<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524</id><updated>2012-01-21T02:08:51.439-05:00</updated><category term='houses'/><category term='Hannaford&apos;s Gray'/><category term='selling homes'/><category term='realtors'/><category term='Lower oil prices in Maine'/><category term='listing your home for sale'/><category term='housing market'/><category term='gray'/><category term='real estate'/><category term='sebago lake'/><category term='foreclosures'/><category term='for sale by owner'/><category term='sellers'/><category term='investment properties'/><category term='buying'/><category term='Credit scores'/><category term='Gray Maine'/><category term='listing'/><category term='home value'/><category term='new gloucester'/><category term='mortgage rates'/><category term='properties for sale gray me'/><category term='windham'/><category term='selling'/><category term='houses for sale gray maine'/><category term='homes for sale Gray Maine'/><category term='homes for sale'/><category term='Maine'/><category term='raymond'/><category term='buyers'/><category term='rentals'/><title type='text'>Homes for sale Gray, Maine; houses for sale, land, real estate, advice on buying, selling</title><subtitle type='html'>Gray, ME houses for sale; information on buying and selling homes in the greater Portland, ME area. Real Estate market news and trends. For Sale by Owner? Finding a Realtor in Maine to assist with buying or selling homes in Gray, Windham, New Gloucester, Raymond, Cumberland, Portland, Sebago Lake, Naples, Standish, Gorham, Scarborough, South Portland, and other towns in Maine. Houses for Sale in Gray Maine.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>22</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-7503985378158935507</id><published>2010-03-29T10:15:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2010-03-29T10:17:44.311-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='houses for sale gray maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='foreclosures'/><title type='text'>Gray, Maine Homes for Sale, Short Sale, Foreclosures</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;I have been working as a Realtor in &lt;a href="http://www.graymaine.org/Public_Documents/index" title="Town of Gray" target="_blank"&gt;Gray Maine&lt;/a&gt; for over 11 years representing both buyers and sellers. I like representing both, but they are completely different many ways. Finding the right home is a process that takes a lot of work.  Sometimes the &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/Gray_ME_homes_for_sale.shtml" title="search homes for sale" target="_blank"&gt;houses for sale&lt;/a&gt; on the market are not the right home.  That is when a &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/index.shtml" title="Homes for sale gray maine" target="_blank"&gt;good buyers agent&lt;/a&gt; will be worth every cent YOU pay them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Yeah, I said YOU pay them. That's the truth because you are the one paying for the house and you aren't going to get it any cheaper with or without representation, so why wouldn't you want a professional helping you in your &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/Gray_ME_homes_for_sale.shtml" target="_blank"&gt;searching for homes you might like to buy&lt;/a&gt;. In some ways it is like going to court in a law suit, not bringing a lawyer with you, and paying for the other side's attorney to argue against you. Who would do that? &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Back to having a good agent. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;So you have looked at all the &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/Gray_ME_homes_for_sale.shtml" title="Gray Maine homes for sale" target="_blank"&gt;homes for sale&lt;/a&gt; on the market and you just haven't found the one you want to purchase.  Here is one way I personally stand out from many other brokers.  Not only do we have several searches continually looking for new listing that come on the market, I look at listing that have expired or were withdrawn in the past 6 months to a year.  Sometimes people change their mind about selling or the house just wasn't marketed correctly and they still would like to sell.  So I call or stop at those people's house and see if they still have an &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/sellers_page.shtml" target="_blank"&gt;interest in selling&lt;/a&gt; their home.  If they are then I take a few photos and send them to my clients to review. If there is interest, then we set up a private showing.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Now for the best part:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;My clients will likely pay less for that home because the commission is only half of what it would be because there is not another realtor involved. Now that is what I call BUYER REPRESENTATION!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/index.shtml" title="Houses for sale Gray ME" target="_blank"&gt;Call or email me&lt;/a&gt; to discuss how we can work together to take care of your Real Estate needs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-7503985378158935507?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/free_reports.shtml' title='Gray, Maine Homes for Sale, Short Sale, Foreclosures'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/7503985378158935507/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=7503985378158935507' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/7503985378158935507'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/7503985378158935507'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2010/03/gray-maine-homes-for-sale-short-sale.html' title='Gray, Maine Homes for Sale, Short Sale, Foreclosures'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-4260950846132514216</id><published>2010-03-08T10:37:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2010-03-08T06:23:26.259-05:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='listing your home for sale'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='properties for sale gray me'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='selling homes'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='houses for sale gray maine'/><title type='text'>Gray Maine Houses for sale , How not to sell a home?</title><content type='html'>What to do if the buyer and seller cannot or will not agree on the price?  How far apart is too far to bring the two together?  Is $5000 too much? What about $10,000? How about $30,000?  It obviously depends some on the value of a home, but in this example lets say the price is $430,000.  The buyers offer $370,000 and the seller drops to $400,000.  The buyers hold firm.  Is the deal dead in the water?  Perhaps in most instances, but is that the case because the realtors don't work hard enough or get creative enough to keep working and find a way to bring the parties together?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here is one way to start getting creative?  Is there other properties being sold and purchased, the buyer selling a house and the seller buying a new house?  There are ways to tie some of the money from those deals into this deal that may or may not help bring the two into agreement.  If working with the seller who is stuck at $400,000, and they are buying a home with part of the proceeds, take a good look at the home or homes they are looking at.  Can they expect to get a good reduction in price in the area they are going?  For instance, if buying in some areas in Florida where the market is taking a bigger hit than &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/property_request.shtml"&gt;homes for sale in Maine&lt;/a&gt;, you should be able to show your client a savings on the next transaction of $5000 to $10,000 that they did not expect.  So maybe they can accept a little less knowing they can get the new home for less as well.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If I am working the buyer who is holding firm at $370,000, and they have a home to sell (although they don't have to sell in order to buy the new home) then there are a couple of options.  Perhaps they rent there old home for a couple years until the market comes back and then sell and get more for their home, or the realtor could offer to sell their home for a big reduction in commission, netting them more on their home and allowing them to pay a little more on the new home.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;By using these ideas and some more which I will blog about later, I was able to bring the parties together, at least for a little while (read the next blog to find out what else happens and what lengths a realtor will go for their clients).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Everyone has to remember what the parties goals are, and try to keep a positive attitude about things.  The realtor(s) needs to be looking ahead for issues and try to find solutions and have answers incase problems do arise.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-4260950846132514216?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/property_request.shtml' title='Gray Maine Houses for sale , How not to sell a home?'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/4260950846132514216/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=4260950846132514216' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/4260950846132514216'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/4260950846132514216'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/05/houses-for-sale-gray-maine-how-not-to.html' title='Gray Maine Houses for sale , How not to sell a home?'