapoisett_Ma_02739/Crescent_Beach/Agent/Listing_41584191.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.point2.com/p2a/listing/d0fc/a36d/1204/dcb8110485c87f75b665/w475h356.jpg" class="Photo ListingPhoto" alt="4 Union Ave  Crescent Beach 001" border="0" style="border:black 1px solid;"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;span class="cutline"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Crescent Beach, Waterfront&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="summary" style="margin-top:0px;"&gt;&amp;bull;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span&gt;1,260 sq. ft., 1 bath, 3 bdrm single story &amp;quot;on raised foundation&amp;quot;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;-&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_r" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;font-weight:bold;"&gt;MLS&amp;reg;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_pl"&gt;$825,000&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span class="dateline" id="LeadIn" style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Crescent Beach, Mattapoisett&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt; Waterfront home with panoramic ocean views.Three bedrooms plus loft, living room kitchen combo, solid wood doors, cathedrall ceilings, fans, recessed lighting, sky lights, deck on two sides of house, outdoor shower and just steps from the beach. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.seahorsere.com/Mattapoisett/Massachusetts/Homes/4_Union_Ave_Mattapoisett_Ma_02739/Crescent_Beach/Agent/Listing_41584191.html"&gt;Property information&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.seahorsere.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=1052373" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>44928</name><uri>http://www.seahorsere.com/members/44928.aspx</uri></author><category term="Real Estate" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Real+Estate/default.aspx" /><category term="For Sale" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/For+Sale/default.aspx" /></entry><entry><title>MORTGAGE PROTECTION PROGRAM</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2011/03/15/mortgage-protection-program.aspx" /><id>http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2011/03/15/mortgage-protection-program.aspx</id><published>2011-03-15T18:59:00Z</published><updated>2011-03-15T18:59:00Z</updated><content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;With each listing agreement signed with &lt;u&gt;Seahorse Realty&amp;nbsp;&lt;/u&gt; the seller will be given the oportunity to give the buyer a one year &amp;nbsp;&lt;u&gt;Mortgage Protection Plan.&lt;/u&gt;&amp;nbsp; If buyer looses his or her job the plan will make 6 months of mortage payments while they collect unemployment and search for work.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;This is an opportunity for the sellers home to stand out from the rest and put the buyers as ease in this rough economy!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.seahorsere.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=889242" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>44928</name><uri>http://www.seahorsere.com/members/44928.aspx</uri></author><category term="Real Estate" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Real+Estate/default.aspx" /><category term="Market Conditions" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Market+Conditions/default.aspx" /><category term="For Sale" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/For+Sale/default.aspx" /><category term="Open Houses" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Open+Houses/default.aspx" /><category term="Announcements" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Announcements/default.aspx" /><category term="Industry" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Industry/default.aspx" /><category term="Product Reviews" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Product+Reviews/default.aspx" /><category term="Finances" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Finances/default.aspx" /><category term="Seller Information" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Seller+Information/default.aspx" /><category term="Community Information" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Community+Information/default.aspx" /></entry><entry><title>Why Short Sales Are Preferable to Foreclosure</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2011/01/31/why-short-sales-are-preferable-to-foreclosure.aspx" /><id>http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2011/01/31/why-short-sales-are-preferable-to-foreclosure.aspx</id><published>2011-01-31T16:09:00Z</published><updated>2011-01-31T16:09:00Z</updated><content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A short sale is a situation in which the seller owes more money on the loan (and any other liens on the property) than the sale of the property will likely produce on the market and the seller is unable or unwilling to bring money to closing. In a short sale, the lender has not yet forclosed on the property, which provides a window of opportunity for the owner to sell the property in order to at least partially satisfy the amount to&amp;nbsp; the lender.