Seaport Advisory

A Commitment to the Client 

For consumers in the market to buy or sell a home, the model has typically been a straight-forward process. Buyers and sellers contact a local agent to explore their options and sign an agreement. Whether they research and select a top local agent or contract a licensed relative, how they choose the agency that will assist them is of growing importance. In many respects, most traditional brokerages and their offerings are very similar. They all provide “million-dollar marketing”, an endless campaign of open houses, and a gratuitous handshake to affirm their corporate mission statement that says things like “helping you discover your dreams.” While this all sounds wonderful in theory, these dreams can become…

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Carrying Costs AKA Holding Costs

The costs of owning a property go far beyond making a monthly mortgage payment. The costs of owning a home, especially by first time owners, can be a shock after realizing that owning a home is much more expensive than anticipated. 

Residential Carrying Costs are also known as “Holding Costs”  and can include the following:

• Mortgage Principle

• Mortgage Interest

• Taxes

• Insurances

• Homeowner Association Fees

• Costs of maintenance, upkeep, and upgrades

• Utilities

It is important for homeowners to understand the cost of ownership and the impact on their discretionary income. Carrying Cost Calculators are important for potential buyers as well as helping sellers to determine the true…

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Seaport Real Estate Services

Consulting vs. Selling (Advisory)

Our agents offer a consultative approach focused on client needs as opposed to the traditional “Buy & Sell” mentality that is offered by 99% of the real estate companies today. Our Buy Low, Sell High, Hold or Rent mindset empowers our clients to make decisions backed by current and historical data that is extremely difficult to find in the marketplace.

"Everything we do, we believe challenges conventional real estate logic, we believe in change, we believe in thinking outside of the box, and we believe in growth. The way we challenge the status quo is by conceiving & implementing proprietary systems backed by diverse educations, common sense, cutting edge technology, passion for people, and an intense desire to…

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Is Now the Time to Buy A Home?

So, you wanna buy a house….  It makes perfect sense. You’re pre-approved for financing, interest rates are at all-time lows, and everybody’s doing it. You’re tired of throwing rent money out the window and ready to start building equity in your own place. It is a great feeling when you realize you can finally buy your own home. Before you pull the trigger, let's make sure you’ve covered all the bases. 

Once you have set out to purchase a home, the baseline of this entire process should be centered around where you wish to buy. Not just geographically, but financially. The three words commonly referred to when discussing real estate are location, location, location. This age-old adage explains why certain areas out-perform others, attract the most…

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Are Condominiums A Risky Investment In Todays Market? Updated 5/22/2020

I am often being asked if I feel that Condo’s are particularly risky in these trying times. Let me shed some light on the condo market and try to help you make the best decision possible. I will focus on the primary resident condo market as opposed to investment properties in Luxury locations or on the ocean. Condos are built with a specific client in mind. Condo owners are typically first-time homeowners who have good credit, previously were renters, who wish to enter the housing market. They often times use the condo as a stepping stone into the single-family housing arena but can not afford to do so at this time. Or the condo owner enjoys the relatively maintenance-free lifestyle that a condo offers.

The risk in ownership and potential…

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SIDEBAR: Where do we go from here?

English majors in college are commonly put through a curriculum that requires reading some of the world’s classic novels and discerning what makes them so. One measure of a great novel is that the reader can see the entirety of the narrative in its first pages. The theme, tone and structure of the early pages of the book foreshadow what is to come. Simply stated, every part of the book leads to the whole and you can absorb this message from every part. Imagine if that were the case right now? We would think in ‘stories’ and write our own.  

Congress is unveiling a proposal that would give most Americans a monthly payment of $2,000 until the coronavirus pandemic begins to fade. This is profoundly necessary relief for those of us who cannot safely…

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What is a Black Swan Event?

Black Swans are circumstances that take civilization completely off guard because they occur with an extreme element of surprise.  The source of these events often is not knowable and the frequency and duration of a Black Swan cannot be reliably predicted.

In the world of finance and economics, a Black Swan is the term given to an event which is impossible to predict in advance and that has extremely negative consequences for an economy. The author Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a former Wall Street trader, summarized the nature of these events in his 2007 book “The Black Swan”:

"First, it is an outlier … outside the realm of regular expectations, because nothing in the past can convincingly point to its possibility. Second, it carries an extreme…

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Work/Life Reflections In A COVID-19 World

Black Swan Event · This Time Is Different · The New Normal is Not Normal · Time To Rethink Your Career · This Is What Happens When Change Happens · 30 Million Americans Are Unemployed in 6 Weeks · How To Do Business From Home · Why Fi ? · Our Country Is In A Leadership Vacuum · The Stock Market Is Disconnected From Reality · Become The Best At Serving Your Sphere of Influence · Just Do Something · Circumstances + Attitude = Outcome · Awaken Possibilities Again · Resist The Urge To Do Nothing · Now Is The Chance You’ve Always Wanted · Strike While The Iron Is Cold · The New Normal Is Not New Or Normal · What To Do With What Is Left · Now Your Job Is To Live Out Your Greatest Potential · Growth Is Still There, It’s Just Not In The Same Places As Before…

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The Great Re-Generation

Easter Sunday – 4/12/20 

I noticed this sign on a front lawn Easter Sunday afternoon. It caught my attention, such that I pulled over and took a picture of it to illustrate the message it inspires in these words. When I arrived at my parent’s house, I went straight for the bookcase and lifted my father’s copy of the “The Greatest Generation”, by Tom Brokaw. It was the first thing that came to mind from this image. In light of current circumstances, World War II and Depression Era sentiments would certainly provide a strong dose of meaningful perspective, the likes of which we are unfamiliar. The insights in this book embrace the very essence of the spirit we can reference right now. The level of sacrifice and selfless courage conveyed on its pages…

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THE WISDOM OF SIMPLICITY

Essentials & Basics of the Good Life… 

Anybody out there remember rotary dial phones? How about dial-up internet and AOL’s patented “you’ve got mail” notification as you logged on? For those of us north of 40 years young, we recall a time when we had direct access to far less. No high speed anything. No smart phones. No cell phones at all! Less immediate Entertainment, Stimulation and instant Muse. And we liked it!! That’s right I’m going old-timer on you. Not that I have any right to whatsoever. I do not. But I do remember a time when there was less distraction, noise or what is now commonly experienced as Diffusion. In so many ways we’re “checked out” as a population, fixated on our screens. This is not news. Focused on material rewards, most of…

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