CHARLESTON, S.C. – Mountain Real Estate Capital (MREC) (www.mountainrecapital.com) announces the acquisition of a loan portfolio from First Federal Savings and Loan Association (“First Federal”) in Charleston, S.C. An affiliate of Sandler O’Neill acted as exclusive financial advisor to First Federal in the asset sale which closed October 27, 2011. The portfolio is made up of 148 performing and non-performing loans totaling $84 million in loan balance. The loans are secured primarily by residential development properties in the Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head and Kiawah Island areas of South Carolina.

“First Federal is the 28th bank we have acquired assets from since 2010, and we hope to acquire several more portfolios before the year ends,” observes Peter Fioretti, MREC’s CEO. Since 2010, MREC has purchase assets in 10 states and has committed $270 million to acquire bank notes and REO, encompassing over 12,000 lots/homes and 9,000 acres with projected sales exceeding $1.2 billion. “Our in-house underwriting and asset management teams are composed mostly of former GMAC REO professionals whose group we acquired in 2009. This allows us to quickly assess these A&D portfolios and gives us and advantage over less experienced opportunity funds.”

Mountain Real Estate Capital is the equity investment arm of the Mountain Real Estate Group, founded in 1993 by its CEO, Peter Fioretti. Other affiliates include its lending group, Mountain Funding, and its management group, Mountain Asset Management. MREC is focused on three types of investments:

• Acquisition of bank REO and NPL portfolios
• Joint ventures with national and regional homebuilders to develop and sell residential lots and houses
• Acquisition of opportunistic assets for its own account or in partnership with developers

MREC is headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., where its bank portfolio underwriting team is headed by Keith Alexander. Its homebuilder joint venture and asset management groups are based in Minneapolis, and its national origination team has additional offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Richmond, and Newport Beach.

“Being headquartered in nearby Charlotte will facilitate our effort to work closely with our borrowers. This will also present a great opportunity for us to team up with the developer and builder relationships we have cultivated in the Carolina markets to jointly develop assets we come to own,” states MREC’s chief investment officer, Arthur Nevid. “We have successfully purchased assets from banks throughout North Carolina and Georgia, so this new portfolio located throughout South Carolina will neatly fit into our asset management footprint.”

About Mountain Real Estate Group

Since 1993, The Mountain Real Estate Group has been a leading private capital source for real estate developers, builders and operators seeking to enhance value in their existing projects or to take advantage of new opportunities. In the current environment, developers and builders have been teaming up with Mountain Real Estate Capital nationally to capitalize on the opportunities currently available, either through the restructure of their existing equity or debt arrangements or the joint purchase of a newly identified distressed opportunity. Mountain’s equity fund is organized to invest up to $1 billion in these types of opportunities. For more information, visit www.mountainregroup.com.

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Mississauga, ON – At its 13th annual convention held recently in Nashville, EXIT Realty Corp. International continued its corporate sponsorship of Habitat for Humanity pledging a further $250,000 bringing the total pledges to-date to $2.25 million.

“We’re so proud to be associated with an organization like Habitat for Humanity,” said EXIT Realty Founder and CEO, Steve Morris. “Habitat’s philosophy of providing a hand up, rather than a hand out, is right in line with our corporate philosophy.”

A portion of every transaction fee collected by EXIT Realty Corp. International is earmarked for Habitat and to-date, the company has sponsored 17 home builds across the continent. The most recent build was in Nashville just prior to the kick off of the convention.

EXIT Realty partnered with Nashville homeowner, Stella Johnson, a 22-year-old single mother of three children. She will finish her sociology degree next year and works full-time after her job was eliminated following the devastating 2010 floods. Moving her children to a safer neighborhood was paramount in Johnson’s decision to apply to Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity, which requires homeowner families to invest 200 hours of sweat equity, which includes classroom instruction and helping build their own and other homes.

“This has definitely been the best experience of my life – it’s very life-changing for me and my children,” said Johnson. “I’m very appreciative of EXIT Realty for giving me the opportunity of homeownership that I probably never would have had. The neighborhood is beautiful compared to where I live now. Moving will give me a fresh start and the opportunity to start my kids off on the right track. It’s a good change that I need right now.”

Along with the dedication ceremony for Johnson’s home being held this month, EXIT Realty is also dedicating a home in partnership with Salt Lake Valley Habitat for Humanity in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“Habitat for Humanity makes the dream of homeownership come true with so many wonderful families like Stella’s,” said Morris. “EXIT Realty is privileged to be a part of it.”

