Web users to decide fate of Orgegon investment property

photo credit: Bull3t

When was the last time you talked, and I mean really had a conversation, with your next door neighbour, who probably lives a matter of feet away?

Three days ago? A week ago? A month? Maybe you don’t even know their name having teased little more than a grunt out of them in 10 years. Thanks to the power of the internet you can now get to know someone, really know them, through the likes of Facebook and other ’social media’ applications even if they live thousands of miles away.

MySpace can achieve more than you and the town hall committee could ever dream – the web can even, arguably, elect a president if you look at the way Barack’s people marketed him to the masses.

And now the people of the world wide web could put a roof over someone’s head.

‘Tenant trashed the place’

American George Tran, from Oregon, is a property investment landlord and a bit of a marketing buff. Three years ago he bought a house for $250,000 but ended up with a “horrible tenant that trashed the place” .

Could you talk yourself into a US property investment home?

This meant he had to fork out $40,000 renovating the three-bed property only to then be told it might take almost a year to sell. Instead, he’s now prepared to give it away for nothing – although anyone who wants to be in with a shot must pay a $19.95 registration fee.

Entrants then have to say why they should get the house, and internet users will vote on who has the best or most deserving reason, and the keys are theirs. In short, Joe Public has the final say on who gets the keys to the $230,000 pad in Oregon and proceeds above a $300,000 ceiling go to charity.

Power to the people. Perhaps this is the way interest rates and tax levels should be set. We could even use the internet to decide whether or not to bail out a bank. That’d make sure they passed on the cuts.