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Short sales are considered preferable to foreclosures because short sales lessen the inpact a foreclosure can have on the surrounding community and won&amp;#39;t damage the distressed owner&amp;#39;s credit as much as a foreclosure. If the borrower is still current with other payments, a short sale may lower the borrower&amp;#39;s credit score by as little as 50 points. After the sale the lender can report as Paid in full-paid as agreed or paid-settled or paid-unrated. A foreclosure can lower the credit score by 200 points or more and remain as a public record and on credit history for seven years.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;If you or anyone you know is a distressed home owner and needs assistance, please call or have them call us at 508-758-4663. At Seahorse Realty we are a certified Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource. We have helped many home owners that need to sell and are upside down on their mortgage. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.seahorsere.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=846452" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>44928</name><uri>http://www.seahorsere.com/members/44928.aspx</uri></author><category term="Real Estate" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Real+Estate/default.aspx" /><category term="For Sale" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/For+Sale/default.aspx" /><category term="Finances" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Finances/default.aspx" /><category term="Seller Information" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Seller+Information/default.aspx" /><category term="Community Information" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Community+Information/default.aspx" /></entry><entry><title>9 Bedroom Mattapoisett Vacation Rental with Private Beach</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2011/01/14/aa7ea2280b8344158ba5a9ed87a165a1.aspx" /><id>http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2011/01/14/aa7ea2280b8344158ba5a9ed87a165a1.aspx</id><published>2011-01-14T14:50:00Z</published><updated>2011-01-14T14:50:00Z</updated><content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;span id="LeadIn" style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Mattapoisett Center, Mattapoisett&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;Announcing a rent/lease&amp;nbsp;opportunity on&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;Neds Point, a 3 bath, 8 bdrm 2 story. Now&lt;/span&gt; &lt;img border="0" id="Price_mi" src="http://www.seahorsere.com/OFFICE/PortalOfficeShared/images/1x1.gif" style="position:absolute;width:34px;height:20px;" /&gt; &lt;span id="Price_r" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;font-weight:bold;"&gt;MLS&amp;reg;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_pl"&gt;$5,000 USD&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_rl"&gt;Weekly&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;- VACATION RENTAL. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.seahorsere.com/Mattapoisett/Massachusetts/Homes/Mattapoisett/Mattapoisett_Center/Agent/Listing_828088.html"&gt;Property information&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.seahorsere.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=830783" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>44928</name><uri>http://www.seahorsere.com/members/44928.aspx</uri></author><category term="Real Estate" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Real+Estate/default.aspx" /><category term="For Rent/Lease" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/For+Rent_2F00_Lease/default.aspx" /><category term="Announcements" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Announcements/default.aspx" /><category term="Community Information" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Community+Information/default.aspx" /></entry><entry><title>Weekly vacation rental at Shell Beach, Mattapoisett</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2011/01/04/f785d0a4d4e6476e955c6430ff7ec430.aspx" /><id>http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2011/01/04/f785d0a4d4e6476e955c6430ff7ec430.aspx</id><published>2011-01-04T20:35:00Z</published><updated>2011-01-04T20:35:00Z</updated><content type="html">&lt;p align="center" style="float:right;margin-left:10px;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.seahorsere.com/Mattapoisett/Massachusetts/Homes/5_Dyar_Rd_Mattapoisett_Ma/Mattapoisett_Shores/Agent/Listing_30656430.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.point2.com/p2a/listing/248b/b5f5/6be6/3df14d7e49358b8b9232/w475h356.jpg" class="Photo ListingPhoto" alt="photoCA1MCSGV" border="0" style="border:black 1px solid;"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;span class="cutline"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mattapoisett Shorse Vacation Home&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="summary" style="margin-top:0px;"&gt;&amp;bull;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span&gt;495 sq. ft., 1 bath, 2 bdrm single story&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;-&lt;/span&gt; &lt;img border="0" id="Price_mi" src="http://www.seahorsere.com/OFFICE/PortalOfficeShared/images/1x1.gif" style="position:absolute;width:34px;height:20px;" title="MLS&amp;reg; #71172347" /&gt; &lt;span id="Price_r" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;font-weight:bold;"&gt;MLS&amp;reg;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_pl"&gt;$1,200 USD&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_rl"&gt;Weekly&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;- Weekly Summer Rental&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span class="dateline" id="LeadIn" style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Mattapoisett Shores, Mattapoisett&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt; Great Summer rental in a beautiful location on Mattapoisett Neck! Deeded beach right to private Shell Beach! Adorable cottage with newly remodeled bath! fully furnished and equipped! Easy/safe swim access, great beach, large yard, laundry, and great deck for fabulous views! &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.seahorsere.com/Mattapoisett/Massachusetts/Homes/5_Dyar_Rd_Mattapoisett_Ma/Mattapoisett_Shores/Agent/Listing_30656430.html"&gt;Property information&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.seahorsere.