Robert Shumake

Top high school athletes prepare to compete in the 5^th Annual Robert S. Shumake Scholarship Relays

Detroit, MI - Track and field teams from high schools all over the world will come to compete in Detroit for the 5^th Annual Robert S. Shumake Scholarship Relays on April 25, 2009. Among the participants in this historic event will be a team from the Bahamas.

Robert Shumake is a former Detroit all-city track star and founder of the Shumake Scholarship Relays. Robert Shumake, former Detroit Track and Field star said, "Track and field helped me focus on being the best; now I am giving back to the community by helping other teens compete for scholarships. There are many young people with athletic talent and academic skills who desire a college education but are unable to afford it. I want to see these young people reach their full potential and be successful."

Previous Robert Shumake Relays have received media coverage from NBC, CBS and ABC. Being the largest independently sponsored HS track meet in Michigan, they have received strong political and community support from political leaders in Detroit and Pontiac. Shumake has long been committed to helping the youth obtain their dreams. This unique track and field meet not only awards the winners with medals and trophies but also provides college scholarships to qualified participants.

The Robert Shumake Relays have awarded over $30,000 to over 5,000 young people since its inception. Find out more about this event at http://shumakerelays.com

Robert provides 10 tips to protect yourself from Mortgage Fraud

Detroit, MI - Mortgage fraud is one of the fastest growing white-collar crimes in the country, with Michigan being one of the top 10 locations for real estate scams. Robert Shumake recently spoke at a real estate investors meeting. "The downward trend in the real estate market has encouraged mortgage fraud perpetrators to develop and utilize many schemes," said Shumake. "the recent rise in foreclosures along with a depressed market, declining values and decreased demand has put pressure on lenders, builders and home sellers."

Shumake explained why lending practices have tightened in response to the subprime lending crisis. "Identity theft is a popular tool for use in mortgage fraud," said Shumake. "With higher lending standards being enforced, individuals with good credit are valuable to perpetrators; therefore, at risk for identity theft and mortgage fraud schemes."

Robert Shumake, an experienced real estate professional, was a victim of mortgage fraud. "If it can happen to someone who is an expert in the business, it can happen to you!" said Shumake.

Robert Shumake provided the following tips to the investors group, to help protect themselves from becoming a victim of real estate scams and mortgage fraud:

•· Never sign blank or incomplete documents

•· Never purchase property that you have not seen and personally inspected

•· Use only licensed mortgage bankers or lenders; find a broker through the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (http://www.namb.org)

•· Have a local, licensed real estate agent do a BPO (Broker's Price Opinion) to determine value

•· Don't be pressured into using a particular lender, real estate agent or appraiser

•· Know your rights as a mortgage borrower

•· Don't buy into get-rich-quick schemes of instant equity or investment property using your own name - investment property should be owned by an LLC to protect you from liability exposure

•· Do not work with someone who suggest that you lie on your mortgage application

•· Beware of lenders who charge excessive fees and prepayment penalties

•· Most importantly, be sure to look over and understand your truth in lending disclosure documents which spell out the terms of your mortgage, before signing a contract with a mortgage company

Robert concluded by saying, "If you are in doubt, have an attorney look over your documents and advise you. The fee for this service is little compared to the tens of thousands you can be charged for dealing with problems caused by mortgage fraud later.

Laurel Hess of the Comcast News Makers Learns why Robert Shumake began the Scholarship Relays

Detroit, MI - Robert Shumake, founder of Inheritance Capital Group, Inc, donates a portion of his proceeds to the Shumake Scholarship Relays, now in their 5^th year. When asked why he started the foundation, Shumake said, "I ran track in high school and college. I grew up on the East side of Detroit and we didn't always have the best of things. In my travels, I recognized that a lot of kids don't have many opportunities, so when I began investing in real estate, I would give back to the community by writing a check to help families send their kids to college. Eventually, I decided to institutionalize and I began the Shumake Foundation."

The Shumake Scholarship Relays event is a track and field event that has attracted kids from as far as Toronto. The 5^th annual event will be held on the last Saturday in April. Medals will be awarded to the 1^st through the 8^th place team. Awards will also be given to the person with the highest GPA on each team.

Shumake receives daily emails from kids thanking him for his help. A lot of them come and volunteer to help out at the relays event each year. Shumake said, "This is one of the top meets in the nation and the best run track meet in America. It gives me the chance to give back and be a kid again."

