At Real Estate Club Meeting Investors Learned School Requirements in Michigan for Certification, Licensing, for Real Estate Professionals Namir George, of Michigan Institute of Real Estate, answered questions during networking session in Livonia and announced new “Training for success” Audio CD program and it is expected to be distributed nation wide. The program is written and recorded by Namir K. George.

Korpacz Survey Celebrates 20th Anniversary, Launches Review of Key Industry Events, Trends and Lessons Learned
Investor confidence in the commercial real estate sector remains strong during the first quarter of 2007, despite dire rumblings from the nation’s homebuilding and home mortgage industries, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ First Quarter 2007 Korpacz Real Estate Investor Survey(r). The latest report marks the Korpacz Survey’s 20th anniversary, making it one of the longest continuously published surveys in the industry.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers real estate group is part of the US firm’s financial services group, one of the leading providers of integrated professional services to major financial services organizations. Its integrated approach to problem-solving involves an international network of real estate accounting, tax and business advisory professionals who can quickly mobilize to form highly qualified teams to respond to a client’s opportunity or challenge. Its global real estate professionals offer in-depth experience in a wide range of financial accounting and reporting issues, global tax solutions, investment fund structuring, capital market transactions, securitization issues, technological applications, systems and operations; due diligence and transaction support, and valuation management.

Real estate association faces probe
Last November, Realtysellers Ltd., one of Canada’s largest discount brokers, announced it was shutting down because it could no longer operate in the face of proposed changes to the Multiple Listing Service, which is owned by CREA. Other low-price agencies have complained about new rules that could bar some of their listings from the MLS, a members-only computerized database responsible for about 90 per cent of all home sales in Canada.
A spokesperson for CREA was not available for comment yesterday. But on Saturday, despite the competition bureau investigation, the organization decided to go ahead with the controversial changes to the MLS rules at their Annual General Meeting in Ottawa, in an overwhelming vote of 92 per cent in favour of the new guidelines, according to one source.
In a letter given to members at the meeting and obtained by the Star, the organization tells members, “If CREA lost control over the use of MLS trademarks, the public would suffer, because the public would no longer be able to depend on the integrity of brokers using MLS trademarks to identify their services, or on the accuracy, completeness and uniformity of MLS data.”

Earlybird Deadline Extended for NAREE Real Estate Journalism Conference
The National Association of Real Estate Editors 41st Annual Real Estate Journalism Conference - covering trends and topics from subprime lending to loft redevelopments - will draw scores of journalists from around the nation to Philadelphia, Pa.
NAREE, a non-profit journalism association, has just announced the deadline for earlybird registration has been extended until April 15, 2007. Editors and writers from newspapers, broadcast or internet media, are encouraged to register quickly to take advantage of the low $99 earlybird registration fee. Registration must be completed online at www.naree.org. The conference runs May 30 to June 2 at the Doubletree Hotel Philadelphia, 237 S. Broad Street in downtown. The hotel is located a short distance from Philadelphia’s noteworthy historic attractions.
Real estate columnist Al Heavens of the Philadelphia Inquirer is the chairman of this event. The conference will provide real estate journalists with great story ideas, new sources of information and a notebook full of usable quotes. Professional freelance writers are welcome. Topics will include both residential and commercial real estate.

Real Estate Club Offers March 29th Seminar on Opportunities in Michigan and New Services like the New MLS Search Free Web
The ads offer easy access to loans, regardless of credit history. The advance-fee scammer may use a false business name and address, often with toll-free 800, 866 or 877 phone number that is difficult to trace or rings into Canada. Sometimes the scammer will even use a legitimate company’s name or physical office address in the ad. Placement of an ad in a recognized media outlet does not guarantee that the company placing the ad is trustworthy.
Don’t make payment to an individual for a loan. No legitimate lending institution would make such a request. Steer clear of advance fee offers that promise a credit card with a pre-approved limit and low interest rates for a fee. To pay the fee, you will be asked to give your bank account information and authorize an electronic draft to pay the fee. In most cases, the credit card never materializes, and the consumer’s bank account is quickly drained.

Some straightforward strategies can reap big rewards at filing time
“There’s a reason why the rich are rich,” says Sandy Botkin, chief executive of the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Reduction Institute. “In real estate, people are missing things they shouldn’t be missing, and it’s costing them a fortune.” Aggressively challenging valuations, which determine property taxes, is another tactic.
At purchase, negotiating with a bank to absorb fees — in exchange for paying an extra point or two — means the same cash flow for the bank and makes more of your cash outflow deductible because you’re paying points, not fees. A few years down the line, homeowners are confronted with the problem that refinancing isn’t immediately deductible. But, since most people sell before the full length of their loan, unamortized points at sale or refinance become deductible.

How to profit from real estate bubbles
This new book explains, after emphasizing that all real estate is very local (rather than statewide or national), the major considerations that cause property values to rise rapidly beyond normal market-value appreciation. Glaring examples of recent real estate bubbles becoming hyperinflated and then rapidly declining, such as South Florida, are showcased.
Chapter topics include “The Nature of Real Estate Bubbles”; “Real Estate and the Rest of the Economy”; “The Regional Character of Real Estate”; “Stocks, Bonds, Real Estate, and Money”; “How Bubbles Happen”; “The Four Major Signs of Coming Change”; “Bubbles by Property Type”; “Be Your Own Market Analyst”; “How to Profit in Up-and-Down Real Estate Markets”; “How to Profit When the Bubble Pops”; and “Real Estate in Your Portfolio.”

Investcorp Real Estate Group Appoints Mike O’Brien Principal and Head of East Coast Real Estate Asset Management Activities
Recently, along with TriLyn LLC and the Bank of Scotland, Investcorp launched TriLyn-Investcorp Mezzanine Partners I, L.P, a fund formed to originate, invest in and hold a wide range of structured mezzanine and other high-yielding debt and preferred equity investments in U.S. commercial and residential real estate, including in existing property, development and land investments. The Fund initially closed in January 2007 with $100 million in capital commitments and has since been increased to $120 million based on subsequent investor capital commitments.

Investcorp is a leading provider and manager of alternative investment products. It has offices in New York, London and Bahrain and is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange (IVC) and Bahrain Stock Exchange (INVCORP). The firm has five lines of business: private equity, real estate, hedge funds, venture capital and Gulf growth capital. Founded in 1982, Investcorp has grown to become one of the largest and most diverse alternative investment managers in terms of both product offerings and geography, and currently has over $10 billion in invested assets under management. Additional information on Investcorp may be found at http://www.investcorp.com/, or through the contacts below.

Is Technology Destroying Good Old Fashion Real Estate Business in Michigan?
Ralph Mark Maupin of National Real Estate Network said ‘Mr. Larry Morris has changed the very way we do business in Michigan. In viewing a person can search more than 60,000 available real estate listings in SE Michigan. This system only increases service from the realtor. You have the freedom to view and search the properties and when you find the ones you want to look at you can call Mr. Morris to see them. If person want to go to real office and view property as in the past, they have the freedom to do so. The site contains photos, map, and information on each property on each page which has not been seen in this market property information. Web site is cataloging all of the searches criteria data entered by the visitors to the website, the exact properties that these visitors clicked on in order to view all of the large photographs and maps, and those properties which the site visitor identified as their favorites. The site even tracks the original search engine terms that the visitor used, or website classified advertisement, link or website from which the visitor linked to search to look at 30,000 homes in South East Michigan