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=822863" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>44928</name><uri>http://www.seahorsere.com/members/44928.aspx</uri></author><category term="Real Estate" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Real+Estate/default.aspx" /><category term="For Rent/Lease" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/For+Rent_2F00_Lease/default.aspx" /></entry><entry><title>Renovated apt. in Mattapoisett....Year round rental</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2011/01/01/dfb552b6cf5f4aab9c18b6184f506436.aspx" /><id>http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2011/01/01/dfb552b6cf5f4aab9c18b6184f506436.aspx</id><published>2011-01-01T21:59:00Z</published><updated>2011-01-01T21:59:00Z</updated><content type="html">&lt;p align="center" style="float:right;margin-left:10px;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.seahorsere.com/Mattapoisett/Massachusetts/Homes/147_Fairhaven_Rd_Mattapoisett/Mattapoisett/Agent/Listing_30480434.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.point2.com/p2a/listing/d465/3006/2d80/bdb7f7740ff602c50bce/w475h356.jpg" class="Photo ListingPhoto" alt="CIMG0005" border="0" style="border:black 1px solid;"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;span class="cutline"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Like New&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="summary" style="margin-top:0px;"&gt;&amp;bull;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span&gt;910 sq. ft., 1 bath, 1 bdrm apartment &amp;quot;First Floor - Like New&amp;quot;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;-&lt;/span&gt; &lt;img border="0" id="Price_mi" src="http://www.seahorsere.com/OFFICE/PortalOfficeShared/images/1x1.gif" style="position:absolute;width:34px;height:20px;" /&gt; &lt;span id="Price_r" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;font-weight:bold;"&gt;MLS&amp;reg;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_pl"&gt;$1,000 USD&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_rl"&gt;Monthly&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;- Year Round Rental&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span class="dateline" id="LeadIn" style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Mattapoisett, Plymouth County&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt; Spacious first floor one bedroom apt. with garage, yard and patio. Apt in new condition with laminate flooring in kitchen, plenty of cabinets, recessed lighting, black appliances. Bathroom has ceramic tile flooring, large shower, double sink. Living room has carpeting, electric fireplace &amp;amp; recessed lighting. Bedroom is carpeted, recessed lighting and closet. This apt. has a stackable front loading washer &amp;amp; dryer. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.seahorsere.com/Mattapoisett/Massachusetts/Homes/147_Fairhaven_Rd_Mattapoisett/Mattapoisett/Agent/Listing_30480434.html"&gt;Property information&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.seahorsere.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=821183" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>44928</name><uri>http://www.seahorsere.com/members/44928.aspx</uri></author><category term="Real Estate" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Real+Estate/default.aspx" /><category term="For Rent/Lease" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/For+Rent_2F00_Lease/default.aspx" /></entry><entry><title>Winter Rental at Harbor Beach</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2010/10/26/a0549ef1c2154071aaa7267d16bd360b.aspx" /><id>http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2010/10/26/a0549ef1c2154071aaa7267d16bd360b.aspx</id><published>2010-10-26T14:08:00Z</published><updated>2010-10-26T14:08:00Z</updated><content type="html">&lt;p align="center" style="float:left;margin-right:10px;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.seahorsere.com/Mattapoisett/Massachusetts/Homes/Harbor_Beach/Agent/Listing_26557057.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.point2.com/p2a/listing/7683/5378/8cd3/0210153fb7571220b21b/w475h356.jpg" class="Photo ListingPhoto" alt="CIMG0011" border="0" style="border:black 1px solid;"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;span class="cutline"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;HARBOR BEACH&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="summary" style="margin-top:0px;"&gt;&amp;bull;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span&gt;960 sq. ft., 2 bath, 1 bdrm 2 story&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;-&lt;/span&gt; &lt;img border="0" height="20" id="Price_mi" src="http://www.seahorsere.com/OFFICE/PortalOfficeShared/images/1x1.gif" style="position:absolute;width:34px;height:20px;" title="MLS&amp;reg; #71155259" width="34" /&gt; &lt;span