The Robert S. Shumake Scholarship Relays started out as the vision of a Detroit business owner Robert S. Shumake. As an all city track and field competitor, Robert Shumake understands the significance and the impact that organized team sports can have on a young person. He attributes some of his many business achievements to the positive experiences he had as a member of Detroit 's Edwin Denby High School's track team. Learn more at http://www.shumakerelays.com/

When it comes to real estate investing, many people look around the United States for opportunities to invest in the next apartment, condominium or commercial real estate project. Many of them don't want to buy property outright, but would prefer to purchase a share in a property project. This can be done through a REIT or real estate investment trust. A REIT is much like a mutual fund for real estate investing. A number of shareholders put funds into the system and a real estate management or real estate development company uses that money to build and operate real estate ventures.

It could be an apartment complex or shopping complex that is being run. As the property makes money through rent and leases, the shareholders get a portion of that money back through dividends. By law, REITs must give at least 90 percent of their profit back to the shareholders. That is potential for a great return on an investment.

Yet, watching the current housing and real estate market in the US has many wondering if that is where they want to invest. Well, if you don't, look elsewhere. There is a wide world out there of real estate opportunities that will let you fund projects not only in this country, but also around the world.

One of the more recent markets welcoming REITs is Asia. While the United States got into the REIT arena in the 1960s, Asia is just entering into this world, which means there are nearly endless opportunities available for those who want to invest in Asian real estate options.

Since the market for REITs is relatively new there, there is a wide variety of investing options available. Depending on which market you are interested in, you can find a REIT in industrial, residential or commercial real estate holdings.

When entering into Asian REITs there are a few things to keep in mind. While the US regulations on REITs state that at least 90 percent of the money that is made in profit has to be returned to the shareholders, this is not always the case in other countries. Therefore you need to do your research before you make a purchase.

So, how do you get started investing in these overseas opportunities? As with any investment, you need to do your homework first. Thankfully, there are places around that will make this easier for you.

Begin by going to a website such as REITBuyer.com This is where you will be able to get a lot of the research you need to find out which REITs are strong and what new opportunities are about to come around that you may be able to get in on.

Next, you can also use REITBuyer.com to make the purchase of your REITs, as they are a complete investing real estate broker.

Once you have made the purchase, you can also continue to monitor your REIT through REITBuyer.com with the tools they offer to help investors keep on the top of their game and their portfolio.

This article was written by Earl E Bird III, spokesperson for the http://www.reitbuyer.com/ an online service for people who wish to invest in real estate without the headaches and liability exposure that go with being a landlord.

Thanks to being a part of a global economy, a lot of the walls that were once in place on investing in foreign markets have now disappeared. That means if you have investment dollars to spend, you can really spend them anywhere in the world.

Now you may have known that you could put your money into any of the stock markets around the world before, but have you considered the other markets you can get into. Real estate investment trusts or REITs are also becoming available in more and more countries around the world.

Looking into this type of investing is taking a page from real estate pro Sam Zell who said, "I've always been called a professional opportunist, and in the future I'm open to anything. We've spent a lot of time offshore, looking at opportunities in real estate outside the United States"

Some of those opportunities may be REITs. REITs are investments where you can purchase shares of a property development or property management group. Instead of traditional real estate investments where you will have to fork out a lot of money for one piece of property, in this case you can purchase smaller shares of a property and still have some level of ownership without all of the responsibilities.

In the case of REITs someone else runs and manages things while you get a portion of the profits.

One of the newer markets to be coming in to REITs is the UK. While most people think the US and UK are pretty similar, they are just catching up with the REIT movement and starting to offer their own REIT options.

In the case of US REITs that portion of the profits has to be at least 90 percent of the profit that comes in from the properties. But as you consider looking beyond US shores for investment options you have to understand that there are different rules in different countries and the return may not be the same. You just need to do your research to know.

It's always smart to do a fair amount of research before investing your money. Begin by going to REITBuyer.com. This is a full service website that can help you through the process.

Start by taking advantage of their education and research areas. You need to know just what you are getting into before you purchase shares in a REIT. The more you research, the more you know.

Take a look at past performance of REITs that have been up and running for a while. In the case of the UK there are not too many to reference, but they will give you something to look at. There also will likely be articles and reports that you can look at concerning funds that are about to come into creation and get a feel for them.

Once you have a good feel for what you would like to purchase, you don't have to go anywhere. REITBuyer.com also is a full service investing real estate broker and can help you widen your portfolio and then monitor your purchases online.

REITbuyer.com is a site dedicated to educating Real Estate Investors on how to invest in Real Estate Mutual Funds to diversify their investing portfolio. Learn more at http://www.reitbuyer.com