"Young and Dumb" to HP

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   Perry Fenderposted 13 years ago

   I just created a profile a little over a week ago (I don't even know how I came upon the HP thread to have found my way here).  Finding the concept "nifty," I thought I would give it a go.
   
   My first Hub was written specifically for HP on the legalities of why banks are still charging people PMI fees on foreclosed properties since searching the topics a year ago no one offered the "why" - they simply stated that the banks could or answered, "yes - PMI can still be assessed." 
   
   Having lost over $30K in equity and upgrades in my previous home when I had to sell and relocate after 7 months of unemployment, I barely eeked out of the closing with enough to pay off the underlying mortgage.  However, I thought I had made up for the lost equity when I found my current home and purchased it at auction for $90K less than what was its appraised value at the time, but the mortgage broker still factored in $3,300 in upfront PMI with monthly PMI payments in excess of $80/month.  However, I digress.
   
   Other than research assignments, I've rarely written for an "audience" (and those assignments had 1 reader -- the professor [who was extremely well versed on the topic]).  That being said, I could certainly use the feedback and traffic to "fine tune" what I've already penned. 
   
   If you've made it this far - you obviously are a "word warrior" -- please suffer yourself to digest a few thousand more -- http://perryfender.hubpages.com/hub/Rea … d-Property
   
   Critique will be welcome -- and also some "fundamental" tips on how to "adjust" an already published layout as well as what is advertised there.  Thank you in advance -- I sincerely appreciate it.

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   1. 85

      kschangposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Initial reaction: dang, this thing is long (though I think I've written something longer once) 
      
      Second reaction: the intro doesn't quite hook me. I wasn't much involved in real estate, and I didn't know what PMI is, and you didn't explain what PMI is until almost at the fold point (i.e. just before I had to scroll to see more.
      
      Third reaction: the presentation is a bit dry. I'm not saying you need to put up irrelevant pictures but you need to use the 'sidebar' a bit more.
      
      Fourth reaction: this is nor a formal article. You don't need to put endnotes. This is the web, put hypertext links IN the article, not at the end
      
      Fifth reaction: what's that Amazon code text box doing at the end?
      
      Sixth reaction: you didn't quite explain the PURPOSE of the hub in the first paragraph. I assume the purpose is HOW the amount of PMI is calculated, based on the appraised value, and how you can avoid getting gouged by lenders who find this way to charge you more?

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      1. 72

         Perry Fenderposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         THANK YOU! 
         
         My initial reaction to HP was that the articles needed to be a minimum of 1000 words.  The discussion regarding legalities of PMI could not be too terribly much shorter since almost half of the thread is citations to the legal authorities.
         
         2nd - Point taken and I will "tweek" it this weekend.
         
         3rd - How are the pictures embedded into the text?  I've seen other threads where they were peppered throughout - I'm not a "coder," so this perplexes me in how it was done.  And what is a "sidebar"?
         
         4th - The "footnotes" were cut/pasted from a Word document.  I used Word to format the layout and it didn't "convert" to HP at all.  I had to fiddle with the format to get the quotes to "block text" align.  How do you hyperlink the relevant info to the links where the information came from?
         
         5th - I'm new - was trying to figure out how to "select" what is "advertised" on the "article" so when/if anyone read it, the links would be relevant instead of in direct conflict with what was written (i.e., the Hub about the dangers of revolving debt on credit cards had advertisements for the exact offenders of interest rate hikes - I certainly do not want to direct traffic to THEM nor would those links on that thread provide any revenue to me and the article would be more of a "public service" announcement).
         
         6th - point taken.  The purpose is to inform of what federal law is regarding PMI.  With foreclosures selling so far below what its "market value" is - and generally loans are currently only being offered to low risk borrowers - there are unwarranted fees being assessed to ensure that the lender has enough buffer to liquidate the property, however, lenders are still assessing PMI unneccessarily.  In researching the topic, it was never explained "why" - which I did a lot of legwork to find out why.  This "article" was written to explain the "why" to others similarly situated.  And as with anything in "law" - words mean something (think Clinton - I never had "sex" with that woman).  And explaining, again, the difference between "loan value" and "appraised value" would get this "comment" up to about 1000 words in and of itself.
         
         Thank you again for suffering through and for providing feedback.  I know I asked a lot of questions -- links are appropriate answers if you know where to direct me.  I keep looking and getting side tracked by other "nifty" things about this site.
         
         I had a hard time writing this because my head kept wanting to put in more - to delve into each specific issue that leads into the whole.  But just like a digital picture, each specific is only a pixel in the larger picture - it's hard to disassemble (which is why it's a word sandwhich). 
         
         Let me ask -- are the "rules" to Hubbing not truly what is posted in the "new user" screen in that it can be "personal" and more about "you" [meaning me]?  I was of the impression that the articles were geared more towards non-blogging types of writing.  I've read several Hubs and it appears that a great many Hubs are more like blogs instead of more de-personalized.
         
         Again, I will attempt to "tweek" this one over the weekend to make it more interesting and engaging -
         
         Thank you so much for the input.  I'll see what I can do about cutting it down to size or even splitting it into more digestable pieces.

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         1. 85

            kschangposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Pictures -- use the "photo" capsule. They either go between the capsules, or if you want, they can be "floated" to the side, but always "top" aligned with the matching text capsule. If you want it to go into the middle, cut the text capsule (create another text capsule and move half the text) then put the photo right aligned with that new capsule (with no header)
            
            Amazon -- you find the products in a separate tab / window then when you found them, put the URL in the capsule, and it will figure out which Amazon item you're thinking about.
            
            Hub purpose -- just say all that up front.  "I was looking at foreclosed property and I was asked to pay PMI, and it was never explained to me why this is needed, so I did some research..."
            
            Hubpages purpose -- Not all hubbers follow the rules. I only write "article" style hubs. Others think of Hubpages as a blog platform. They won't get much traffic that way.

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            1. 76

               wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Blog style hubs - you will find them unpublished and if you continue to do it you will eventually be banned.

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