id="Price_r" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;font-weight:bold;"&gt;MLS&amp;reg;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_pl"&gt;$975 USD&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_rl"&gt;Monthly&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;- Winter Rental&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span class="dateline" id="LeadIn" style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Harbor Beach, Mattapoisett&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt; MATTAPOISETT: FURNISHED WINTER RENTAL AT HARBOR BEACH. Enjoy the views from this 2 bedroom home which features stainless applicances, granite, recessed lighting, ceilings fans, slider to deck, 2 TV(s), laundry room. RENTAL FEE INCLUDES TELEPHONE, CABLE TV &amp;amp; INTERNET ACCESS. TENANT PAYS ALL OTHER UTILITIES.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;AVAILABLE NOV 1ST. THRU JUNE 2011 &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.seahorsere.com/Mattapoisett/Massachusetts/Homes/Harbor_Beach/Agent/Listing_26557057.html"&gt;Property information&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.seahorsere.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=782757" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>44928</name><uri>http://www.seahorsere.com/members/44928.aspx</uri></author><category term="Real Estate" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Real+Estate/default.aspx" /><category term="For Rent/Lease" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/For+Rent_2F00_Lease/default.aspx" /></entry><entry><title>Mattapoisett Village year round apt. or rent (utilities included)</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2010/10/18/ca30bf7b22274cc3a68be336413428c8.aspx" /><id>http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2010/10/18/ca30bf7b22274cc3a68be336413428c8.aspx</id><published>2010-10-18T13:47:00Z</published><updated>2010-10-18T13:47:00Z</updated><content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;span id="LeadIn" style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Mattapoisett Village,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt; Barstow Street, a 400 sq. ft., 1 bath, 1 bdrm single story.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_pl"&gt;$875 USD&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_rl"&gt;Monthly&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;- includes utilities plus central air. Excelent location.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.seahorsere.com/Mattapoisett/Massachusetts/Homes/Mattapoisett_Village/Agent/Listing_26182743.html"&gt;Property information&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.seahorsere.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=777431" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>44928</name><uri>http://www.seahorsere.com/members/44928.aspx</uri></author><category term="Real Estate" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Real+Estate/default.aspx" /><category term="For Rent/Lease" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/For+Rent_2F00_Lease/default.aspx" /></entry><entry><title>FORMER HOME OWNERS RECLAIM FORECLOSED PROPERTY</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2010/10/17/former-home-owners-reclaim-foreclosed-property.aspx" /><id>http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2010/10/17/former-home-owners-reclaim-foreclosed-property.aspx</id><published>2010-10-17T12:25:00Z</published><updated>2010-10-17T12:25:00Z</updated><content type="html">&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" size="2"&gt;One possible outcome of the foreclosure crisis could be a fight between former owners of foreclosed homes and lenders.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" size="2"&gt;An example of what might become a larger trend happened in California, where a couple and their nine children used a crowbar to break into their former home. Their lawyer recommended that they take this step, according to AOL&amp;rsquo;s HousingWatch.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" size="2"&gt;The former owners, Jim and Danielle Earl, say they were trying to catch up with their payments when the lender sold the property to Conejo Capital Partners.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" size="2"&gt;The Earls say it&amp;rsquo;s unclear what entity owns the loan. Housing Watch says the original lender was Washington Mutual, which became JPMorgan Chase. The Earls say that Chase failed to properly assume the loan and didn&amp;rsquo;t have the right to sell it, nor could Conejo Capital Partners legally sell it.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" size="2"&gt;The Earls&amp;rsquo; attorney, Michael Pines, told the Ventura newspaper, &amp;ldquo;They may claim we&amp;rsquo;re violating the law. We&amp;rsquo;re claiming they violated the law. Typically the authorities will say this is a civil dispute, but the question is, who owns the home? Because whoever doesn&amp;rsquo;t is trespassing.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.seahorsere.