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-1319598475106932148</id><published>2010-03-08T06:41:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2010-03-08T06:30:45.051-05:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buying'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='realtors'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sellers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buyers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gray'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new gloucester'/><title type='text'>Homes for sale in Gray, New Gloucester, Maine</title><content type='html'>There are some great opportunities for home buyers right now. Interest rates are still low and inventory is high. &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/Gray_ME_listings/featured.shtml"&gt;Here are some homes priced right in &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;today's&lt;/span&gt; market.&lt;/a&gt; This is not the best news for sellers, but they should see it as a time to let their home shine. A good realtor can help with making some simple changes. The two biggest things you want to remember is to &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;declutter&lt;/span&gt; everything and fix those little things you have been putting off (like painting, cracked tile, broken &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"&gt;light switch&lt;/span&gt; cover, ...)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Both buyers and sellers should be expecting more from their realtor. As the market tightens more, a good realtor can easily make the difference in whether a sale closes or doesn't. Experience and creativity on bringing two sides together is not something all &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"&gt;realtors&lt;/span&gt; have. One of my own recent transactions, the parties were @ $21,000 apart and the deal seemed dead. After a day to let things settle I brought both parties back to the table on good faith plans, and the deal was back on with both sides meeting in the middle. Not the last bump in the road, and we had a $2500 and an additional $3000 problem. Negotiation, and my knowledge of alternative &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"&gt;companies&lt;/span&gt; who I've done business with over the past ten years, got the problems resolved for $1000 and again the deal was saved for another day.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Not many &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"&gt;realtors&lt;/span&gt; would or could have saved that deal. It takes more than just experience, it takes a personal caring about the parties involved and keeping everyone focused on the main goal.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I tell this story more to make one think about their own choice of a realtor. Interview a couple &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"&gt;realtors&lt;/span&gt; and ask what sets them apart from other &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"&gt;realtors&lt;/span&gt; in the area. If needed, and the situation allows, will they contribute a portion of their commission to save the deal? Is the commission flexible at all? How confident are they about the market analysis they did when suggesting pricing of your home? Check out the &lt;a href="http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/03/better-know-this-before-you-list-your.html"&gt;things you need to know before listing your home for sale&lt;/a&gt; with a realtor.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This goes for buyers as well.  I have saved buyers a lot of time, money, &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"&gt;aggravation&lt;/span&gt;, but most important they have always had someone looking out for their best interest and they could rest easy knowing that I had them protected &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"&gt;throughout&lt;/span&gt; the deal.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-1319598475106932148?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/1319598475106932148/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=1319598475106932148' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/1319598475106932148'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/1319598475106932148'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/04/homes-for-sale-in-gray-new-gloucester.html' title='Homes for sale in Gray, New Gloucester, Maine'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-6495272176493750399</id><published>2010-03-08T06:18:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2010-03-08T06:18:38.727-05:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buying'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='selling'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='windham'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buyers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gray'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='listing'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='foreclosures'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sebago lake'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='for sale by owner'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='realtors'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sellers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='houses'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new gloucester'/><title type='text'>Better know this before you list your home for sale</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="320" height="266" class="BLOG_video_class" id="BLOG_video-b6413d87a7e2e4a2" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/get_player"&gt;&lt;param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"&gt;&lt;param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;param name="flashvars" value="flvurl=http://v24.nonxt3.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3Db6413d87a7e2e4a2%26itag%3D5%26app%3Dblogger%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1329901499%26sparams%3Did,itag,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3D6A6AC20D7BDF9F445C608CA16DB2A4DF76213ABC.401B3313A002AEB91054BADEA96525D8DD5E523F%26key%3Dck1&amp;amp;iurl=http://video.google.com/ThumbnailServer2?app%3Dblogger%26contentid%3Db6413d87a7e2e4a2%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26sigh%3DTD9MqKMh26ZQbFtkAbDlCUb-O3U&amp;amp;autoplay=0&amp;amp;ps=blogger"&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/get_player" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"width="320" height="266" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"flashvars="flvurl=http://v24.nonxt3.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3Db6413d87a7e2e4a2%26itag%3D5%26app%3Dblogger%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1329901499%26sparams%3Did,itag,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3D6A6AC20D7BDF9F445C608CA16DB2A4DF76213ABC.401B3313A002AEB91054BADEA96525D8DD5E523F%26key%3Dck1&amp;iurl=http://video.google.com/ThumbnailServer2?app%3Dblogger%26contentid%3Db6413d87a7e2e4a2%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26sigh%3DTD9MqKMh26ZQbFtkAbDlCUb-O3U&amp;autoplay=0&amp;ps=blogger"allowFullScreen="true" /&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Thinking about listing your home for sale? There are many things to consider before selecting a realtor to assist with this process. WAIT, thinking of selling your house on your own without using a realtor. Check out my blog, "For Sale By Owner- the pros and cons" of being a FSBO (For Sale By Owner).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;HOME VALUES or what your home is worth, is a big part of the equation. Realtors generally use what is called a CMA, Comparative Market Analysis. Similar in some ways to getting an appraisal done, but we are not liscensed as appraisers and there are no set guidelines for us to follow. Basically, it is just an opinion of value, and like all opinions, two people can have some very different ideas. You had BETTER BE INVOLVED AND INFORMED when you have a CMA done to help determine what your property value is. There are realtors out there who, in my opinion, don't look closely enough at the homes they are using for comparibles, and therefore don't end up adjusting the selling or listing price accordingly. Example, many homes often report selling at or above the asking (list) price. Any home that is sold at or above the list price in todays market most likely gave concessions (paid the buyers closing cost, gave money for new carpet, roof, ect.) A realtor doing a CMA and using a home that sold for more than the asking price has an obligation in my opinion to call the agents involved in that transaction and find out the details of what transpired and adjust the CMA accordingly. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;THAT IS ONE REASON you can get two very different opinions of values on your home. Another reason is that some realtors adjust higher or lower for certain items. A detached 2 car garage that you have, and the comparible sold property they are using to price your home doesn't have a garage, did the real estate agent add $6000 to the value of your home or did they add $16,000. Big difference for the garage that you know only cost you $4500 to build. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Change it a little, and lets say the comparible sold property does have a 2 car garage, but it is attached to the home with a small mudroom between the garage. Did the realtor adjust at all or just say, you both have 2 car garages so they are similar. The average person is willing to pay at least $10,000 more for an attached garage over a detached garage.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;So through the process it is pretty easy to get a very inflated price on your home. So get involved in the process and ask questions. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! You want to find the realistic price (what it will most likely sell for in 45-60 days) of your home and price your home according to goals. List your home at the price that will accomplish two things, GET YOU THE MOST MONEY and ACCOMPLISH YOUR GOALS.