About EXIT Realty: EXIT is a proven real estate business model that supplies single-level residual income – for agents, security, stability and direction; for agents’ families, security in the form of beneficiary and retirement residuals. EXIT’s MIND-SET Training Systems offer the industry’s best hands-on, interactive sales training. State-of-the-art technology, including the Digital Marketing Strategy, gives agents the edge in a competitive marketplace. A portion of every transaction fee collected by EXIT International is applied to its charitable fund. To-date, $2.25 Million has been pledged to Habitat for Humanity. For more information, please visit www.exitrealty.com.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. – Jerry Garrity with San Jose property management company First Statewide Realty says it’s still possible, even in these tough economic times, to maintain a positive cash flow on real estate investments.

As property values fluctuate with regional and macroeconomic factors, he says his investor clients stay in the game through smart investing and expert property management.

“Seasoned investors know that property management services belong in the asset column, not the expense column on the balance sheet. With the right mix of savvy investing and conservative property management, we can keep our clients in the black when others cannot.”

Garrity says the reasons his clients are still able to stay positive is that they have a plan and are sticking with it.

“So many investors try to chase the market up and down, but that’s more like speculation than investing. We help our clients evaluate potential deals to add to their portfolio drawing from our experience in all types of marketing conditions.”

He says that while investors and speculators alike can get discouraged about property values, those who stick with a long term plan with tight controls on expenses will come out ahead.

“We’ve weathered several bull and bear markets in real estate. Consequently, so have our clients. I think that says a lot.”

About First Statewide Realty

First Statewide Realty is a professional San Jose property management company specializing in quality single family homes, condominiums, town houses and other San Jose investment property in the greater San Jose metropolitan area. The company is active in the Cupertino property management business and has been in business for over 21 years, and is a member of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors, Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, National Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors, Tri-County Apartment Association and National Association of Residential Property Managers.

Jerry Garrity REALTOR®
First Statewide Realty
20045 Stevens Creek Blvd.
Suite 2-D
Cupertino, CA 95014
Tel: 408-253-1000
Lic#: 01036982
Email: investments@firststatewiderealty.com
http://www.firststatewiderealty.com

Westchester, NY – Westchester real estate broker J. Philip Faranda of J. Philip Real Estate has launched a new website designed for consumers to more easily search for New York real estate. The site, www.HomeSpotters.com, breaks down the local real estate markets into counties and their most popular cities, making it easy for buyers to find current homes for sale.

Faranda says clients in several counties have already commented on how easy the site is to navigate and find properties their looking for.

“Since we service a large area, the challenge was to make the site useful for home buyers in widely different parts of New York.”

He says the site features prominently Westchester real estate, along with real estate in Rockland County, Putnam, Dutchess, and Orange Counties in New York, but the site is expected to expand rapidly to include more New York counties.

“One of the best ways for buyers to experience the site is to save their search so they can get email alerts when new properties come on the market matching their search criteria.” According to Faranda, the site is not just attractive to buyers.

“If you’re selling your New York home, our new site has thousands of pages indexed by Google already. We can get your listing the online exposure it needs to get sold in today’s market.”

About J. Philip Real Estate

J. Philip Faranda is broker and owner of J. Philip Real Estate in Briarcliff Manor, NY which he founded in 2005. The firm is one of the premier independent boutique brokerages in Westchester County, serving all of Westchester as well as nearby Rockland, Putnam and Dutchess Counties. There are 23 licensees with the company, which has grown throughout this challenging market period.

Philip has appeared on ABC World News, and been a source for MSNBC On the Money, The New York Times, The New York Post, Associated Press, Gannett, AOL, The Real Deal, 1010Wins.com, Smart Money, MSN Money and various other media outlets. An industry veteran since 1996, he is one of the top-selling broker agents for single family transaction totals in the Empire Access MLS since 2007 (ranking in the top 10 out of over 7000 members), and is the Vice President of the Empire Access (formerly Westchester-Putnam) Multiple Listing Service.

For more information, please contact:

J. Philip Faranda REALTOR®
J. Philip Real Estate LLC
522 N. State Rd
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
914-450-8883

ORLANDO, Fla. – Many potential Orlando area home sellers have been discouraged by weak real estate prices from selling their homes, but Florida real estate agent Jonathan de Jesus says selling still makes financial sense for many homeowners.

This is because the changes in homeowners’ lives aren’t always timed with the Orlando real estate market, he says.

“There are always families who need to move due to a job transfer or other relocation necessity, and this can mean they need to sell their home regardless of what the market is doing. I can help clients in that situation to make the best of it.”

He also says some homeowners such as empty nesters may financially benefit from downsizing to a smaller home. Perhaps they want to downsize from a large Lake Mary home to Downtown Orlando condo with less upkeep.

Even if there is little or no equity on the home being sold, de Jesus says that the change can make a lot of financial sense to reduce monthly expenses, often giving the homeowner the ability to move to a bigger home for less money.

“Many would be surprised at how their financial picture could improve by selling now. The market turmoil in recent years is a blessing for those who are able put the weak market to their advantage by buying, even it means selling first.”