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=777104" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>44928</name><uri>http://www.seahorsere.com/members/44928.aspx</uri></author><category term="Real Estate" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Real+Estate/default.aspx" /><category term="Market Conditions" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Market+Conditions/default.aspx" /><category term="For Sale" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/For+Sale/default.aspx" /><category term="Industry" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Industry/default.aspx" /><category term="Buyer Information" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Buyer+Information/default.aspx" /><category term="Seller Information" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Seller+Information/default.aspx" /></entry><entry><title>Year Round Rental in Marion Village</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2010/10/09/536ec9f6eabd482289b634ad917df61f.aspx" /><id>http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2010/10/09/536ec9f6eabd482289b634ad917df61f.aspx</id><published>2010-10-09T14:26:00Z</published><updated>2010-10-09T14:26:00Z</updated><content type="html">&lt;p align="center" style="float:left;margin-right:10px;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.seahorsere.com/Marion/Massachusetts/Homes/16_Pitcher_St___Marion_Ma/Marion_Village/Agent/Listing_25709067.html"&gt;&lt;img src="http://media.point2.com/p2a/listing/fba4/c110/66e9/417ab5b1c02be9ee9369/w475h356.jpg" class="Photo ListingPhoto" alt="photoCA0825ZQ" border="0" style="border:black 1px solid;"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;span class="cutline"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;YEAR ROUND RENTAL&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="summary" style="margin-top:0px;"&gt;&amp;bull;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span&gt;1,236 sq. ft., 1 bath,&amp;nbsp;2 bdrm single story&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;-&lt;/span&gt; &lt;img border="0" height="20" id="Price_mi" src="http://www.seahorsere.com/OFFICE/PortalOfficeShared/images/1x1.gif" style="position:absolute;width:34px;height:20px;" title="MLS&amp;reg; #7020235" width="34" /&gt; &lt;span id="Price_r" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:10px;font-weight:bold;"&gt;MLS&amp;reg;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_pl"&gt;$1,325 USD&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span id="Price_rl"&gt;Monthly&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;- Marion Village&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span class="dateline" id="LeadIn" style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Marion Village, Marion Center&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt; MARION VILLAGE: Year Round Rental, beautiful hardwood floors, new kitchen with granite counter tops, fireplace, garage, storage shed, aditional studio building would make a great private office, nice flower gardens and spacious grounds. Walk to Silver Shell Beach and the Marion Yacht Club. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.seahorsere.com/Marion/Massachusetts/Homes/16_Pitcher_St___Marion_Ma/Marion_Village/Agent/Listing_25709067.html"&gt;Property information&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.seahorsere.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=771997" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>44928</name><uri>http://www.seahorsere.com/members/44928.aspx</uri></author><category term="Real Estate" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Real+Estate/default.aspx" /><category term="For Rent/Lease" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/For+Rent_2F00_Lease/default.aspx" /><category term="Announcements" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Announcements/default.aspx" /></entry><entry><title>6 Reasons to Reduce Your Homes Price</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2010/09/13/6-reasons-to-reduce-your-homes-price.aspx" /><id>http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2010/09/13/6-reasons-to-reduce-your-homes-price.aspx</id><published>2010-09-13T15:11:00Z</published><updated>2010-09-13T15:11:00Z</updated><content type="html">&lt;div class="content clearfix" id="editorial-content"&gt;&lt;div class="content"&gt;&lt;div class="article"&gt;&lt;h1 class="article-head clearfix"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;While you&amp;rsquo;d like to get the best price for your home, consider our six reasons to reduce your home price. &lt;/h1&gt;&lt;div class="related-info"&gt;&lt;div class="related-info"&gt;&lt;div class="photo-gallery photo-gallery-lg"&gt;&lt;img alt="Home for sale with lowered asking price" height="200" src="http://c0263062.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/content/images/sized/buysell-home-price-reduced-foreman_28444c5865f922a9bb6159139b3db3d6_3x2_jpg_300x200_q85.jpg" width="300" /&gt; &lt;p&gt;If you don&amp;#39;t receive any offers for a few weeks, check out other comparable houses on the market and what they&amp;#39;re going for. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="body"&gt;&lt;p&gt;Home not selling? That could happen for a number of reasons you can&amp;rsquo;t control, like a unique home layout or having one of the few homes in the neighborhood without a garage. There is one factor you can control: your home price.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;These six&amp;nbsp;signs may be telling you it&amp;rsquo;s time to lower your price.