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-6495272176493750399?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/6495272176493750399/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=6495272176493750399' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/6495272176493750399'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/6495272176493750399'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/03/better-know-this-before-you-list-your.html' title='Better know this before you list your home for sale'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-5863317678683631145</id><published>2009-07-25T08:44:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2009-07-25T08:46:59.240-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sebago lake'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='listing your home for sale'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='for sale by owner'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='properties for sale gray me'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='selling homes'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='houses for sale gray maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='raymond'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new gloucester'/><title type='text'>Houses for sale Gray Maine, selling a home in Gray ME</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;The most important decision you will make in the sale of your home is the REALTOR® you choose. Be sure to find someone you feel comfortable with. If you don't feel you can ask questions or go to your REALTOR®, you have the wrong person. Your REALTOR® should show you &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/free_reports.shtml" target="_blank"&gt;research to back up any recommendations&lt;/a&gt;. This includes information about &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/property_request.shtml" target="_blank"&gt;recent sales, current listings&lt;/a&gt;, and recently expired listings in your neighborhood.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Watch out for agents who try to "buy" your listing.  This is when a realtor will tell you your home is worth a lot more than it is likely to sell for. The key to catching this is being involved in the &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/Gray_ME_home_sales.shtml" target="_blank"&gt;Market Analysis&lt;/a&gt; and making sure the comparable homes the realtor is using are sold homes and that the adjustments they make to the sold prices are reasonable and realistic.  Get at least two opinions and compare the two closely, and even get a third opinion or more.  You need to feel comfortable knowing what you will realistically get for you home.  You can list a little higher, but you want to have realistic expectations in case you have to reduce the price. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Choose a local REALTOR®. He or she will know your area better than an outsider, will be seen as a source for people looking to relocate in your neighborhood, and will get better co-operation from other agents. It is likely that any amount you might save by &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/free_reports.shtml" target="_blank"&gt;having a friend&lt;/a&gt; or relative from outside the area serve as your REALTOR® will be lost in their lack of knowledge about your specific local market. &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/free_reports.shtml" target="_blank"&gt;Experience counts&lt;/a&gt;, and with the tightening market a lot of realtors have quit the business (full-time), and switched to a different career.  Make sure your realtor is only working as an agent so they are available to talk with prospective buyers and show your home 7 days a week and not limited because they are at their other job and missed the email asking about your home.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Don't forget to ask for their references. He or she should be willing to give you names of previous clients, and you should try to contact a few. Ask the realtor to show you what will be done to market your home.  Are they "Internet savy" and do they have the ability to market your home.  Consider the experience they have in real estate as well as the initiative and professionalism shown by the individual. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Look for a REALTOR® who tells you what he or she knows from experience in the market, and not what they think you want to hear. &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/index.shtml" target="_blank"&gt;Flattery may sometimes get the listing, but it doesn't sell the home!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-5863317678683631145?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/' title='Houses for sale Gray Maine, selling a home in Gray ME'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/5863317678683631145/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=5863317678683631145' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/5863317678683631145'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/5863317678683631145'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2009/07/houses-for-sale-gray-maine-selling-home.html' title='Houses for sale Gray Maine, selling a home in Gray ME'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-5224562974497112121</id><published>2009-07-24T16:41:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2009-07-24T16:44:36.598-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buying'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='windham'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buyers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='houses for sale gray maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='raymond'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new gloucester'/><title type='text'>Gray Maine, houses for sale that buyers don't know about.</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;I have been working as a Realtor in &lt;a href="http://www.graymaine.org/Public_Documents/index" title="Town of Gray" target="_blank"&gt;Gray Maine&lt;/a&gt; for over 11 years representing both buyers and sellers. I like representing both, but they are completely different many ways. Finding the right home is a process that takes a lot of work.  Sometimes the &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/Gray_ME_homes_for_sale.shtml" title="search homes for sale" target="_blank"&gt;houses for sale&lt;/a&gt; on the market are not the right home.  That is when a &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/index.shtml" title="Homes for sale gray maine" target="_blank"&gt;good buyers agent&lt;/a&gt; will be worth every cent YOU pay them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Yeah, I said YOU pay them. That's the truth because you are the one paying for the house and you aren't going to get it any cheaper with or without representation, so why wouldn't you want a professional helping you in your &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/Gray_ME_homes_for_sale.shtml" target="_blank"&gt;searching for homes you might like to buy&lt;/a&gt;. In some ways it is like going to court in a law suit, not bringing a lawyer with you, and paying for the other side's attorney to argue against you. Who would do that? &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;Back to having a good agent. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;So you have looked at all the &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/Gray_ME_homes_for_sale.shtml" title="Gray Maine homes for sale" target="_blank"&gt;homes for sale&lt;/a&gt; on the market and you just haven't found the one you want to purchase.  Here is one way I personally stand out from many other brokers.  Not only do we have several searches continually looking for new listing that come on the market, I look at listing that have expired or were withdrawn in the past 6 months to a year.  Sometimes people change their mind about selling or the house just wasn't marketed correctly and they still would like to sell.  So I call or stop at those people's house and see if they still have an &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/sellers_page.shtml" target="_blank"&gt;interest in selling&lt;/a&gt; their home.  If they are then I take a few photos and send them to my clients to review. If there is interest, then we set up a private showing.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Now for the best part:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;My clients will likely pay less for that home because the commission is only half of what it would be because there is not another realtor involved. Now that is what I call BUYER REPRESENTATION!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/index.shtml" title="Houses for sale Gray ME" target="_blank"&gt;Call or email me&lt;/a&gt; to discuss how we can work together to take care of your Real Estate needs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-5224562974497112121?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/5224562974497112121/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=5224562974497112121' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/5224562974497112121'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/5224562974497112121'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2009/07/gray-maine-houses-for-sale-that-buyers.html' title='Gray Maine, houses for sale that buyers don&apos;t know about.'