Too often, he says owners refuse to sell for emotional reasons rather than rational financial ones.

“I’ve had many cases where it penciled out to be a better financial decision to sell a home at a loss and buy another one cheaper than to continue making payments on a smaller, less attractive home.”

About Dominium Realty Group

Dominium Realty Group is a leader in residential real estate brokerage services in Florida. Through a perfect blend of an experienced team of real estate professionals and the commitment to exceed clients’ expectations, Dominium is able to confidently deliver solutions for all types of individuals’ requirements.

For more information, please contact:

Jonathan De Jesus REALTOR®
Dominium Realty Group
6236 Kingspointe Parkway #10
Orlando, Fl 32819
407-588-7828
http://www.florida-real-estate.pro/

Meridian, ID – As existing home inventory in Meridian, Idaho shrinks, local real estate agent John Espinosa says sellers can benefit by seizing the opportunity in the market to get a better price than they might have gotten otherwise.

Espinosa says that while the market is not a seller’s market by any means, some sellers would be smart to sell now rather than later. Owners in this situation might be those who know they’re going to need to sell their Idaho real estate within the next year or two anyway, or those who are having trouble making payments on their existing mortgage.

“Sellers are definitely competing hard for a limited pool of buyers right now, but the timing is everything, and with Meridian real estate inventory shrinking, there is a smaller pool of homes to choose from.”

He says that with an experienced marketing plan that is designed to get his clients’ homes sold in this tough market, it’s possible to capitalize on the changing market conditions to his clients’ benefit.

“We encourage anyone who has thought about listing their Caldwell real estate or home in Boise, Nampa, Eagle, Kuna, Star, Middleton, or Meridian to contact us. We’ll share our proven strategy for selling their Idaho real estate in any market.

About John Espinosa

John Espinosa is an Idaho real estate agent specializing in the Treasure Valley. Covering Boise to Parma and everything in between, John is an expert on Boise, Nampa, Caldwell, Eagle real estate, Kuna, Star, Middleton, and Meridian.

John Espinosa
RE/MAX Advantage
5680 E Franklin Rd, Suite 100
Nampa ID 83687
208-484-7837
http://www.meridianidhomes.com
john@espirealestate.com

Responding to increased market demand, Bowman Consulting has expanded its existing transportation services in the areas of traffic engineering, transportation planning, roadway design, right-of-way acquisition and relocation assistance services. Three strategic hires have joined the firm to enhance the firm’s capabilities in these areas:

Sr. Transportation Project Manager John D. Riley, PE joins Bowman as a traffic engineer and project manager in its transportation services group. In this role, Riley is responsible for securing and managing transportation-related projects in the public and private sector in the firm’s Richmond office.

For most of his 12-year career, Riley worked as a project manager for Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. During his time there, he prepared traffic studies, traffic signal designs, and transportation plans and was successful in generating new business in local, state, federal and private land development markets primarily in Central Virginia. Riley earned both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and is a licensed professional engineer. He is a member of VASITE and lives in Midlothian, Virginia.

Transportation Project Engineer Steven Schmidt, EIT delivers technical solutions as a transportation project engineer in the firm’s Richmond office, including planning and design, technical studies and modeling activities.

Schmidt has seven years of experience, and most recently was a transportation consultant with Balzer and Associates in Richmond, Virginia, where he established and led the traffic engineering department. Schmidt graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and is a designated Engineer-in-Training. He lives in Richmond, Virginia.

Senior Right-of-Way Project Manager Ronnie Van Cleve brings 36 years of land acquisition, right-of-way engineering and consulting experience to Bowman’s transportation services group as a senior project manager in the firm’s Price Williams office.

After a 30-year career with Washington Gas, Van Cleve recently held positions as a Senior Right-of-Way Agent with the Prince William County Department of Transportation and as a Senior Right-of-Way Project Manager with Greenhorne & O’Mara Consulting Engineers in Richmond, Virginia. Van Cleve is actively involved with the International Right-of-Way Association. He lives in Manassas, Virginia.

About Bowman Consulting

Established in 1995, Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (Bowman) delivers expert land development and infrastructure solutions to real estate, energy, institutional, corporate, and governmental markets throughout the country. Key services include civil engineering, planning, landscape architecture, surveying, water/wastewater, environmental, geothermal energy, and transportation consulting. It also offers a zoning and regulatory expertise to its clients at the local, state and federal levels. Awards include: ENR Magazine (Top 500 Design Firms), The Zweig Letter (The 100 Fastest-Growing U.S. A/E/P & Environmental Consulting Firms), Washington Business Journal (Fastest-Growing Companies in the Washington Region), and Inc. Magazine (Fastest-Growing Private Companies in the U.S.). For additional information, please visit www.bowmanconsulting.com.

