It’s been a while since the Carnival has been to RealCentralVA, but it’s just as wide and varied as I remember. With nearly thirty entries to choose from, making a “top 5” selection was a bit of a challenge, but I chose the following, in no particular order, for my readers – hoping they will learn something from what others have to offer.

The Relocation blog guides us to psychology rather than mere statistics: Looking for Housing’s Bottom? Check Your Psyche for These 3 Signs

Want to look stupid (and who doesn’t, really)?

Call a bottom in the housing market.

Nothing has humbled more people than trying to figure out when our great housing skid has come to an end: would-be homebuyers, beleagured real estate agents, those perennial optimists at the National Association of Realtors.

These would-be Nostradami roll out statistic after statistic in a vain attempt to identify housing’s floor. But the floor keeps sinking.

Dan Green presents my personal favorite – call it the Big Top article if you will – because it answers a simple question that an awful lot of buyers and sellers ask:

I’m Looking At My HUD-1 Settlement Statement: What Is A Closing Cost and What Is A Prepaid Item?

Signing mortgage paperwork can be unsettling for people. No matter how many times a person has signed a HUD-1 Settlement Statement in their lifetime, there’s something about that form that mentally makes them drop on the deck and flop like a fish.

Settlement statements are confusing, no bones about it. And for good reason:

* The HUD-1 is cryptic. It doesn’t come with line-by-line instructions like an IRS form
* The HUD-1 bares no little resemblance to its “preview” — the Good Faith Estimate
* Most people never see HUD-1 Settlement Statements but for their own closing(s)

However, the settlement statement section that repeatedly confuses homeowners the most is the one known as “Prepaid Items”. A “prepaid item” is exactly what its name implies — a payment related to the mortgage, collected before the payment’s actual due date.

There are 10 types of prepaid items, listed in Sections 900 and 1000 of the settlement statement. The most common ones are:

Frugal Real Estate shows us how to Stage Your Way to a Successful Sale:

Home staging is becoming an increasingly common selling tactic in real estate. Home staging is often considered to be strategic decorating. However, home staging differs from decorating because the home owner’s personal taste is omitted. The décor choices are made to appeal to real estate buyers, not the current homeowners.

If carried out properly, staging your home can result in multiple offers and ultimately drive up your home’s selling price. If your home is currently on the real estate market or you are considering selling your home, here are some tips to guide you through the home staging process.

Landlord Schmandlord speaks to the tenants (but could be giving advice to anyone, really) with this post, For the Tenants: How to Deal with Noisy Neighbors:

You’re living in a nice apartment, but you have really noisy neighbors. You have been trying to deal with it, but you’re at the point where you feel you cannot put up with it any longer. What do you do?

And lastly, but certainly not least, Justin Britt’s Creative Link Building, Real Estate 101, because his tips on Creative Link Building are as useful for building traffic as they are for getting involved in your community – you know – In Real Life.

Thanks to all the entrants, thanks to those stopping by, and look to Hotpads for next week’s Carnival of Real Estate.