What an honor it is to host the 134^th edition of the Carnival of Real Estate and select the best of the best!  I choose this week's theme because everyone is looking for the best deal & way to save money. In honor of that, the theme of this week’s carnival is VALUE. 

This week's carnival is being judged on the value it bring to our consumers and the real estate business.  Without further adieu, meet the best of the best!

This week we have TWO Picks of the week.  How's that for VALUE?   

Our first is:  Karen Goodman, Building a Better Community - NCJW’s Back To School Store.  Real estate isn’t just about the physical house.  It’s about the people who live in them and the communities that these homes comprise.  Karen’s post is personal and engaging about how she is helping to raise money to provide 950 children with a BRAND NEW outfit, including backpacks and school supplies. Let’s show her the value of belonging to such a wonderful blogging community by clicking her link and seeing how you can help.

And second is:  Jim Cronin presents The Death of a Real Estate Blog. Stop BLOGGING?  (Sorry, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor).  That’s a topic I hadn’t even considered and somehow Jim manages to present a way to still get value ($$$) from stopping blogging. 

Matt Vestal presents Are You a Conscientious Objector? Matt’s article was my favorite kind:  short, humorous and to the point. I really enjoyed it.  If you are a novice investor or considering investing in property, get "property guidance" by finding someone who specializes in investment properties and the “Oh Crap” factor. 

Dan Melson presents Top Twelve Things That Help You Buy a Bargain Property.  Are you getting in the way of getting the good deal?  Would you know if you did?  This is a excellent article that should be handed out to every buyer in today's market. 

Rob presents How to Respond to Late-Paying or No-Paying Tenants.  Rates are low, homes are plenty, and those whose homes are in short-sale or foreclosure will need a place live.  Are you prepared if your tenants are late payers or stop paying entirely? 

Brad Andersohn presents Social Photo Media Marketing.  Find out aboutPhotobucket's new one click service that allows you to share videos and photos with the major social media and blog sites. (Flickr doesn't have this yet).  What a HUGE time saver!

Julie Broad presents Upgrades to Negotiate with a Builder when buying a New Home in Today’s Market.  Builders are positioning themselves to compete with the large number of resale homes on the market.  Find out how to negotiate for more and get the most value out of your new home. 

Silicon Valley Blogger presents First Time Home Buyer Credit, Cheap Property Market: Time To Buy A House! You have to be living under a rock if you haven’t heard about the first time home buyer tax credit.  There are record number of home available, low interest rates and now, a tax credit of 10% of the purchase price (up to $8000) for first time home buyers.  Do you qualify?

Jim Reppond presents Escrow Matters.  Jim gives us the questions to ask when shopping for a new Escrow company.  It came at a good time for me as I’ve been shopping around for a new escrow company. I think you can take it one step further and use to evaluate whether you are getting good service from your existing company. 

Patricia Turner brings us the Top 50 Construction Blogs.  Patricia’s given us a TON of resources ranging from Home Construction Tips, to remodeling DIY’s, to how to pre-screen contractors on line. If you are looking to fix up your home or build a home, there’s a wealth of information here.

Darwin presents Net Present Value: Why You Should Use it in Everyday Life.  Are you relying on your mortgage people to give you the best deal and explain why theirs is better?  Would you like to know how you can determine this yourself? 

And finally, Diane Tuman’s article on Mariah Carey Makes Offer on Beverly Hills Mansion. Oh come on, admit it, don’t you want to check out the home that both you and Mariah won’t be cleaning?  Admit it, you looked, didn’t you?

Get your posts in by Sunday, March 29th for next week's issue of the "Carnival of Real Estate!"

Technorati tags: carnival of real estate, blog carnival.

Flickr Image Credit in order of photos: Obbino, waunderlustphoto, SantaRosa Old Skool