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-7780664210009018859</id><published>2009-07-24T16:38:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2009-07-24T16:40:53.424-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buying'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='selling'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='windham'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buyers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='houses for sale gray maine'/><title type='text'>Homes for sale in Gray, New Gloucester, Maine, Help for Buyers</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;Should you have a &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/index.shtml" target="_blank"&gt;realtor working for you&lt;/a&gt; as a Buyers Agent when buying a home for sale? &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I won't give you the answer, but I will give you something very simple to think about. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Who pays the commission&lt;/a&gt; to the realtors involved in a transaction?  The seller right? &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Not if you ask me, because when everyone shows up at the closing, the buyer is the only one who brings money to the table.  After all the paper work is signed, the seller and the realtor(s) walk out with checks. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The seller may set up some of the terms under which the realtor gets paid, but the buyer is the one who pays everyone. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So if you buy a house and don't have a realtor and the seller does have a realtor, then you are &lt;strong&gt;paying that realtor&lt;/strong&gt; to &lt;strong&gt;work against you&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;represent the sellers best interests not your best interests&lt;/strong&gt;.  It is almost like going to court against someone and hiring a lawyer for the opposing party and not hiring a lawyer for yourself, and the amount involved in the law suit is $250,000 (or whatever the house is worth). &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Still not convinced, then think about this: &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You buy a house for $200,000 and don't use a realtor but the seller had a realtor and that realtor got paid a commission of 5% or $10,000 and the seller got $190,000. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you had just walked up to the seller the day he first thought of selling his home and offered him $190,000 he most likely would have sold you the property because that is all he got in the above transaction. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So you paid $10,000 more to cover the realtor who represented the seller when you could have had someone representing you and helping you through the whole process and the realtors would have split the $10,000. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Want to know how you can possibly get part of that money ($10,000) back, call me and lets talk about how we can work together to find you a home that meets all your needs and expectations. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"&gt;More real estate tipe and advice...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-7780664210009018859?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/7780664210009018859/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=7780664210009018859' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/7780664210009018859'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/7780664210009018859'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2009/07/homes-for-sale-in-gray-new-gloucester.html' title='Homes for sale in Gray, New Gloucester, Maine, Help for Buyers'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-4439203613489954476</id><published>2009-07-24T10:03:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2009-07-24T10:19:12.453-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='selling'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='for sale by owner'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='realtors'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='windham'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='selling homes'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='houses for sale gray maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='raymond'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new gloucester'/><title type='text'>Sellers, Sins you don't want to make when selling your home.</title><content type='html'>When &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/free_reports.shtml"&gt;selling a home in Maine&lt;/a&gt; or anywhere else, either on your own or with a &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/sellers_page.shtml"&gt;Realtor&lt;/a&gt;, you should read about the &lt;a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/1165734/the-sins-of-a-seller"&gt;10 Sins of a Seller&lt;/a&gt; where Clint Miller puts a humerous spin on the deadly sins.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Clint, like many buyers, found several disturbing things about potential homes he was looking into buying.  It is a great read.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Enjoy and thank &lt;a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/1164264/the-sins-of-a-seller"&gt;Clint Miller&lt;/a&gt; if you have time.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-4439203613489954476?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://activerain.com/blogsview/1165734/the-sins-of-a-seller' title='Sellers, Sins you don&apos;t want to make when selling your home.'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/4439203613489954476/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=4439203613489954476' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/4439203613489954476'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/4439203613489954476'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2009/07/sellers-sins-you-dont-want-to-make-when.html' title='Sellers, Sins you don&apos;t want to make when selling your home.'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-669056953408973140</id><published>2009-07-22T08:35:00.006-04:00</published><updated>2009-07-22T09:00:51.802-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='windham'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='home value'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buyers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='selling homes'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Hannaford&apos;s Gray'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new gloucester'/><title type='text'>Current Real Estate for Sale Gray, ME: Where is the market heading?</title><content type='html'>There are new homes coming on the market everyday and some are priced correctly. We have seen a slight increase in the listing price of homes in the last 30 days. Homes priced under $200 seem to be the most active. Some of those homes are short sale properties which can be very difficult for all parties involved. Currently I have two short sale properties with offers waiting for replies from Bank of America. This process has been more than lengthy and frustrating.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/Gray_ME_home_sales.shtml"&gt;Home values in Gray Maine&lt;/a&gt; can vary from those &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/Gray_ME_home_sales.shtml"&gt;values of homes for sale in New Gloucester&lt;/a&gt; mostly because of the commuting distance to Portland or sometimes even Windham Maine. The new &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/links_main.shtml"&gt;Hannaford's Shop N Save in Gray, Maine&lt;/a&gt; will certainly improve home values by providing easy access to those who commute along Route 26.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Overall the average market sales price for single family homes  in the northeast have declined between 11.2% and 13.8%  according to the National Association of Realtors. However, in April and May of 2009 there was a slight increase.  I believe we have seen or are at the bottom for housing market.  Take a look at &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/Gray_ME_homes_for_sale.shtml"&gt;current homes for sale in Gray and throughout Maine&lt;/a&gt; and if you have any question you can email me at Matt@FiveStarRealtyMaine.com&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-669056953408973140?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/' title='Current Real Estate for Sale Gray, ME: Where is the market heading?'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/669056953408973140/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=669056953408973140' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/669056953408973140'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/669056953408973140'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2009/07/current-real-estate-for-sale-gray-me.html' title='Current Real Estate for Sale Gray, ME: Where is the market heading?'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-8384865437048586702</id><published>2009-05-26T10:45:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2010-03-29T10:51:32.715-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='housing market'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='selling'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='mortgage rates'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='for sale by owner'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='realtors'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sellers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gray'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='houses'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new gloucester'/><title type='text'>For Sale By Owner, the Pros and Cons</title><content type='html'>For many people the option of selling their house own their own is not really an option due to circumstances, such as being transferred through work or just the time needed to sell your own property is not available.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Pros, or upside of selling your home yourself.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;More Money in your pocket if you are not paying a realtor's commission. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;You know your house the best, so who better to point out all the ammenties.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;You have complete control over the entire transaction, from setting the price, to showings, to all negotiations and prequalifing buyers (just to name a few).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Cons, or downside of selling your home yourself.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;You dramatically reduce the exposure and limit the number of prospective buyers compared to what you would have received with a realtor. 88% of all home sales were sold with the assistance of a realtor, according to a 2007 survey by the National Association of Realtors. We use the Multiple Listing Service which contains approximatetly 95% of all homes on the market. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Don't be so sure about putting more money in your pocket. According to the National Assocaition of Realtors, the median for homes sold privately with their owners went for much less than the median for homes sold through a realtor. Many people feel more comfortable negotiating aggressivly with a home owner than when dealing with a realtor. People also feel that they can purchase the house for much less because the owner isn't paying a realtor's commission. See hottom of page on how to pay less commission.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;You may know your home better, but how well do you know the buyer and what the buyer's likes and dislikes are? An experienced broker knows how to downplay the negatives and read potential buyers interest and reinforce those positive aspects of the home. Remember, as a realtor, in a month's time we are involved in more real estate transactions than the average person is in their lifetime.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Most buyers today work closely with a realtor for the same reason most people who are selling a home use a realtor. Saving time and lots of it. Just preparing the paperwork and advertizing needed to sell your homes is overwhelming for most people. Then add in handling all the calls with questions about your home, showing your home at all hours of the day and on weekends. And when all is said and done and you get an offer, then negotiations, inspections, and you had better have an attorney review the contract at the very least, so subtract at least $1000 there for that advice and deed preparation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When it is all over with, most people say they would never try to sell their home again on their own. Turn it all over to a professional realtor and all you have to do is keep your house tidy and let your realtor do the rest.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Find out how you can &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/"&gt;Pay less commission and get more monsy for your home&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-8384865437048586702?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/8384865437048586702/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=8384865437048586702' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/8384865437048586702'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/8384865437048586702'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/03/for-sale-by-owner-pros-and-cons.html' title='For Sale By Owner, the Pros and Cons'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-5827892262091422369</id><published>2008-10-16T16:14:00.005-04:00</published><updated>2008-10-16T16:41:04.123-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='windham'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='properties for sale gray me'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='houses for sale gray maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='raymond'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new gloucester'/><title type='text'>Current Real Estate for Sale Gray, ME: Where is the market heading?</title><content type='html'>No doubt the market is tightening as it usually does during the winter months.  This does not mean you won't still find buyers &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/Gray_ME_homes_for_sale.shtml"&gt;searching for homes for sale&lt;/a&gt;, but it does mean that there will be fewer of them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What does this mean for you?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you are a seller, any and all offers should be given consideration.  Not responding to an offer, even if it seems insulting, is a mistake in this market.  One thing to remember is that this is a financial transaction, and keeping personal feelings out of it as much as possible will benefit you.  If the goal is to sell your home, focus on that.   Are you going to get less now than you would have 2 years ago, most likely yes, but you are also likely going to be paying a lot less for your next home.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you are a buyer, this means you are in the drivers seat for the most part.  You have the choice of a lot of inventory.  First time home buyers, you have a lot to gain and very little to loose.  There are some fabulous tax credits and loans for those who have good credit and reserves.  The days of 110% financing are over and rightfully so.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/free_reports.shtml"&gt;More tips are available&lt;/a&gt; by visiting my website at &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/index.shtml"&gt;FiveStarRealtyMaine&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-5827892262091422369?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='enclosure' type='' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.com' length='0'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/5827892262091422369/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=5827892262091422369' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/5827892262091422369'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/5827892262091422369'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/10/current-real-estate-for-sale-gray-me.html' title='Current Real Estate for Sale Gray, ME: Where is the market heading?'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-27008259600859922</id><published>2008-07-29T08:05:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2008-07-29T08:07:50.085-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='listing your home for sale'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='windham'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sellers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buyers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='houses for sale gray maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='raymond'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new gloucester'/><title type='text'>Real Estate Sales down in June</title><content type='html'>SALES DOWN IN JUNE:  Sales of single-family existing homes in Maine continued to decrease in June 2008. In a press release to the Maine media, MREIS reports 996 homes sold last month, a drop of 24.32% from last June’s sales figure of 1,316 homes. During the past 12 months, Maine's median sales price decreased nearly six percent to $188,000. The median sales price indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less. NAR reports a nationwide sales drop of 14.8% in June. The national median existing single-family home price dropped 6.7% to $213,800.  Regionally, sales in the Northeast fell 15.8% during the past 12 months.  According to NAR, the regional median sales price decreased 12.6% to $256,700.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-27008259600859922?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/27008259600859922/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=27008259600859922' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/27008259600859922'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/27008259600859922'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/07/real-estate-sales-down-in-june.html' title='Real Estate Sales down in June'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-1640021638898284127</id><published>2008-07-22T06:45:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2008-07-22T06:53:30.157-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buying'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='selling'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='realtors'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='houses for sale gray maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new gloucester'/><title type='text'>Real Estate, Market Change buyers sellers</title><content type='html'>Wow, sorry I have been away so long... but the market has picked up.  Perhaps some of it is because there are fewer real estate agents, or perhaps it is repeat customers, but mostly it is because of the service I provide and when people have a pleasant experience they tell everyone.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To find out more&lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/free_reports.shtml"&gt; about tips of the trade&lt;/a&gt; that can make a home buying or selling experience more pleasurable, just visit &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/index.shtml"&gt;my website&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You can also find information about &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/links_main.shtml"&gt;local resources and things to do&lt;/a&gt; in Gray, Windham, New Gloucester, and Raymond areas.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-1640021638898284127?