Carnivals: September 2009 Archives

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!

Four Pillars talks about Pocket Listings. A pocket listing is where the listing agent keeps the listing "in his pocket" rather than putting it on MLS. It can be ok in very limited circumstances - like an expectation of a market improving later on. For instance, if someone wants to list property with me with Christmas approaching, I always ask if they want to delay putting it on MLS so that when the buyers start looking again after the holidays this property isn't showing 60+ days on market. Allowing a couple weeks for beautification before it hits MLS can also be a good idea. But the agent has to have written instructions from the client to keep it off MLS. Most pocket listings are agents trying to double-end the commission - and that is despicable because it also limits the number of buyers that see their client's property.

Your host presents Low Asking Price on Unfinanceable Properties

RECOMMENDED

What's an Emphyteutic Lease? (And Why You May Want to Avoid One) isn't something that's going to come up in the US much. Mostly in Hawaii and on Indian Reservations. But they are a bear to get financing for, as the lender wants their loan paid off before the lease period ends.

Your Home Is Not An Investment is a Devil's Advocate article that does make some cogent points. However, if you can't spot three issues with it you're not trying.

Five Cent Nickel starts with a very good point: Settle on a maximum purchase price before you start looking. Properties that cannot be obtained for that are not contenders for your purchase.

Real estate in Australia doesn't work the same way it does in the US. Things estate agents can't get away with paints a picture so different than US practices that I have difficulty getting my head around it - although I can point to a lot of listing agents here who'd like to be able to accept two offers at once.

Why Renters Need Insurance - because the owners insurance policy doesn't pay for the renter's belongings.

MET GUIDELINES

6 Surefire Ways To Avoid a Mortgage Meltdown is anything but. He tries to do too much and doesn't understand how real estate or mortgage loans work. But it did meet guidelines.

Credit Scores: How Important Are They? met guidelines, it just didn't contribute anything in the way of knowledge or recommendations.

Details About the $8,000 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Actually, unless congress extends the program, it's probably too late to start because the purchase must be fully consummated within another 30-odd days

Consider Paying Home Mortgage Discount Points is missing a major part of the picture. What's important isn't necessarily how long you'll stay in the home - it's how long you keep the loan. More than 50% of all loans never see their third anniversary. Rates get better or the homeowner wants cash and they refinance. With a five year breakeven, I wouldn't advise paying points to buy the rate down unless I saw some good evidence the people involved are not going to refinance for at least that long.

I wouldn't follow the advice in How To Sell Your House Fast - 9 Tips To Get The Most From Your Home Sale, but it does meet guidelines and most of it isn't actually harmful.

SPAM AND OTHER RIDICULOUS SUBMISSIONS

A spam site submitted "How Retail Security Systems Can Protect Your Business" Does this sound like real estate to you? Doesn't to me. If they can't follow installation instructions, how good is their security system liable to be?

Another spam site submitted "Things That Make a Trade Show Rental Service a Quality One". Not to put too fine a point on it, their product placement is completely unacceptable. Hardly a recommendation for their professional services.

"50 Free Online Tools to Make Killer Graphs" was another spam submission. How about a riff on Paul Simon, "fifty ways to kill your spammer"?

A site named Green Packaging submitted "Go Green with Eco-DVD Cases" Green spam - if that's not a revolting thought, your stomach is stronger than mine.

A shill site submitted a post asking which is better, the movie or book "Angels and Demons" I'm not going to venture an opinion on that question, but I know which side of the title equation the submitters are on. If you have any doubts, consider that they submitted it 28 times to a carnival they shouldn't have submitted to at all.

Another shill site submitted "Guide to Getting Your Free Credit Report from (their paid advertiser site)" I really didn't need to read it to know it was spam. But when it wouldn't display without permission for scripts I had to wonder if there was something actively malicious in their webcode. Get your free credit reports direct from the credit bureaus.

Yet another spam post from an alleged designer website called "Classic Retro Furniture" was something that some people might think had something to do with real estate - until you read the post that talks about nothing but furniture pieces in isolation. I wouldn't consider a designer that doesn't deal with the space as a unified whole.

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 October 30, 2009, here at Searchlight Crusade, unless someone else wants to host. Deadline for submissions will be Midnight October 28th.