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;1. You&amp;rsquo;re drawing few lookers&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;You get the most interest in your home right after you put it on the market because buyers want to catch a great new home before anybody else takes it. If your real estate agent reports there have been fewer buyers calling about and asking to tour your home than there have been for other homes in your area, that may be a sign buyers think it&amp;rsquo;s overpriced and are waiting for the price to fall before viewing it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;2. You&amp;rsquo;re drawing lots of lookers but have no offers&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you&amp;rsquo;ve had 30 sets of potential buyers come through your home and not a single one has made an offer, something is off. What are other agents telling your agent about your home? An overly high price may be discouraging buyers from making an offer.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;3. Your home&amp;rsquo;s been on the market longer than similar homes&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ask your real estate agent about the average number of days it takes to sell a home in your market. If the answer is 30 and you&amp;rsquo;re pushing 45, your price may be affecting buyer interest. When a home sits on the market, buyers can begin to wonder if there&amp;rsquo;s something wrong with it, which can delay a sale even further. At least consider lowering your asking price.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;4. You have a deadline&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you&amp;rsquo;ve got to sell soon because of a job transfer or you&amp;rsquo;ve already purchased another home, it may be necessary to generate buyer interest by dropping your price so your home is a little lower priced than comparable homes in your area. Remember: It&amp;rsquo;s not how much money you need that determines the sale price of your home, it&amp;rsquo;s how much money a buyer is willing to spend.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;5. You can&amp;rsquo;t make upgrades&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;Maybe you&amp;rsquo;re plum out of cash and don&amp;rsquo;t have the funds to put fresh paint on the walls, clean the carpets, and add curb appeal. But the feedback your agent is reporting from buyers is that your home isn&amp;rsquo;t as&amp;nbsp;well-appointed as similarly priced homes. When your home has been on the market longer than comparable homes in better condition, it&amp;rsquo;s time to accept that buyers expect to pay less for a home that doesn&amp;rsquo;t show as well as others.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;6. The competition has changed&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;If weeks go by with no offers, continue to check out the competition. What have comparable homes sold for and what&amp;rsquo;s still on the market? What new listings have been added since you listed your home for sale? If comparable home sales or new listings show your price is too steep, consider a price reduction&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.seahorsere.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=754858" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>44928</name><uri>http://www.seahorsere.com/members/44928.aspx</uri></author><category term="Real Estate" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Real+Estate/default.aspx" /><category term="Market Conditions" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Market+Conditions/default.aspx" /><category term="For Sale" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/For+Sale/default.aspx" /><category term="Finances" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Finances/default.aspx" /><category term="Seller Information" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Seller+Information/default.aspx" /><category term="Community Information" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Community+Information/default.aspx" /></entry><entry><title>How to use comparable sales to price your home</title><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2010/09/06/how-to-use-comparable-sales-to-price-your-home.aspx" /><id>http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/2010/09/06/how-to-use-comparable-sales-to-price-your-home.aspx</id><published>2010-09-06T09:43:00Z</published><updated>2010-09-06T09:43:00Z</updated><content type="html">&lt;div class="content clearfix" id="editorial-content"&gt;&lt;div class="content"&gt;&lt;div class="article"&gt;&lt;h1 class="article-head clearfix"&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;p&gt;Before you put your home up for sale, use the right comparable sales to find the perfect price.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="related-info"&gt;&lt;div class="related-info"&gt;&lt;div class="photo-gallery photo-gallery-lg"&gt;&lt;img alt="Home for sale in neighborhood" height="200" src="http://c0263062.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/content/images/sized/buysell-comps-to-price-home-getty_0252a9bdd324a217345062d901ddf4ae_3x2_jpg_300x200_q85.jpg" width="300" /&gt; &lt;p&gt;A house is comparable to yours in price if it&amp;#39;s in the same neighborhood, on a similar street, and in the same school district. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="body"&gt;&lt;p&gt;How much can you sell your home for? Probably about as much as the neighbors got, as long as the neighbors sold their house in recent memory and their home was just like your home.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Knowing how much homes similar to yours, called comparable sales (or in real estate lingo, comps), sold for gives you the best idea of the current estimated value of your home. The trick is finding sales that closely match yours.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;What makes a good comparable sale?