Normally I don't like to rush people into buying but "I'm saying don't wait until the last minute to buy a Michigan Home. The reason I am saying this is because of the first time home buyer tax credit deadline.  Last fall right before the deadline, many Michigan home buyers were scrambling to find homes.  Their were many bidding wars.  I had one home we lost that had 15 bids on it and another Southfield home we lost that had 11 bids on it.  Another Westland home we lost had a $46,000 list price that went for $67,000.  Another home we lost by $10,000 to cash buyers. All my clients ended up getting a home except one.  But many of them bid on 3 homes.  October was a crazy month to try to get a home.  I think home prices edged up during the month of October. So my advice is if you are a Mic... 01/25/2010

  Free Event:  Entrepreneur Empowerment Seminar and Book signing   Start the New Year out with a FREE business networking workshop; learn the latest marketing techniques you should be using and how to avoid the 10 mistakes commonly made by small business owner.   When a successful entrepreneur speaks everyone should listen!    Network and learn from 4 successful entrepreneurs at the Free Workshop Event, Retired from Man Hired by God     Meet Ayanna Thomas, author of Retired from Man Hired by God, and get your signed copy of the second edition of her book which debuts in January, 2010.  Come and learn how to discover your purpose with her easy to follow plan that will retire you from man to charge and change your life forever!   This powerful manuscript has been guiding readers into thei... 12/14/2009

The real estate investor association of Oakland County Michigan (REIA of Oakland County MI) is having their next meeting soon.  Here is all the information you need.  This is a great association to join if you are thinking of buying real estate as an investment in Southeastern Michigan.  Whether you are thinking of flipping homes or becoming a Metro Detroit landlord this association has hundreds of members that have been doing this for years. They have great informational monthly meetings.  And the members are a wealth of information willing to share their knowledge.  So I recommend you to join and learn from some of their past mistakes.  So it won't cost you.   This month's meeting, December 10th, is the "Loan Modification Panel."  Loan modifications have become a necessary evil in tod... 12/01/2009

   Small Business Expo in Southfield – How to Get Business Lines of Credit in any Economic Climate   Imagine how your life will look when you have all the money you need to build, operate and expand your business   Detroit, MI – Business lines of credit are available in any economic climate; true, they’re harder to obtain if you lack the knowledge and skills of a savvy business owner.  Pat Gage is the Opportunity Creator and expert on how the business credit system works.  Pat Gage has created a system for establishing business credit and raising unlimited capital for any business.    Pat Gage will be one of 4 speakers presenting valuable information for business owners and entrepreneurs at the Small Business Expo in Detroit.  This event is free to attend and participants will learn how... 11/18/2009

  The Fast and Easy Way to Save Hundreds of Dollars In Web Design and Upkeep Costs!     Improve your ability to sell on the web.  Gain the “inside” knowledge to drive traffic to your business.   Save thousands of dollars in website expenses.    Would you like to avoid paying a web designer to find the keywords needed to drive traffic to your website?  Would you like to avoid paying a web designer to create then maintain your website?  All of these expenses can run you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.  With the right kind of knowledge you can avoid paying any of these expenses.   That’s right, you can find the critical keyword phrases needed for your marketing, create a website, maintain the website and make all the changes yourself – and do this all for FREE.    You can learn how ... 09/14/2009

  The Quick and Easy Way to Save Hundreds of Dollars In Web Design and Upkeep Costs!     Improve your ability to sell on the web.  Gain the “inside” knowledge to drive traffic to your business.   Save thousands of dollars in website expenses.    Would you like to avoid paying a web designer to find the keywords needed to drive traffic to your website?  Would you like to avoid paying a web designer to create then maintain your website?  All of these expenses can run you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.  With the right kind of knowledge you can avoid paying any of these expenses.   That’s right, you can find the critical keyword phrases needed for your marketing, create a website, maintain the website and make all the changes yourself – and do this all for FREE.    You can learn how... 09/13/2009

