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        <title>Power Blog</title>
        <link>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/</link>
        <description>Real estate blog dedicated to information, news, statistics, and more all relating to national and local Montgomery County Maryland real estate.</description>
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            <guid>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/what-is-the-obama-administrations-newest-attempt-at-hedging-future-foreclosures-hafa.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/what-is-the-obama-administrations-newest-attempt-at-hedging-future-foreclosures-hafa.html</link>
            <author>matt@powerhomes.com (Matt Lateer)</author>
            <title>What is the Obama administration's newest attempt at hedging future foreclosures?  Hafa video!</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ Only a few short years ago, even Real Estate Agents did not know what a short sale was!&nbsp; My, how things have changed...&nbsp; Banks have estimated that the majority of short sales will have been processed by 2014.&nbsp;&nbsp;More than&nbsp;1 in 4 of all homes are now backed my mortgages that are worth more than the collateral that secures them: the homes themselves!&nbsp; The Department of the Treasury recently put out a new progam called HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative), whic... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:41:15 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/unemployment-in-md-dc-va-us.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/unemployment-in-md-dc-va-us.html</link>
            <author>matt@powerhomes.com (Matt Lateer)</author>
            <title>Location, Location, Location vs. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ &nbsp;Unemployment in MD, DC, VA &amp; USInterested to see how the DC metropolitain area stacks up in unemployment when compared to the nation?&nbsp; I think you will find this interesting, and the graph below updates automatically and so is current now!&nbsp; Please post your thoughts below, I would be interested in your opinion...PLEASE NOTE: You can click on the graph to see actual numbers&nbsp;&nbsp;... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:30:43 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/clutter-eats-equity-home-staging-made-simple.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/clutter-eats-equity-home-staging-made-simple.html</link>
            <author>matt@powerhomes.com (Matt Lateer)</author>
            <title>Clutter Eats Equity: Home staging made simple!</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ &nbsp;The current market that we find ourselves in can be challenging enough without having to deal with a property&rsquo;s poor condition.&nbsp; Staging can make a home sell much more quickly and for significantly more.&nbsp; We&rsquo;ve all seen a cluttered home that has turned us off.&nbsp;&nbsp; Following are a few basic tips that Thomas and I implement in readying a home for the market.&nbsp; Remember, &ldquo;CLUTTER EATS EQUITY&rdquo;.&nbsp; More clutter results in substantially less profi... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:59:26 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/test.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/test.html</link>
            <author>matt@powerhomes.com (Matt Lateer)</author>
            <title>Spring 2009 ICC Update (Georgia Avenue to Emory Lane) *Many pictures!*</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ Whatever your opinion on the ICC, the impact of the ICC is far reaching: Geography has been impacted in ways that will last forever,&nbsp;travel out of the area will likely become more convenient, new traffic patters are going to evolve,&nbsp;and new walking/ biking paths will emerge.&nbsp; Matt recently had the opportunity to go up in a helicopter to do a little aerial photography, and came back with the the shots included in this post.&nbsp; The shots are from early spring (vegetation is light... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:06:34 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/f.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/f.html</link>
            <author>matt@powerhomes.com (Matt Lateer)</author>
            <title>Spring 2009 ICC Update ((Emory Lane to Muncaster Mill Road)) *Many pictures!*</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ &nbsp;&nbsp;This blog is a continuation from the last post, part 2 of 2 of our pictures updating the progress of the ICC.&nbsp; The pictures below are all taken East of Muncaster Mill Road.&nbsp; A couple of the close ups are slightly blurry.&nbsp; You&rsquo;ll have to forgive me, as that can happen with a couple of thousand feet between the helicopter and the target.&nbsp;&nbsp;-Matt&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Click here for more information on how the ICC has affected&nbsp;a specific property&amp;nbsp... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:06:34 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/foreclosure-auctions-are-they-a-good-deal-part-1-of-2.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/foreclosure-auctions-are-they-a-good-deal-part-1-of-2.html</link>
            <author>matt@powerhomes.com (Matt Lateer)</author>
            <title>Foreclosure Auctions:  Are they a good deal?</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[  Recently I attended a real estate auction on behalf of a client who wished to bid on the property. Thomas and I have been to countless auctions, in fact, both on the front steps of the Montgomery County Courthouse and on the front lawns of the properties being sold (as in this case). In our experience, there are many nuances to consider when attending a real estate auction that most investors&mdash;never mind the general public&mdash;don&rsquo;t understand. The process only takes from 3-15 minu... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:05:20 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/refinancing-perspective-of-a-journalist-as-a-market-outsider.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/refinancing-perspective-of-a-journalist-as-a-market-outsider.html</link>
            <author>admin@powerhomes.com (Jeff Kinney)</author>
            <title>Refinancing: a Journalist and Financeophobe Holds His Nose and Plunges In</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ Five years ago&mdash;eons in housing market time&mdash;my wife and I decided to buy a home in Maryland. Back then, rat-infested shacks were going for half a million, and we almost gave up and moved to Topeka. But we stretched like Cirque du Soleil contortionists to buy a modest condo about an hour from our jobs. The only way we could swing it was with a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage, so we went that route despite all the gloom-and-doomers telling us our rate would readjust to 1000 percent a... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:39:59 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/the-buyers-fear-factorwhat-upgrades-should-i-make.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/the-buyers-fear-factorwhat-upgrades-should-i-make.html</link>
            <author>admin@powerhomes.com (Thomas Powers)</author>
            <title>The Buyer&#8217;s &#8220;Fear Factor&#8221;&#8212;What Upgrades Should I Make?</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ It&rsquo;s been said that &ldquo;fear is a greater motivator than the opportunity to gain.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s definitely true when it comes to real estate sales from a seller&rsquo;s perspective, but it applies equally to buyers&mdash;especially in our current market. Sellers should understand that buyers might walk into a beautiful home with a gorgeous kitchen and many other upgrades, but see a significant flaw&mdash;say, a basement that&rsquo;s wet and moldy&mdash;and decide it&rsquo;s too mu... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:03:34 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/timing-is-everything.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/timing-is-everything.html</link>
            <author>admin@powerhomes.com (Thomas Powers)</author>
            <title>Timing is Everything: When should I sell?</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ Sellers ask me the same question all the time: &ldquo;When is the best time to sell a house?&rdquo;&nbsp; The answer can be found in general buyer patterns.&nbsp; Typically, this is the pattern:&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; February, March, April, and May&mdash;buyers look for and put offers on homes&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; April, May, and June&mdash;buyers settle on their homes&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Jul... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:51:18 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/welcome-to-our-new-real-estate-website.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.powerhomes.com/blog/welcome-to-our-new-real-estate-website.html</link>
            <author>admin@powerhomes.com (Thomas Powers)</author>
            <title>Welcome to our new real estate website!</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ Welcome to the new POWERHOMES real estate website.&nbsp; We are really proud to be able to offer you a cutting edge real estate website that offers much more content in a user-friendly manner&nbsp;than any other that we have found in Montgomery County, MD.&nbsp; Please take some time to search through our content that we will be updating frequently.&nbsp; Some of the cutting edge information that we will provide include:- Current monthly Montgomery County housing market updates - Power Search fe... ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:06:52 -0600</pubDate>
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