Inkster, MI

Inkster MI police department first in the state to use mobile spike strip. This story was originally reported on Local 4 news back in August of 2010.

Many police departments will use spike strips to slow down a vehicle that is fleeing from the law. A spike strip is just that, a strip with spikes in it that is laid out across a road with the intent of having a fleeing vehicle drive over the spikes to puncture their tires and stop the car or truck.

This requires at least one or two officers to be ahead of any fleeing car and hopefully get the spike strip positioned on the road in front of the vehicle before it passes by. BUT, they also have to pull the strip out of the roadway BEFORE any police car that is in pursuit runs over the strip as well. This can be done by one or two officers pulling the strip out of the road with the rope that is attached to each end of the strip. They cannot determine in advance where the cars will cross the road and which side of the road the strip needs to be pulled to.

Introducing--the mobile spike strip. Now this can be done with one officer from inside of the police car. The officer just needs to position his car alongside any fleeing vehicle and push a button. The button extends an arm with the spike strip and the officer just needs to have the other vehicle run over the strip. Then the officer pushes the button and the spike strip is retracted. This eliminates the guesswork of where to place a strip ahead of a vehicle.

The Inkster MI police department is the first city in the state of Michigan to use this new device. As other departments monitor it's success, we may see more cars equipped with this new tool for fighting crime.

Dear Mr. Lawyer,

As you can tell by now is that I'm not that impressed with your skills in the real estate field. You cost our cleint money, you were unprepared and unknowledgeable in the field you were practicing in. I have dealt with lots of attorneys that were good and knew what they were doing.

You my friend scared the poor client. You made her nervous. Your job as an attorney is too protect her and make her feel comfortable. Not scare her.

Lastly I have to complain about your negotiating skills. Unfortunately you don't know anything about banks and foreclosures. They are in the drivers seat. You wait for them to sign and you have to sign their addendums as is. No crossing out their paragraphs.

Now let's go over our deal. Our client had the cash money, wanted the house. Yet you wanted to argue about the amount of deposit. What are you nuts? Why? The bank wanted 3% down when we were going to close in a week. We had an inspection clause to protect us in case the house had defects our client didn't like. Why argue about something that is not important. Our client had the cash available and was paying cash for the house.

Unfortunately you dragged your feet throughout this process. I listened to you and did what you said because you were the clients representative. Though I did tell the client I would strangle you if you were around one day. You had driven me over the edge with your antics.

I got this deal done even with all you did to stop the process or kill the deal. Stick to the criminal defense system other wise some lawyer may strangle you yet. Then they'll need a criminal defense lawyer. leave real estate to attorneys that practice it more often. It's not your forte... take my word for it.

Sincerely,

Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit real estate specialist

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Metro Detroit home buyer tips

If you have been thinking of putting a little money into real estate investments you may like the idea of being able to make a nice return on your investment, but are not sure just how it all works.

Can you get your money back if you need it?

For many people the real estate market is a wise place to put their money. It's a mostly stable market that is based on something tangible - real estate, which will always have value.

But in many people's mind investing in real estate means purchasing a piece of property. That is a lot of paperwork and responsibility. And what happens if you need that money? Perhaps you need a medical procedure or someone in the family desperately needs some funds. What would you do? It's very hard to sell a piece of real estate quickly, so your money could be caught up for some time.

There is another option. Instead of putting your money into individual pieces of real estate, why not put your money into real estate interests that are more liquid. In this case we are talking about real estate mutual funds and real estate investment trusts (REITs). Instead of being paperwork-layered investments like purchasing property, getting into REITs and real estate mutual funds has you buying into a fund. It is much the same as purchasing stocks, bonds and any of the other offerings on wall street, while keeping in the real estate market.

In case you haven't heard of them, here's a quick look at REITs and real estate investment trusts. REITs are specialized funds in the real estate industry. Inside these funds could be stocks, bonds and financial assets relating to real estate from financial services to manufacturing supplies.

REITs were set up by the US Government in the 1960s as a way to let everyone get in on the real estate industry. The money you put in must be used for real estate related purchases by the fund. As profits come in at least 90% of those profits must be returned to the stockholders.

Real estate mutual funds are just like any other mutual funds, but are focused in the real estate arena.

Before you buy you need to know what you are getting into. There are a number of Real estate mutual funds out there as well as REITs and they are all a little different. Some of them focus on residential properties, others commercial real estate and still others industrial. Other funds are geared towards the financial services portion of real estate while some are focused on the manufacturing world.

Log on to a site like REITBuyer.com where you can take a closer look at the REITs and real estate mutual funds out there that best suit your investment desires. They are the first and only online brokerage that specializes in real estate mutual funds and REITs. Once you have found the funds for you, you can purchase them and monitor those purchases on the same website.

REIT Buyer.com, a full service online information resource dedicated to assisting investors who are interested in learning more about Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Real Estate Mutual Funds and how to invest in them. Visit http://www.reitbuyer.com to learn more.