First things first...you guys really have some great blogs!  Thank you to the Real Estate Tomato for sponsoring this Carnival of Project Blogger and allowing me to host Week #4.

I purposely waited until after the deadline to begin reading the entries, and because of the Active Rain BBQ on Saturday I didn't get to them until Sunday.  There initially seemed to be a theme of natural disaster with Ines writing about hurricanes and Julie about tornadoes, but Teri mixed it up with some home staging tips and Tisza and Mary both gave historical info on their communities.  Jackie gave some excellent advice to home sellers about changes in Florida contract law and how important it is to make sure any improvements done to your home (even before you bought it!) are properly permitted before you decide to sell.

To recap the rules, the submissions had to be in by midnight on Friday, and none could be over 7 days old.  Because of those rules, I have to eliminate Jackie (May 21 post) and Tisza (May 22 post), even though they were both excellent articles and turned in on time.  Future judges may want to check the submissions as they get them to make sure the dates fit within the rules - I wish I had done that so I could tell Jackie and Tisza to submit something else since they were some of the first emailed entries.  I was so focused on not judging til after the deadline that I overlooked this.

There were only 4 left in competition because of this, and they are listed below from 1 to 4.  All 6 submissions were very good and left me with the impression I need to step my game up a little bit!

My favorite was by Ines Hegedus-Garcia: Sales Tax Break for Hurricane Preparation.  This is valuable information to a consumer from both a safety perspective (though I'm sure everyone in Miami knows about hurricane season) and saving money on essential items.  Anyone who has lived somewhere with extreme weather knows how prices can go up during or in the aftermath of a natural disaster, and helping consumers avoid that is a good thing.  The only complaint I have is that the picture next to the list of tax-exempt items is not displaying properly.

Julie Ferenzi's post on "A Tornado Warning Has Been Issued for the Area...Please Find Your Way to the Junior's Department!" made me think I was right there with her in the mall.  I can imagine that all the local residents reading her blog can picture themselves there too (or maybe were there!).  It made her really seem like a part of the community and relating to them in a humorous way about a threat they live with during tornado season every year.

Mary Pope-Handy's article on What About Forbes Mill? was an interesting look at the history of her community and very well written.  Mary also gets bonus points for going out to the other blogs in the carnival and offering comments.  We all know a great way to improve your blogging voice is to read and comment on other blogs, and Mary is an excellent example of this. 

Teri Lussier's blog on It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got that Swing gave some great homeowner tips for staging with a shout out to Craig Schiller.  I was expecting more information on the specific staging tips/challenges for brick ranch homes as a new spin on the topic of staging, though.  Still very good information for consumers.

Thank you to all the apprentices who submitted entries for the Carnival of Project Blogger.  I had a great time reading your articles and appreciating the work you have put into the design and content of your sites.  You all have lucky consumers to have the opportunity to work with agents who obviously care very much about their communities and their profession.