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/1640021638898284127/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=1640021638898284127' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/1640021638898284127'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/1640021638898284127'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/07/real-estate-market-change-buyers.html' title='Real Estate, Market Change buyers sellers'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-7282601231822519164</id><published>2008-05-20T12:40:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2008-05-20T12:55:25.353-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='mortgage rates'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='windham'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='properties for sale gray me'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='rentals'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='investment properties'/><title type='text'>Real Estate, Market Change Affects Investors</title><content type='html'>There is about to be a major change in investment property... that could put some people who don't plan in a very tough situation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Freddie Mac has just released information regarding new cuts that become effective on August 1, 2008.  They are now restricting the number of financed investment properties a borrower can have to four total, including the subject property.  These are 1-4 unit(s) properties, and the current restriction is 10 total properties.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Another change that takes effect at the same time is a seasoning restriction on refinancing an investment property of 6 months.  Currently there is no restriction.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This will have a significant impact on the residential real estate market by limiting everyone, regardless of income, loan to value, credit scores, or assets.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-7282601231822519164?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/7282601231822519164/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=7282601231822519164' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/7282601231822519164'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/7282601231822519164'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/05/real-estate-market-change-affects.html' title='Real Estate, Market Change Affects Investors'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-1641756129269620448</id><published>2008-05-20T07:38:00.002-04:00</published><updated>2008-05-20T08:12:07.763-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='selling'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='windham'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buyers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='properties for sale gray me'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='rentals'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='houses for sale gray maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='raymond'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sellers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Gray Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new gloucester'/><title type='text'>Houses for sale Gray Maine, How not to sell a home?</title><content type='html'>So in the previous segment I explained some &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/free_reports.shtml"&gt;creative selling techniques&lt;/a&gt; to assist in bringing a buyer and seller together.  Sometimes it just takes looking at the situation and helping the parties realize this is a business transaction, and other times it takes bringing in a more personal touch.  Every situation is different.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I had brought the &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/property_request.shtml"&gt;buyers and sellers&lt;/a&gt; together, until a survey issue arose.  The buyers wanted the seller to pay for a full boundary survey and the buyers refused.  Cost of this was $2500 and the parties walked away from the deal.  Which is what I let them do for a couple days to rethink their positions.  Then I addressed all concerns of the seller about putting up the money and then the deal still not working.  After covering those, I found a surveyor who did the work for $1000.  That saved the seller $1500 and saved the deal, again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Having an experienced &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/index.shtml"&gt;real estate broker&lt;/a&gt; is a great investment when &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/index.shtml"&gt;selling or buying a home.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Call several realtors before deciding... this decision will make a difference.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-1641756129269620448?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/1641756129269620448/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=1641756129269620448' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/1641756129269620448'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/1641756129269620448'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/05/houses-for-sale-gray-maine-how-not-to_20.html' title='Houses for sale Gray Maine, How not to sell a home?'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-4406121282467941599</id><published>2008-04-29T07:11:00.004-04:00</published><updated>2008-04-29T07:30:56.209-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='mortgage rates'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gray'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='investment properties'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='houses'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Credit scores'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new gloucester'/><title type='text'>How to Fix or Improve Credit Scores</title><content type='html'>Improving your credit can be a long process, but it doesn't always have to be.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Beware of programs or people who claim they can make drastic improvements in a short period of time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have done a lot of research, and there are some things that can help.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;First, did you know that your credit scores, the actual numbers are not figured by the three major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The scores you receive are derived from companies that banks or lenders use to pull the information from the major credit bureaus, like Landsafe, or Birchwood Credit. These companies take the information they get from the major credit bureaus and give you a score on all three. Depending on which company a bank uses, your scores can easily vary 40 or 60 points.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Most lenders don't even know this is the case.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For more on this&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/Matt_Trudel_REALTOR.shtml"&gt; read credit repairing&lt;/a&gt; on my website.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-4406121282467941599?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='related' href='http://activerain.com/blogsview/486388/Homes-for-sale-Gray' title='How to Fix or Improve Credit Scores'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/4406121282467941599/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=4406121282467941599' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/4406121282467941599'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/4406121282467941599'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-to-fix-or-improve-credit-scores.html' title='How to Fix or Improve Credit Scores'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-1366256394583186943</id><published>2008-04-27T07:41:00.004-04:00</published><updated>2008-04-27T08:39:14.885-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='housing market'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='selling'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='windham'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buyers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='rentals'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gray'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='raymond'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='foreclosures'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='investment properties'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sebago lake'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='realtors'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sellers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='houses'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new gloucester'/><title type='text'>Mortgage rules and regs tightening.</title><content type='html'>Due to the lastest housing crisis...yes, I would call it a crisis; the guidelines for underwriting mortgages have tightened and it has become more difficult and the days of stated products are all but extinct.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.reinusa.com/"&gt;Reinusa&lt;/a&gt; si a real estate investor's website loaded with information for investors or people thinking of owning investment property. You can sign up for the Rein Report and receive emails with the latestest information and changes in today's market. Below is part of a rein report regarding investment properties and different loan options and requirements:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Below are some of the most recent guideline changes concerning investment property financing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style="color:#ff0000;"&gt;Be sure to look toward the bottom for the latest on cedit scores, rental income, and stated income products!!!