Why do agents try to hold on to EMD's that they know rightfully should go back to the buyer???? My client put an offer on home with a 7 day inspection contingency. Needless to say my buyer was dissatisfied with the inspection, this was expressed to the listing agent. The seller (s) said they will make no repairs or adjust the sales price of the home! OK now my client has the right to her full EMD back, right? Right!!! So why did I receive an email from the listing agent stating if my client does not want to go through with the transaction they will need a mutual release with the EMD going to the Seller. WTH!!! My response:   "I will contact my client to see if she still wants to proceed, but why would the Seller keep the EMD? We did the inspection in the time allotted, notified the sell... 09/10/2009

I took this picture on my way home from showings.  I was tired and worn out.  It was on I-696 in Southfield MI when I saw this.  I pulled over and walked back to take the picture.  It was a beautiful sunset. I remembered no matter where we are at or how our day has been.  There are always beautiful things in this world.  We just have to take the time to look around us. And there is always the hope of a new tomorrow.  A hope that tomorrow will be better.  May your tomorrow be better. Russ Ravary your metro Detroit real estate agent 09/07/2009

Hello everyone! I just want to share this link about "Produce the Note", I have found it very helpful.  http://www.consumerwarningnetwork.com/2008/06/19/produce-the-note-how-to/ 09/03/2009

Stop Paying for Your Website – Get One Free!   Are you sick of paying hosting fees, and web designer fees?  Are you struggling to pay your business expenses and just want to get a break sometime?  Then just STOP.  Don’t pay those fees anymore.  Anyone can get a free professional looking website, so why not learn how you can get one too.   That’s right, I said get one Free.  Cut your business expenses by eliminating the need for a standard website.  You can change a free Google blog into a website where you can load pictures, web links, and text without having to pay high dollar fees to someone else to make these additions.  You can make them yourself – for free.   Okay, I know blogs are typically downright UGLY.  The gadgets that Google has as defaults make them look like blogs rather t... 08/31/2009

Knowing what other homes have sold for in the area is an important piece of information for an Oakland County first time home buyer.  Sure looking at the public records is important and so is looking at the sellers disclosures. But knowing what the latest home have sold for is really important.  Here is how you should compare the homes that sold to the home you are looking at. Location.  The sold homes should be within 1 square mile of the home you are looking at without crossing any major road.  The closer they are to the subject home the better.  If the sold homes are in the same subdivision the better it is. Same style of home.  Only use ranches if the subject home is a ranch.  Colonials to colonials.  Split levels should be compared to split levels. Date of sale.  The sale date of t... 08/24/2009

Introducing an investment strategy to help our environment by conserving energy and creating buildings with eco-friendly materials and methods of construction    Detroit, MI - A lot of people are concerned about the impact of real estate development on our planet.   Though investing in real estate has been profitable; many would like to invest in our environment and help to preserve the planet.  Earl E. Bird, III, REITs expert, was recently interviewed and this subject came up.  Earl said, "New construction will always be necessary and there are real estate management groups who specialize in eco-friendly and green construction."   Earl talked about the new website, an online brokerage for REIT investors, the REITbuyer.com.  "This site is a great resource for researching different manag... 06/07/2009

What can you afford for a house payment? As a Metro Detroit home buyer the first thing you should absolutely do is to sit down and figure out your budget.  What can you truly afford a month in payments?  What won't make you house poor?  What can you afford to pay and still be able to live good?  As a first time home buyer you need to have a little left over each month after you pay the bills.  You need to be able to pay for a furnace, or a new water heater, or a new dishwasher if it breaks.  Things break and you need to be able to afford them.  So sit down and figure out yourself what you are comfortable with for a monthly payment.                Don't let money and a huge house payment ruin your life. Then the second step is to gather up these items and go to a bank, a lender, or a mor... 05/12/2009

arl E Bird, III, spokes person for the REITBuyer.com answers questions at local real estate investors meeting   Detroit, MI - Real Estate Investors are feeling the pain as their properties are worth less than what they owe on them.  It is predicted that things are going to get even worse before we begin to see improvements in our economy.  Like other stocks and mutual funds, investors are stuck holding onto declining-value investments in hope that things will turn around.  Earl E. Bird, III, a real estate professional, recently spoke to a group of real estate investors, offering hope and a solution to their dilemma.    Earl began, "Purchasing a real estate property today is a great investment; however, a lot of you already have properties that are upside down; you owe more than they are... 04/17/2009

