Mexican food as a theme for the Carnival of Real Estate??
Hey, it was the brainchild of Kelley Koehler, aka @housechick, aka NachoChick. I sent out a Twitter message for ideas, Kelley responded, and I like Mexican food. So we’re running with it. Deal with it.
There were 23 submittals, down significantly from the last time I hosted the Carnival back in the day of episodes 33 and 37.
Entries ranged from one really not-so-swift to the truly spectacular. As always, it was tough to narrow down the Top 10, and even tougher to rank them. Cerveza was involved, but I did avoid the tequila…
We’ll begin with the appetizers and move through the Mexican food chain until we arrive, naturally, at the big enchilada.
The chips and salsa of the bunch goes to Bill D. at The Wealth Hunter with, “Is it Better to Rent or Buy? That is The Question.” It’s a good take on the age-old question, and employs a “rent ratio” to help decipher the conundrum. What’s a rent ratio? Read the post!
Bringing out the guacamole is “Silicon Valley Blogger” at The Digerati Life with, “Where To Find The Down Payment For Your Dream Home”. They leave out “buried in the backyard”, but include 10 other possibilities.
Tacos are a staple in my house and Leon Gettler of SOX First (think Sarbanes-Oxley) delivers. “Blame subprime on the banks: accounting rule-maker” is an interview with Bob Garnett of the International Accounting Standards Board. Interesting stuff — ginormous photo not withstanding.
A Torta is a Mexican sandwich, served hot or cold. Patrick Duffy at the Housing Chronicles serves up a hot one. “Homebuilbers and brokers should first ask themsleves: ‘Who’s Your Company?” is a a lengthy tome. Geared mainly to the home builder, there are good lessons here for the real estate broker as well.
Ahhh Huevos… lot’s of ways to serve them up. And Andrew Mattie writing for Geek Estate Blog dishes up a dandy with, “Silly MLS IDX Rules”. As a broker, I deal with IDX sillyness on a regular basis. As an IDX vendor, Andrew deals with it constantly. Interesting insight from an “insider”. (Disclosure, I contribute to GEB and use Andrew’s product. I also really like huevos, but none of that had anything to do with the selection.)
Housechick digs nachos. I don’t know what Joe Manausa at the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog thinks of them. But I know Joe’s article, “How To Analyze Real Estate – The Real Estate Shack” was a great post. It is a very nice explanation of cash flow analysis for investment property — explaining terminology well in easy to understand language.
The burrito begins the heavy stuff. Scott Ficek up there at the Minnesota Investment Real Estate blog may not be able to find a decent burrito, but he can write a great post. “Investment Property Accounting” takes a look at managing the income and expenses of investment properties.
OK, so technically, margaritas aren’t food. But they clearly belong in any lineup of Mexican delights. And Athol Kay, in only the way Athol can, delights and schools us on taking good kitchen photos in his post, “When Your Wife Stabs You With a Fork You Learn to Pay Attention.” (Which clearly wins “Best Title”). Who knows if there is decent Mexican food near the REagent in Connecticut, but Athol always delivers.
The massive Combo Plate, second only to the Big Enchilada, is consumed by John Lockwood of the Sacramento Real Estate Blog. In, “Where’s The Bottom? The Prophet Speaks” John takes a deeply linked look at the real estate market in Sacramento County (which if you follow real estate markets, you know it’s been hit particularly hard). This plate isn’t just Sacramento though, John’s insight holds true everywhere.
And this weeks Carnival of Real Estate “Pick of the Week”, The Big Enchilada, goes to Dan Melson at Searchlight Crusade. Personally, I think Dan is one of the best in the Real Estate Blog Community. His post, “Is The Good Faith Deposit At Risk?” should be required reading. The short answer is, of course, yes. But Dan takes an in-depth look at both the buyer and seller side and provides nice insight into how to handle the question, “Is my good faith / earnest money at risk?”
And seriously, anyone that can inject a reference to quantum physics into a real estate post deserves an extra side of tortillas.
There you have it folks, your 93rd Carnival of Real Estate is a wrap.
Next week, the great Mike Price hosts the 94th edition at Mike’s Corner (which is down right now? Wonder if he’s hosting at Houston’s The Planet, which had a meltdown over the weekend…).
And I’m hungry. . .
Edited to add: If anyone is really interested, here are my notes on all the entries (links included). There are a couple of thoughts in there on some articles on why they didn’t make the cut. Nothing personal, I had to cut more than made it….
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I'm Jay Thompson, and I have a little blogging problem... Welcome to The Phoenix Real Estate Guy, or "TPREG" as I fondly refer to it.
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