&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;Your best comparable&amp;nbsp;sale is the same model as your house in the same subdivision&amp;mdash;and it closed escrow last week. If you can&amp;rsquo;t find that, here are other factors that count:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Location:&lt;/strong&gt; The closer to your house the better, but don&amp;rsquo;t just use any comparable&amp;nbsp;sale within a mile radius. A good comparable sale is a house in your neighborhood, your subdivision, on the same type of street as your house, and in your school district.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Home type:&lt;/strong&gt; Try to find comparable sales that are like your home in style, construction material, square footage, number of bedrooms and baths, basement (having one and whether it&amp;rsquo;s finished), finishes, and yard size.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Amenities and upgrades:&lt;/strong&gt; Is the kitchen new? Does the comparable sale house have full A/C? Is there crown molding, a deck, or a pool? Does your community have the same amenities (pool, workout room, walking trails, etc.) and homeowners association fees?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Date of sale:&lt;/strong&gt; You may want to use a comparable sale from two years ago when the market was high, but that won&amp;rsquo;t fly. Most buyers use government-guaranteed mortgages, and those lending programs say comparable sales can be no older than 90 days.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sales sweeteners:&lt;/strong&gt; Did the comparable-sale sellers give the buyers downpayment assistance, closing costs, or a free television? You have to reduce the value of any comparable sale to account for any deal sweeteners.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Agents can help adjust price based on insider insights&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;Even if you live in a subdivision, your home will always be different from your neighbors&amp;rsquo;. Evaluating those differences&amp;mdash;like the fact that your home has one more bedroom than the comparables or a basement office&amp;mdash;is one of the ways real estate agents add value. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;An active agent has been inside a lot of homes in your neighborhood and knows all sorts of details about comparable sales.&amp;nbsp;He has read the comments the selling agent put into the MLS, seen the ugly wallpaper, and heard what other REALTORS&amp;reg;, lenders and appraisers said about the comparable sale.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;More ways to pick a home&amp;nbsp;listing price&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you&amp;rsquo;re still having trouble picking out a listing price for your home, look at the current competition. Ask your real estate agent to be honest about your home and the other homes on the market (and then listen to&amp;nbsp;him without taking the criticism personally). &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Next, put your comparable sales into two piles: more expensive and less expensive. What makes your home more valuable than the cheaper comparable sales and less valuable than the pricier comparable sales?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Are foreclosures and short sales comparables?&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;If one or more of your comparable sales was a foreclosed home or a short sale (a home that sold for less money than the owners owed on the mortgage), ask your real estate agent how to treat those comps.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A foreclosed home is usually in poor condition because owners who can&amp;rsquo;t pay their mortgage can&amp;rsquo;t afford to pay for upkeep. Your home is in great shape, so the foreclosure should be priced lower than your home.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Short sales are typically in good condition, although they are still distressed sales. The owners usually have to sell because they&amp;rsquo;re divorcing, or their employer is moving them to another area.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;How much short sales are discounted from their market value varies among local markets. The average short-sale homes in&amp;nbsp;our area&amp;nbsp;have been&amp;nbsp;discounted by approx.&amp;nbsp;8.5%,&amp;nbsp;Sellers&amp;nbsp;typically discount short-sale homes by 3% to 5% to get them quickly sold,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So you have to rely on your REALTOR&amp;rsquo;s&amp;reg; knowledge of the local market to use a short sale as a comparable sale.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http://www.seahorsere.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=750415" width="1" height="1"&gt;</content><author><name>44928</name><uri>http://www.seahorsere.com/members/44928.aspx</uri></author><category term="Real Estate" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Real+Estate/default.aspx" /><category term="Market Conditions" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Market+Conditions/default.aspx" /><category term="For Sale" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/For+Sale/default.aspx" /><category term="Finances" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Finances/default.aspx" /><category term="Seller Information" scheme="http://www.seahorsere.com/blogs/richard_strang/archive/tags/Seller+Information/default.aspx" /></entry></feed>