Hi,Your sales are only as healthy as the sales pipeline that feeds it. How are you finding new customers now? Networking, print advertising, word of mouth and even cold calling are a few of the popular ways to marketing your business. Your web presence can give you new leads automatically, if you set it up right.If you don't have an easy way for visitors to engage you on your web presence they may leave and not return.Would you like to learn how to build your pipeline on autopilot with your web site?Join us for "Build Your Loyal Following of Hungry Buyers" See details below!-------------------------------------------------------- -- TIME SENSITIVE ANNOUNCEMENT --*** HURRY! THERE ARE ONLY A FEW SEATS LEFT!***Jayne Burch, WebBizDiva and Founder of www.MarketingMonsoon.com presents:“Build ... 04/12/2009

  Workshop Event Web Site, Social Media and Email Interact to Build Customer Base, Increase Profits   Small Biz to Web Biz is a web marketing course to show how to create an automatic 24/7 sales person to bring you new leads and creating new business   Southfield, MI – Jayne Burch is known to many as the Web Biz Diva; she is the founder of MarketingMonsoon.com, a company who provides web marketing courses for small business owners.   The 3rd in the series of Marketing Monsoon Seminars is entitled “Build a Loyal Following of Hungry Buyers.”    Even if you are just hearing about this for the first time, and did not attend the first two workshop events, you will still get value by attending this one.  Jayne has follow-up webinars where she answers questions and helps people get caught up. ... 04/06/2009

Most business sites are pretty passive. They look nice and the just sit there waiting for someone to visit. What’s new that most business owners don’t realize is a dynamic, interactive web site with great content, i.e. a Web presence can help your customers find you on the web. Your prospective customers are using the internet to find services like yours right now. If your web site isn’t attractive to the search engines or well connected on the web, well they’ll never find you. Getting a Web presence for your business can be an expensive proposition if you don’t know what you are doing. Now, getting a Web presence doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming. I have discovered a way to get any small business owner up and running on the web in less than a day with an dynamic, interacti... 03/08/2009

Do your new contacts ask, "Where can I find you online?" You would think having a web site and web address is as common as having a business card these days. Until now, getting even a simple web page up online has been out of reach for a lot of small businesses. Many business owners don’t have the computer skills or marketing skills to pull it off, and many can’t afford to spend between $5000 and $8000 for web designer.With the current economic conditions web marketing will be critical to the success for most small business owners. A company web site adds credibility, but a web presence can generate new business. What if you could have your own money making, Web presence easily for a lot less than $5000? How about less than $500?It’s easier than ever to have a credible Web presence for ... 03/02/2009

Do your new contacts ask, "Where can I find you online?" You would think having a web site and web address is as common as having a business card these days. Until now, getting even a simple web page up online has been out of reach for a lot of small businesses. Many business owners don’t have the computer skills or marketing skills to pull it off, and many can’t afford to spend between $5000 and $8000 for web designer.With the current economic conditions web marketing will be critical to the success for most small business owners. A company web site adds credibility, but a web presence can generate new business. What if you could have your own money making, Web presence easily for a lot less than $5000? How about less than $500?It’s easier than ever to have a credible Web presence for ... 03/01/2009

A new program called Marketing Monsoon™ is poised to help small businesses take advantage of the internet to grow their business in spite of the economic downturn. Jayne Burch, President of Web Enterprise Development, LLC and creator of MarketingMonsoon.com agrees with Wall Street Journal blogger, Kelly Spors who writes that small businesses are turning to the internet in droves. “…Hard economic times will force more small businesses to become smarter marketers. They may even get Web sites.” “However,” Burch says, “Many small business owners don’t feel comfortable with the internet. I hear from many service business and shop owners who say they know they need to have a web site in today’s economy, but they can’t afford the web developer price tag.” Some companies pay as much as $5000 to... 02/26/2009