The Consumer-Focused Carnival of Real Estate

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.