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Current LTV limits for investment properties&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;· &lt;strong&gt;Full doc purchase or rate and term refinance&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Up to 90% LTV on 1 to 2 unit properties&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Up to 75% LTV on 3 to 4 unit properties&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;· &lt;strong&gt;Full doc cash out refinance&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Up to 90% LTV on 1 to 2 unit properties&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Up to 75% LTV on 3 to 4 unit properties&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;· &lt;strong&gt;Stated income purchase or rate and term refinance&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Up to 90% LTV on 1 to 2 unit properties&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Up to 75% LTV on 3 to 4 unit properties&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Stated income cash out refinance&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Up to 75% LTV on 1 to 4 unit properties&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Non seasoned refinances (Immediately after purchase)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;These loans are still available for either full doc or stated income borrowers and used primarily by investors purchasing rehab properties. Refinance an existing rehab loan or cash purchase project. Some restrictions apply so we recommend speaking to an experienced mortgage professional prior to executing a purchase agreement.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;LTV limits vary from lender to lender. The above is a sampling from various lenders and is subject to change without prior notice. Additional qualifying requirements may apply.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Credit score requirements&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While credit score requirements vary by lender and property type, most programs require a minimum score of 660 for full doc and 700 for stated income.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Stated income update&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Stated income loans for real estate investors are quickly becoming a thing of the past. These programs are only available through a few select lenders and qualifying is very stringent. We highly recommend getting any stated income loans submitted and locked as soon as possible.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Proof of rental income for full doc borrowers&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Until recently full doc guidelines only required signed rental agreements in order to use rental income for qualifying purposes. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines now require tax returns to verify rents recieved unless a property was aquired within the past year, and then it is required to provide a signed lease and the HUD from the purchase. If rents are not reported on the borrower's personal tax returns, the rental income can not be included. It is very important to work with a professional CPA to make sure rental income is documented appropriately.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Growing issues regarding title and mortgages held in an LLC &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Though many investors feel that holding title or a mortgage in an LLC (or other company name) may benefit them, it can actually hinder their investing goals and their ability to obtain a conventional mortgage. Since guidelines have become more stringent lenders have ceased to allow conventional mortgages to be held in company names. While there are still a few lenders that do not require title seasoning, some now require title be seasoned in a personal name for at least 90 days prior to submitting a refinance. Please contact us for more information on these programs before purchasing or transferring title into an LLC or company name.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-1366256394583186943?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/1366256394583186943/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=1366256394583186943' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/1366256394583186943'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/1366256394583186943'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/04/mortgage-rules-and-regs-tightening.html' title='Mortgage rules and regs tightening.'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-2395603607380823951</id><published>2008-03-24T16:08:00.004-04:00</published><updated>2008-03-24T16:22:06.099-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sebago lake'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buying'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='housing market'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='selling'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='mortgage rates'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='realtors'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sellers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buyers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gray'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new gloucester'/><title type='text'>Housing Market makes the turn up this month</title><content type='html'>The housing market has reported growth from last month and is indicated a turn for the better. This doesn't mean we are out of the woods yet, but the has done well these past few days and oil was also dropping again this morning on the market. Interest rates are still very good, perhaps this is a real positive sign, just as it was for Bear Stearns with JPMorgan uping their bid to buy the company out to @ $10 a share from @ $2 a share.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Check out this &lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAZ7X8xqhTA"&gt;AP Video&lt;/a&gt; on YouTube for more information.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-2395603607380823951?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/2395603607380823951/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=2395603607380823951' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/2395603607380823951'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/2395603607380823951'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/03/housing-market-makes-turn-up-this-month.html' title='Housing Market makes the turn up this month'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-7151392928759510398</id><published>2008-03-23T14:29:00.004-04:00</published><updated>2008-03-23T15:31:03.350-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buying'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='realtors'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sellers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buyers'/><title type='text'>Who pays? Buyers Agency Part 1</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;Who pays the realtors or realtor when a house sells? The seller?  Not if you ask me. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;object width="320" height="266" class="BLOG_video_class" id="BLOG_video-9295a29fd51df4c2" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/get_player"&gt;&lt;param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"&gt;&lt;param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;param name="flashvars" value="flvurl=http://v23.nonxt2.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3D9295a29fd51df4c2%26itag%3D5%26app%3Dblogger%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1329901499%26sparams%3Did,itag,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3D795574614EA9745B9A6FC6D3CCF8DE21E48C9A86.35A7EB0C7697326F8A8097FA72BE39DF6ABC2DB%26key%3Dck1&amp;amp;iurl=http://video.google.com/ThumbnailServer2?app%3Dblogger%26contentid%3D9295a29fd51df4c2%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26sigh%3DxWx5c3TTQixyxr5dd-G5vVBMTls&amp;amp;autoplay=0&amp;amp;ps=blogger"&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/get_player" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"width="320" height="266" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"flashvars="flvurl=http://v23.nonxt2.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3D9295a29fd51df4c2%26itag%3D5%26app%3Dblogger%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1329901499%26sparams%3Did,itag,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3D795574614EA9745B9A6FC6D3CCF8DE21E48C9A86.35A7EB0C7697326F8A8097FA72BE39DF6ABC2DB%26key%3Dck1&amp;iurl=http://video.google.com/ThumbnailServer2?app%3Dblogger%26contentid%3D9295a29fd51df4c2%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26sigh%3DxWx5c3TTQixyxr5dd-G5vVBMTls&amp;autoplay=0&amp;ps=blogger"allowFullScreen="true" /&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Think about it.  You pay $215,000 for house, the seller gets around $200,000 and the realtor(s) split the other $15,000.  If you just happened to meet this seller at the moment they decided they wanted to sell, in theory he would accept the same $200,000 he got in the above scenario wouldn't he?  I think so, and you would have bought the property for $200,000, not $215,000.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So who paid the realtors? &lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-7151392928759510398?