I have been sick the last couple of days…actually, the last three weeks, but this weekend I had a relapse of the terrible cough. Being pretty much useless this weekend, I found time to sit down and watch some quality cable television. For those that are interested, here are some program highlights from last evening.
6:00 I just got the kids fed and find it time to sit down and watch some mindless TV.
I am a sucker for the HGTV real estate shows. They are filled with do-it-yourself topics and how-to guides. Tonight was a fine selection. I learned how to become a millionaire from the Money Blue Book, how to properly interview a real estate agent in today’s tech savvy world, and what red flags to look out for when inspecting a home.
Wow, my brain is overloaded with real estate stuff now. Time to give it some intellectual food for thought.
At 8:00 it’s time for some good debating, so I turn the channel to:
Fox News: Hannity and ColmesTwo posts dealt with the FSBO market, and after “watching” them, I felt like I was reading articles submitted by both these intelligent, but sometimes annoying gentlemen on Fox News. To be “fair and balanced”, I decided to let “you decide” on which side you agree with.
Representing Hannity is the
Sacramento Real Estate Gal with an
article on her perspective of watching a neighbor go FSBO and the reasons to not do so. The more “radical” side (at least according to some of us evil real estate agents) comes from Terence Gillespie in his
guide about how to sell without a real estate agent. He makes some valid points, if you can get through the length of his post, but not everyone will be able to duplicate his success.
Did I forget to mention the last guest on the show?
Up2DateRealEstate gives us some
ideas on what needs to be done to fix the failing economy.
Now it is 9:00, the kids are in bed, and I feel like a movie. I flip the channel guide on, lucky to find my favorite movie of all time:
The
Ten CommandmentsUnfortunately, you won’t be finding anything from the Bible quoted here for fear of retribution from the liberal left. Instead, what you can find is a great article from Peyman Aleagha of the
Geek Estate Blog with his
post about the 10 Commandments for a real estate website. He points out some things that should not be rocket science, but amazingly, for most real estate agents, are.
Of course, this movie is quite long….time for bed. Gotta get up and be a useless real estate agent tomorrow.
Don’t forget to join the Carnival of Real Estate next week at the
60646 Blog.
Maureen Francis, a fellow ActiveRain blogger, had a little get together of fellow bloggers and compiled an October Blog Tour for member blogs. The blogs come from all over the country, so if you would like to see what is going on in other states, feel free to check out some of them below:
I usually submit an article of mine to the Consumer Focused Carnival of Real Estate, and have even hosted it once here on the Minneapolis Luxury Real Estate Blog. This week I decided to check out the Carnival of Real Estate, which has broader submission rules, and articles that are also intended for real estate agents. This weeks host was Altos Research : here is a snippet, so make sure to visit the site for some great articles:
“The fabulous blog fest, the Carnival of Real Estate, finds its way to our humble home today. While we came up short on working out a clever theme (Summer Solstice? 4th of July? Yankees vs. Giants? Gay Pride Parade?) for judging this week’s mound of entries, we decided at least to categorize them. Of the many, many dozens of entries, these are the four categories into which real estate writing has seemed to self-organize. We’ll highlight the best of each group….”
This week I am host of the Carnival of Luxury and articles submitted mostly centered on Luxury Living. So in honor of Living the Life of Luxury, this issue’s awards come in the form of precious gems and minerals.
The Pearl : By far one of the most simple of all gems that nature creates, the pearl is elegant when strung together in a simple strand. Luxury, in the same, does not have to be overly done to be beautiful. Mark Cutler of Mark Cutler Design shows us how simple design can make just as bold of a statement as a highly embellished one.
The Diamond: To put it simple enough, diamonds are brilliant, stand out, and sparkle like the stars. So why not travel the world and look for some festivals that stand out too. JourneyPod breaks down some great locations to enjoy a little sparkle and add some excitement to our lives.
Gold : For centuries the money standard for the entire world. And if you want to partake in this type of luxury, you will need a lot of it! Renthusiast.org shows us into the new world of luxury private jets.
The Sapphire : By far my favorite, the sapphire has been a gem associated with royalty. Take a look at some beautiful eggs to fill your luxury collectibles, if you can afford them. The Silicon Valley Blogger shows us the world of Russian crafted eggs, including the infamous Faberge eggs, at the Digerati Life.
Entries for the next Carnival of Luxury are being accepted at BlogCarnival. As this is only the second issue, we are looking to spread the word and get some great submissions for the next Carnival, currently being hosted every two weeks. Don’t forget our categories:
- Luxury Living
- Luxury Homes
- Luxury Travel
- Luxury Trends
- Luxury Toys
- World of Luxury
And if you can’t fit yours into one of these categories, suggest one!
As I was reading through the numerous entries this week, I had this strange feeling of being back in high school. Don’t get me wrong, I loved school. But now that I am older and have lived through college as well, I really have no desire to ever go back and “relive” my high school days.
So instead we will honor those days through the writings of our winners. Here is your homework for the evening. Make sure to read your lessons and get your parents signature for the field trip.
Assignment 1: Math – making heads and tails of loan advertisements is not easy for the general public. Dan Melson at
Searchlight Crusade clues us into the Bad & Ugly in recent ads, and Nigel Swaby at
Salt Lake Real Estate Blog runs some numbers for us to help with our math skills.
Assignment 2 : History – in case you forgot what has happened the last few years, Joshua Dorkin writes a great article at Bigger Pockets on 5 Mistakes Investors Made. Never forget that “those who forget history are doomed to repeat it”.
Assignment 3 : English – we all love to read, right? Well sit the laptop down and walk away from the computer. Check out the book recommendation by
Stewart Hsu about creating wealth for yourself. Cliff Notes not allowed!
Assignment 4 : Geography – you like where you live now, but what happens if a Hurricane in Florida forces you to move (my experience)? Colleen Corgan at
Hotpads gives some good advice on determining factors to consider should you need to find a new place to live. I will give an honorable mention to Angie Vandenbergh for her
Active Rain submission and showing us the benefit of living in her local area.
Field Trip : So now all your homework is done and it is time to play. I hope you all remembered your permission slips! Hop on the bus because it is time for a real estate Field Trip
with the Silicon Valley Blogger at the
Digerati Life. We get to see the real estate market from a streets point of view. Hey, stop the spitballs or I am pulling over this bus!
Now go home and play your video games. Don’t forget your school project due next week at the future carnival host, Mike Simonsen, and his blog
Altos Research Real Estate Insights.
I am a sucker for the HGTV real estate shows. They are filled with do-it-yourself topics and how-to guides. Tonight was a fine selection. I learned how to become a millionaire from the Money Blue Book, how to properly interview a real estate agent in today’s tech savvy world, and what red flags to look out for when inspecting a home. 
Fox News: Hannity and Colmes
The Ten Commandments
