[an error occurred while processing this directive]I'm sorry, I
accept mail about corrections and advertising only.
I'm sorry, I have, literally, over 10,000
messages in my In Box, and it's impossible (not inconvenient, but impossible)
for me to deal with any mail other than corrections. The only
options that will work in the menu below are for Corrections and
Advertising. Thank you for reading and understanding.
Sorry, no questions accepted
Please realize that this website is my gift
to you. Private consultation is not.
With the volume of email I receive it's just not possible for me to
function as a help line. When I have tried to refer readers to their
lender or their realtor to have their questions answered they've often
responded with something like, "Some help you are!" Why people
think I exist to serve them is beyond me, but it's also hurtful, after
I spent many, many hours putting this site together to share my
knowledge for free.
Please realize that in most cases your
lender or your realtor will really be better sources of information
than I will. Unlike me, they work with real estate issues day in
and day out, and more importantly, they're more familiar with you and
your specific situation. (i.e, Put your questions to them, not to me.)
I used to offer help in exchange for being paid for
a modest fee of $40, but that just resulted in readers writing in
to angrily accuse me of making the website and having the No Questions
policy simply as a front to sell my consulting services. That was
definitely not the case. If it were, I would have advertised that
service all over the site rather than just on the "Don't email
me" page. (Also, no one ever took advantage of it -- people apparently
want my help only if it's free.) Anyway, since so many readers
questioned my motives for offering paid assistance, I no longer do so.
I'm not available for help now, even if you pay me.
Amazingly, despite the huge disclaimer
above some people send their questions anyway. I guess some people
are just eager to prove how stupid they are. I'm sorry about the strong
wording but without it I get even more questions.
And I can't tell you how many times I've gotten a
message like this one I just received, which I excerpt verbatim: "TAKE DOWN YOUR FUCKIN SITE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO
ANSWER QUESTIONS!" So I'm not allowed to share information via a
website unless I also agree to function as a free helpdesk? Wow.
I don't trade links, period.
My site already ranks well, you have nothing to
offer me. And it ranks well because I made a useful site, not because I
spent my time begging links from other webmasters. Make a useful
website and yours will rank well too. Here's more on why
your link exchange request failed.
If you insist on writing me about link exchanges
anyway (as so many clueless link-exchangers do), then congratulations,
I'll simply just trash your email as soon as I see it.
Fan mail
I'm glad you liked the site so much you want
to thank my personally. But it's really not necessary. I know
people like the site because I've received countless messages from
readers, and thousands of people bookmark it, link to it, and share it
with their friends. In fact, my sites get well over two million
visitors a year. If only a fraction of that two million writes
in, that's a lot of extra mail for me. As it stands, I currently have
over 10,000 messages in my In Box. So please be assured that I've
received more than enough thanks from my readers over the years. Thanks
for understanding!
No affiliate programs
I'm not joining any new affiliate programs,
sorry. Please don't write about your affiliate program. Yes, I do
currently have a few affiliate links on the site, but those are the
last ones I accepted, years ago. I'm not accepting any more. Please
don't write about affiliate programs.
Advertising -- please read
carefully!
NO AFFILIATE PROGRAMS.Please don't write about affiliate programs, period.
NO TEXT LINKS.I won't link words from my editorial to an
advertiser's site so they can try to increase their search engine
rankings. I accept traditional banners and pagraph-style text ads only.
NO LINK EXCHANGES.
My site already ranks well, you have nothing to offer me. And it ranks
well because I made a useful site, not because I spent my time begging
links from other webmasters. Go back and make a useful website and
yours will rank well too. Here's more on why
your link exchange request failed.
BANNER ADS.I
accepted only static (non-animated) banners. I accept all
standard formats (160x600, 120x600, 468x60, 300x250, etc.). I'll also
accept a 728x90 but the only place that one will fit is at the very
bottom of the page.
TEXT / HTML ADS.I will run text / html ads, as long as the headline
+ copy is at least 190 characters (double what Google Adwords allows).
HTML
size can be any standard banner size.
TRAFFIC.I
serve 223,000 pageviews a month from my homebuying guide as of Dec.
2010.
TERMS.One
month minimum, renews automatically every month, cancel any time. You
can pay by PayPal once I approve and install your ad(s).
SPOTS AVAILABLE.
This is exactly what is available. Nothing else is available, no other
prices are available, please don't ask.
$350/mo., Adlinks spot. I'll replace the
Google Adlinks in the left-hand sidebar (under the menu) on each page
with your ad.
$700/mo., Bottom spot. I'll replace the
468x60 Google Adsense on the bottom of each page with your ad.
$2100/mo., Right spots. Some pages have a
160x600 in a right-hand sidebar, and some have a 336x280 at the top of
the article, floating in the content. I'll replace both of this with
your ads.
If you have actually read
everything above, then you can contact me here.
Corrections.
Thanks for helping me try to improve the
site! Readers have discovered many glitches in the site over the
years, which has enabled me to make the site better for everyone.
But a large number of the "corrections" I receive
aren't really corrections at all, so don't be offended if I don't
"correct" what isn't really broken. Here's an example:
Jennifer Ushka wrote to say that my advice
about paying off a 30-year loan in 15 years won't actually save any
interest, because the mortgage interest is "front loaded". I explained
that, no, you can indeed save interest by prepaying your loan, and
referred her to my page which explains how the interest is calculated.
She wrote back to insist that I'm wrong. She referred
me to some uninformed post on a message board which she thought
backed up her position. So I explained that the idea that you can save
interest by prepaying is universally accepted as fact, there is zero
question about it, every finance textbook says the same thing, I've
done it myself on several loans, etc. Here was her response:
The mere fact that
you don't acknowledge that the interest rate is lower on a
15-year loan vs a 30-year loan tells me you're an
idiot. Forums are a great source to learn what
other intelligent people have to say regarding your
misconceptions. You have nothing to offer as proof of any of
your statements other than "I've done it myself" and references to your
own information? Ridiculous.
So if you promise not to insult and argue with me if I
tell you that your correction is not really a correction, then please contact me here.
If you liked this site then you might like some of my other sites:
