Tonight Kristi was looking at some housing listings on Craigslist (for those who have heard about our plans to move, let me just say things went sideways today...so we're trying to figure out what to do), and she ran across an interesting listing.

The listing read as such:

$1345 / 4br - Elegant 4 bedroom 3.25 bath home

Spectacular Modern Home
Rent To Own Option/ Or Just Lease
Immaculate 4 bdrm 3.25 bath home
Approx. 2,800 sq ft living space
* SECURITY SYSTEM, INTERCOM

* AUTO SPRINKLERS FRONT AND BACK

* AUTO GARAGE DOORS

* VIEWS, LUSH LANDSCAPING

* LARGE BATHROOMS W/BIDETS AND JACUZZI TUB

* SAUNA ROOM, SEPARATE LAUNDRY ROOM W/WASHER & DRYER

* SKYLIGHT, VAULTED CEILING, HARDWOOD, MARBLE, SLATE

* S/S SUB ZERO, MICROWAVE, DISHWASHER, COMPACTOR,

* 2 MARBLE WOOD BURNING FIREPLACES

More Photo's And Details:
http://www.seller4realestate.com/

$1345 a month for a new, nice house in Denver! Holy crap! That's awesome! So Kristi clicked through and came to this page.

As you can see, it is pretty much just the photo, two links to a "mortgage calculator" and a "realestate glossary" and, oh yeah, a Google AdSense bar at the top. But where are the other photos and details that are promised in the Craigslist ads?

Oh! There aren't any...but it a fit of desperation there is a good chance you might click on an AdSense ad - making the site owner (and Google) money for every link a confused shopper clicks.

So let's break down the business model - get a domain, build a three page website with a too good to be true house on it, slap some AdSense on the three pages, run ads all over Craiglist to drive traffic to it (cost = $0), and BOOM, big profit from AdSense.

I gotta admit, it's pretty genius...and really hard for Craigslist to police. I mean, it's a total crap arbitrage play, and it's one of the reasons why AdSense is polluting the net, but it's smart...very smart.