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='enclosure' type='video/mp4' href='http://www.blogger.com/video-play.mp4?contentId=9295a29fd51df4c2&amp;type=video%2Fmp4' length='0'/><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/7151392928759510398/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=7151392928759510398' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/7151392928759510398'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/7151392928759510398'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/03/who-pays-buyers-agency-part-1.html' title='Who pays? Buyers Agency Part 1'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-7995986201207957534</id><published>2008-03-22T13:03:00.004-04:00</published><updated>2008-03-23T17:07:08.123-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='homes for sale'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='windham'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sellers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buyers'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gray'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='raymond'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='foreclosures'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new gloucester'/><title type='text'>Gray and New Gloucester Maine Real Estate Deals</title><content type='html'>There are some great opportunities out there to &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/Gray_ME_listings/D746CCDC-CD11-F697-3B71329DAE1E08FC.shtml"&gt;purchase new homes for less&lt;/a&gt; than what you would expect to pay. If you want to see some of the great deals that are out the you can email or call me, or you can &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/frame.shtml?http://www.mreis.com/idx/search_form.php?user_id=1129"&gt;search for homes anywhere in Maine&lt;/a&gt; by yourself. I would not recommend just searching on your own, you should contact a qualified realtor who knows the area and knows what is going on in todays &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/free_reports.shtml"&gt;real estate&lt;/a&gt; market.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Finding a qualified realtor is not as hard as you might think. The hard part is realizing it may not be your wife's friend who just got liscensed last month, and explaining why you didn't choose to use he or she. Face it, everyone pretty much knows or knows someone who does know a real estate agent. In 2004, people where signing up and getting licensed trying to get in on the booming market. Longevity in this business is tough, most don't make it more than a year or two. Many experts are predicting that 35 to 40 percent of the agents will leave the business over the next two years. So pick a realtor or &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/custom1.shtml"&gt;Agency&lt;/a&gt; that has been around and has some experience in &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/index.shtml"&gt;selling real estate in Gray, Maine&lt;/a&gt; or what ever the location is that you are searching to purchase in.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is a great time to buy a home. &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/mortgage_center.shtml"&gt;Interest rates&lt;/a&gt; are still low, inventory is good, and sellers are willing to negotiate with &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/mortgage_center.shtml"&gt;qulified buyers&lt;/a&gt;. Vist us at&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/index.shtml"&gt;Five Star Realty&lt;/a&gt; located in the center of &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/links_main.shtml"&gt;Gray Maine&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-7995986201207957534?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/7995986201207957534/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=7995986201207957534' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/7995986201207957534'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/7995986201207957534'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/03/gray-and-new-gloucester-maine-real.html' title='Gray and New Gloucester Maine Real Estate Deals'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-8711267429975521903</id><published>2008-03-20T10:59:00.004-04:00</published><updated>2008-03-23T17:08:30.175-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='real estate'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='sebago lake'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='buying'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='selling'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='windham'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='gray'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Maine'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='new gloucester'/><title type='text'>Has Real Estate Market finally turned?</title><content type='html'>Market trends are starting to indicate that perhaps the worst could be over. The market is still a buyers market. Interest rates should flexuate around 6%, although many people are hoping to see them drop closer to 5%. As of today they seem to be around 5.8%. Check your &lt;a href="http://www.bankrate.com/"&gt;current local rates&lt;/a&gt; and learn about what options you may have to save yourself money.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The dollar is gaining momentum, but many strategist feel we could see a lot of volativity over the next few weeks.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The housing market has declined in the &lt;a href="http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2008/flat_existing_home_sales.html"&gt;northeast region&lt;/a&gt; by approximately 4% in January alone. Lower rates and higher loan amounts do appear to be jump starting the spring market.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You can search for &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/"&gt;New Homes/Land for sale in Maine&lt;/a&gt; by visiting my website and click on the Search New Homes/Land tab located in the center of the website.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-8711267429975521903?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/8711267429975521903/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=8711267429975521903' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/8711267429975521903'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/8711267429975521903'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/03/has-real-estate-market-finally-turned.html' title='Has Real Estate Market finally turned?'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5555534105683940524.post-3199033065541139031</id><published>2008-03-20T08:37:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2008-03-20T09:39:39.408-04:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Lower oil prices in Maine'/><title type='text'>Oil prices take a slight drop...is it enough.</title><content type='html'>Not so much the who, but more the what and when? Exactly, what is going on with oil prices and when are they going to come back down to reality! &lt;a href="http://maineoil.com/"&gt;Lower oil prices in Maine&lt;/a&gt; seem to be a long way off. A barrell of crude oil did take a $3.00 drop on wall street and fell below a $100 a barrell. Hopefully we will see this in &lt;a href="http://http//www.mainegasprices.com/"&gt;gas prices throughout Maine&lt;/a&gt;. For more information about how this is may help or hurt our economy you can learn more about where &lt;a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/23715182"&gt;current oil prices stand on the market&lt;/a&gt; by visiting &lt;a href="http://cnn.com/"&gt;CNN&lt;/a&gt; or &lt;a href="http://cnbc.com/"&gt;CNBC&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;How does this help&lt;a href="http://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/mtg_home.asp"&gt;interest rates&lt;/a&gt; and when the Fed made another 3/4 point cut this month, did you end up a &lt;a href="http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/fed/winners-losers_Mar182008.asp?s=1&amp;amp;caret=3"&gt;winner or a loser&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/Gray_ME_homes_for_sale.shtml"&gt;Currently homes for sale in Maine&lt;/a&gt; have taken a drop of about 3% over the last few months.  This also helps to make it a great time to &lt;a href="http://www.fivestarrealtymaine.com/index.shtml"&gt;buy or invest in Real Estate&lt;/a&gt;. There are a number of reasons to buy, but here are &lt;a href="http://www.brokeragentnews.com/news/residential/2007_10/10_15_2007_rn_1192512221.html"&gt;ten great reasons&lt;/a&gt; to get into todays market.  There are also some great advantages in hiring a real estate agent to work for you.  Check out a few these &lt;a href="http://homebuying.about.com/od/realestateagents/tp/Whyhireagent.htm"&gt;reasons to hire a real estate agent&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On another note.  The &lt;a href="http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=bos"&gt;Boston Red Sox&lt;/a&gt; are heading to Japan to get ready to start the &lt;a href="http://mlb.com/"&gt;MLB&lt;/a&gt; season.  Go Soxs!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5555534105683940524-3199033065541139031?l=fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/feeds/3199033065541139031/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5555534105683940524&amp;postID=3199033065541139031' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/3199033065541139031'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/5555534105683940524/posts/default/3199033065541139031'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://fivestarrealtymaine.blogspot.com/2008/03/oil-prices-take-slight-dropis-it-enough.html' title='Oil prices take a slight drop...is it enough.'/><author><name>Matt @ Five Star Realty</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/11509883885084009128</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='26' height='32' src='http://bp2.blogger.com/_mYMsM8GGa-U/R9UxxbISeBI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v85N0o5bCRw/S220/Myphoto.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
