Consumer Focused Carnival of Real Estate

The guidelines for this carnival.

As always, I arranged the entries that met guidelines into three levels, based upon originality, usefulness to the consumer, and how much thought and effort and research went into an entry.

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED

We have an Editor's Choice Award!

"I Can't Pay The Rent" - A Landlords Take on What to Do. This is sane. This is intelligent. The only reason I can see not to do it this way is because you aren't.

Well done!

Your Host submits Fifteen Year Loans: Are They A Good Idea?

RECOMMENDED

10 Tips for Homeowners to Improve their home's value

Follow Real Housing Market Movements With Trend Analysis

Home, Mortgage, Landlords and Renters Insurance explained is aimed at Australia, not the United States, and several critical concepts are different here. Here in the US, liability is a part of all home insurance policies. Landlords (HO 5) and Renters (HO 4) are different forms of the standard homeowner's insurance policy here, mortgage insurance is utterly different, and there are many other differences.

Subsidence Insurance Risk Increases in the Year of the Ox

MET GUIDELINES

It's Time to Estimate the Market Value of Your Home. Um, the first question I would ask is "Why do you want to know?" Unless you have some planning type reason to know, or a reason why you want to sell, it just isn't important. The far more important observation I will make is that there isn't a single automated valuation service that is consistently within ten percent of sales price. Since even 5% off is enough to make them worse than useless, I would avoid automated value mechanisms. Don't confuse yourself with bad data.

Most Common Types Of Mortgage Loans is really talking about amortization types. He makes two mistakes: hybrids are more common than "pure ARMs" and also less dangerous in that there a period of some years where you know what the interest rate will be. Once a loan enters its adjustable phase (immediately in the case of "pure" ARMs) you have no idea what the next adjustment will be.

SPAM AND OTHER RIDICULOUS SUBMISSIONS

A site named Cheapo Groovo submitted a post called "Why Muni Bonds Are A Bad Investment!" that did not so mention as real estate. Nor did it really say why muni bonds are a bad investment - only that some were. I think Cheapo Groovo needs to put the cheap dope down long enough to experience the same reality as everyone else.

A site named Information Marketing, Info Marketing, Blog Marketing, Internet Marketing sent a post that asks the question, "Can blogging kill you?" We can only hope that in his case, the answer is yes, so we don't have to endure his spam. It did not so much as mention real estate, among other sins.

In a "two strikes for one opportunity", he then submitted an article that asks "Will Microblogging (Twitter) kill Blogging?" From the evidence, it will only enable him to increase his spam level, because once again, he failed to so much as mention real estate.

For those who might object to the treatment their submission received, the relevant information has been in the guidelines since before submissions were being accepted for this carnival. Having been told to read the guidelines, you willingly submitted these posts. Live with it.

Consumer Focused Carnival of Real Estate will return in one month on February 28, 2009, here at Searchlight Crusade, unless someone else wants to host. Deadline for submissions will be Midnight February 26th.