Dearborn, MI

Dearborn International Arabic Festival was held last weekend. Me and my wife Marianne went down about 12:30 on Sunday afternoon when it was just opening on Sunday.

If you don't know it Dearborn MI has one of the largest Arabic Communities in the United States. We have people with Arabic ancestry from

• Palestine
• Jordan
• Iran
• Iraq
• Yemen
• Saudia Arabia
• Lebenon

living in Dearborn and the surrounding Metro Detroit area. (forgive me if I forgot any other countries).

I am slowly learning more and more about Arabic customs, and Arabic food from my clients. I have sold homes to some great people who have invited me into their home and fed me some great food. I have found people of Arabic descent have been some of the friendliest and most giving clients I have had.

Here are some of the pictures we took of the festival.

Everybody was enjoying the rides and the food.

Great food. Marianne and I had two Fallefel sandwiches and then I had a Middle Eastern Sampler platter. I was stuffed and then had to go to a Fathers Day dinner. It was early and there weren't alot of people there but it got really crowded before we left.

They had a couple of tents full of Middle Eastern wares that included jewelry, books and food.

If you didn't know this the Arabic community eats Halal food which means kosher food. Food that meets Islamic standards of butchering etc. I don't know all of the standards yet but I'm learning.

The festival was supported by the local Businesses and of course ACCESS.

Of course on the way we stopped on the way home and got some dessert at Shatila Bakery. Again forgive me if I spelled it wrong. I took a picture of the outside of the building so I could spell it right but the picture did not come out. But I am glad the inside picture of one of the many cases of great food did. I have to guess there were about ten cases of food like the one below. MMMMM.........

Whether you are Arabic or not Dearborn's Arabic festival is a great place to enjoy good food, carnival rides, and immerse yourself in the Arabic culture.

If you have a Dearborn relocation in your future check out my websites for the latest Metro Detroit real estate information. Or give me a call on my cell (313) 310-9855.

If you missed it this year be sure to check out the International Arabic Festival next year. It is usually held around Fathers Day weekend.

Russ Ravary Your Metro Detroit real estate agent

If you are looking to buy a Dearborn home join my Dearborn VIP club and get the latest Dearborn foreclosures emailed to you and search Dearborn homes for sale free.

Dear Mr. Lawyer,

I want to address you contract writing skills now. I know because you defend people in the criminal defense system you have spent hours and hours working on real estate deals. I am writing you to inform you that the standard contracts most real estate firms have been developed over years of experience in the real estate field. Many have been developed by real estate associations to make them simple, readable, and not full of legal mumbo jumbo.

Yes they may be just a blanket form but it works very well. We use addendums and the additional conditions area to add to the contract. We wouldn't use them if they didn't protect our clients. I know you want to re-write the contract your own personal way but I sent this contract over to you 3 weeks ago. Why did you wait until the day we are going to make the offer to decide to make the changes.

I may be just a dumb real estate person in your eyes but I didn't understand why you wanted to cross off the different paragraphs but yet you added nothing. By adding verbage youwould be protecting our client better.

I guess I didn't understand why you wanted to cross of the "as is" clause in the contract. After all that is one of the basics of real estate contracts. You are buying the house "as is" unless otherwise specified. No seller wants to be liable for potential lawsuits if there were no "as is" clauses.

Again if you are going to practice law do it over in the field you know. Leave real estate transactions to real estate attorneys or attorneys that do them at least once a month.

Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit real estate specialist

Search Metro Detroit foreclosures and get the latest foreclosures emailed to you

Metro Detroit home buyer tips

Tonight I went to an awards dinner at the Detroit Marriot Hotel for ACCESS. ACCESS stands for Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services. It is one of Metro Detroit's largest non-profit agencies with over 90 programs that include health services, youth programs, job training, and programs to help people find jobs. I learned a lot about ACCESS. And I want to thank my client Rasheed Amine for getting me the tickets. I found Rasheed and his family a Novi home a few years back and we have become good friends. His mother makes a great meal! I have been exposed to a lot of great Arabic cooking and have come to love it. (Not to just test it out like in the beginning)

With a name that says Arab Community Center you will be surprised to realize that 70% of the clients they help are non-Arabic. ACCESS is equal opportunity non profit dedicated to helping people of all races and cultures.

It started out of a storefront in Dearbornand has grown to a national organization. With Metro Detroithaving one of the nations largest Arabic communities it is natural that ACCESS would be headquarted here. Dearborn is the epicenter of Metro Detroit Arabic population.

ACCESS is one reason that Dearborn residents and Metro Detroit residentsshould be proud of the area. Tonight's programs showed that Metro Detroit is still going strong and that we are not going to give up even in the tough economic times. Metro Detroiters will survive and will make Michigan an even better place to live.

Thanks Rasheed for inviting me and my wife. We had a good time.

Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit Realtor

Search Dearborn Homes for sale and get the foreclosure listings emailed directly to you.

18470 W Ten Mile Rd. Suite 202 Southfield, MI 48075

www.dwellingsunlimited.com

248.443.5400 313.645.0742

We are happy to provide you with a Full-Service as well as Unbundled Services as you require them.

Please call us for more information.

MLS Listing $500/6 months

Full CMA or BPO $150

Pull Comparables $75

Purchase Agreement (paperwork only) $250

Run Title Search $250

Work with Mortgage Lender $50/hour

Final Walk Thru $100

Sign ACR $100

Present offer to Seller $250

Negotiate offer w/buyer or buyer's agent $250

Flyer Preparation $100

Processing Fee (one time) all executed transactions $395

If you would like to negotiate full service agreement our typical commission is as follows:

4% if you find the buyer

5% if I find the buyer

6% if the another cooperating agent brings an agent to the buyer.

this is a little tidbit I haven't mentioned anywhere except to clients that have retained me to help them get their marketing in order.

My last office location was on a main street but didn't seem to generate alot of walkin traffic. So I had an idea and bought an A-framed sandwich board from ebay and put the following message on it!

"FREE LIST OF

BANK OWNED

HOMES

SIDE DOOR

313-555-1212"

After investing in the $125.00 sign my office generated over 225 leads in less than 5 months.

P.S. I'm going to share stories just like this and more in a course that is under development. I'm honored that you've taken the time to read my posts and I hope that you find this information useful. I promise to never waste your time with bad information or thinly diguised sales pitches.

P.S. It would really help me out if you would visit www.realestatemarketinggenius.com/survey/index.html and give me your input. I know that each agent has their own set of challenges and I'd like to be able to put together a pretty comprehensive solution that helps all of us succeed together in this market.

From BPO's to bank owned homes I'll be spilling the beans over these next few weeks!

Dedicated to You Success,

Jason Snyder