Carnival of Real Estate – The 33rd Edition

I will freely admit that my head hurts.

I knew when I signed up to host the Carnival of Real Estate months ago that it was going to be quite the task.

I had no idea.

The first thing that kind of freaked me out is this is the 33rd edition of the Carnival, and there were 33 entries. That's just a little weird. This is the 3rd month of the year. Right now it's 10:33pm. I've got the numbers 33 spinning around in my head like a record album, which of course rotates at 33 1/3 RPM.

Then I go to play my regular game of Texas Hold'em tonight (that's a poker game in case you've been living under a rock the last 3 1/3 years). And I'll be dammed if my first hand isn't a pair of 3's. I lost to someone holding pocket 9's. The square root of 9 is 3. My life has now been consumed by the number 33 and it's derivatives.

But that's not why you are here. You are here to see what I've picked as this week's cream of the crop in the real estate blogiverse. Since last week's host shamelessly stole my idea of playing off March Madness, I was at a loss for a "theme" for the Carnival. The number 33 and its incessant repetition in my life the last few days is an obvious choice. But never being one to go with the obvious, I'll just turn back to my favorite method of escape…. Poker.

Here are this weeks winning hands:

John Harper at The Harper Team Blog wins the first pot with a funny (yet oh-so-true) post. The DYPS system of personality typing will help those clients survive the Looney Tune world of real estate. 

 

If you play much poker, you know how many times a solid pair can win a hand. And we've got a pair of blogs about commercial real estate sharing this spot. Michael Emilio out of Miami gives us a primer on triple net leases, and Craig Higdon sets us straight on commercial real estate loan facts and myths.

 

Dan Melson, by way of the SearchLight Crusade debunks another (common) lending myth about owner occupied home loans. This time on the residential side of the business. Understanding all the nuances of financing is many an agents weakness. Articles like this help both the real estate professional as well as the consumer.

 

There were three entries this week that revolved around "doing the right thing", having the right attitude, and considering the client first. This is a topic near and dear to me, and well, since I'm hosting the Carnival, I get to pick the posts! Here's the first two of the three: Cliff Jacobson with "It's Not About the House" and Daniel  Rothamel with, "Do Inspired Work". Read them and heed them. And read on for the third related post.

I love deeply linked blogs. And I used to be in semiconductor manufacturing engineering, so I love data and charts. Therefore once again I can't pick a single winning straight hand. Two guys split the pot on this hand: Pat Kitano, with "Bubble Bubble Toil Trouble" and Mike Simonsen with, "Measuring the Transition to a Hot Market".

In his Carnival entry, Craig Shiller flushes out what a stager really does. (Sorry for the horrific pun — I can't help myself sometimes). A lot of folks don't "get" staging. Craig masterfully pulls together the whole home sale process, including staging, by using an analogy with something anyone can relate to — a tricycle. 

 

Sabra Davis of ZillowBlog gets "the boat" (that's poker slang for a full house — a HUGE hand). In her post, "Confessions of an Empty Nester", Sabra espouses on moving out of "The House" and into the urban life. While it's downtown Seattle, it could be anycity USA. Doesn't sound like such a bad way to live…

 

With a poker hand that will win 99% of the time, Nina at Queercents, a self-professed "Zillow Voyeur" has a fabulous idea. Forget Zillow's "Make Me Move" feature. Bring on "Make My Neighbor Move". Her article, "Can Zillow Make Me Move?" is a great look at many things Zillow. I thought it was pure dead brilliant.  

 

Toby Boyce pulls a monster hand with the best "local" post of the Carnival. He takes us on a tour of the small towns of Delaware County, Ohio. Heck, I could just about feel the nip in the air and see the guys playing checkers at the corner store. Sounds like a great place to live. And god speed Shamus Goare, thank you for your sacrifice.

This weeks ultimate hand was played by Greg Swann. No stranger to Carnival wins, Greg penned a masterpiece with his post, "The Implied Accusation in real estate: How to win the war on your attitude". A cursory glance at this article might lead one to think it's just another howitzer shell fired at the bubbleheads relentless attacks on Greg and team at the Bloodhound blog. But I encourage everyone to read it carefully. Greg cuts to the chase about our purpose — in life and in this profession. I think it may just be his best work yet, and that is saying a lot.

 

So there you have it folks, the 33rd Carnival of Real Estate is over. Unlike a real poker game, everyone is a winner here. There were many brilliant posts, and only a couple that were not-so-swift. Unfortunately, I had to eliminate a couple due to technicalities. One entry submitted by an ActiveRainer was an AR "Members Only" post. And while I could see it, it couldn't be linked to for the non-AR population. Another set of outstanding entries weren't considered for top honors because the submission FAQs clearly state one entry per blogger, not three. Sorry… Normally I'm not all that gung ho a rule follower, but this thing could swiftly spiral out of control if authors submitted multiple entries every week.

Next weeks Carnival will be hosted at Michael Price's most excellent "Mike's Corner — Web 2.0 for Real Estate Pros". I like Mike, he's a great guy. Let's bury him in quality entries! 🙂

Until then, remember…. never count your money while you're sitting at the table.