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New York, NY – Lee & Associates announces yet another significant strategic move in both its Northeast and national expansion efforts as the commercial brokerage firm enters the New York market with the establishment of Lee & Associates NYC LLC. Located in the heart of Manhattan, Lee & Associates NYC becomes the firm’s 44th office in the U.S. and its second in the Northeast.

The NYC office has been formed through a merger with Sierra Realty Corp., and follows a series of recent Lee office openings in Atlanta, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Kan. and Greenville, S.C. The opening of the New York office underscores Lee’s methodical and opportunistic strategy of nationwide expansion through 2011 and 2012. Lee & Associates has grown from 30 nationwide offices in 2007 to 44 today.

“The creation of Lee & Associates NYC couldn’t have come at a more perfect time,” said Edward J. Indvik, CEO of Lee & Associates. “As the largest regional economy in the U.S., New York City has unlimited potential. New York’s large and growing population and the magnitude of its economic activity translate into unequalled real estate activity. Not only does this move strengthen Lee & Associates’ national presence, it gives us a premier local office in one of the country’s most vital commercial real estate markets.”

With a population of more than 8.3 million, an inventory of over 400 million square feet of office space and 105 million square feet of retail space, the Manhattan commercial real estate market is beginning to see its strongest numbers since before the recession. Both leasing volume and rental rates have been steadily increasing over the past year. Leasing activity has averaged more than 29 million square feet of space over each of the last five years. Rental rates in Manhattan also are on the upswing with asking rents in excess of $100 per square foot for top-quality Class A office space calls and prime retail space asking more than $1,500 per square foot.

Lee & Associates NYC LLC is headed by President and CEO James Wacht, EVP Peter Braus and COO Joel Herskowitz.

“New York City is ripe for the establishment of a new national real estate brokerage company, and partnering with Sierra Realty allows Lee & Associates to quickly realize its mission of growing on a national level,” Wacht said. “Lee & Associates’ impressive history and brokers-as-owners business model will bring a fresh dimension to the New York scene, as all current and future agents, owners and employees will benefit from stepping away from the traditional, business-as-usual broker model. In Sierra Realty, Lee & Associates will benefit from gaining a well-established office with nearly 60 years’ worth of experience in New York City with several diverse but synergistic lines of business. This includes the acquisition and ownership of investment properties, the management of residential and commercial rental properties, the furnishing of construction management services and the performance of brokerage services for landlords and tenants alike.”

Sierra Realty was founded in 1953, primarily as a property investment and management company. Wacht joined the company in 1989 and became its principal owner in 2000. Braus joined the company in 2001 after having worked as a retail leasing broker with New Spectrum Realty Services and Newmark Knight Frank. They then embarked on an ambitious plan to grow all facets of Sierra’s business. Today, Sierra is a full-service real estate company, having grown into one of New York’s most well-respected commercial brokerage and property management firms, employing 14 retail brokers and salespeople and managing more than 50 commercial and residential properties. Sierra also owns, through affiliated companies, interests in a diverse portfolio of more than 20 office buildings and rental apartment buildings throughout New York. And in 2010, an affiliate company, Sierra Development Associates LLC, was formed to focus on construction management and development.

Lee Associates NYC has been created with Herskowitz stepping in as its chief operating officer. A well-known and respected industry veteran with more than 27 years of experience overseeing the brokerage business of several prominent New York brokerage companies, Herskowitz will work with Wacht and Braus to recruit new brokers and manage the brokerage side of the business.

“Affiliating with Lee & Associates to form Lee & Associates NYC LLC gives us the national platform and resources we need to significantly increase our commercial brokerage capabilities,” Wacht said. “We are actively recruiting experienced commercial brokers looking not just to earn leasing commissions but to actively participate as owners in the growth of our new business. Not only will brokers be offered the opportunity to participate as owners in the newly created office but they will also be given the opportunity to participate as investors in buildings that we acquire. We also anticipate significant referral activity from the other 43 Lee & Associates offices and are actively pursuing several of those leads.”

Indvik expects Lee & Associates to benefit from gaining a diversified team steeped in tradition, office and retail expertise, with an undisputed track record.

“Wacht and his colleagues already are poised for growth in the New York market, and now as Lee & Associates NYC, the office will be able to feed off the resources our firm possesses as a completely broker-owned entity among the Lee & Associates network of offices.”

About Lee & Associates

Celebrating more than 32 years of leadership excellence in commercial real estate, Lee & Associates is the largest broker-owned firm in the nation, with 44 locations across the nation including Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin. With a roster of nearly 700 expert brokers, Lee & Associates provides a wide range of specialized commercial real estate services. Additional information is available at www.lee-associates.com.

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Irvine, CA – Keystone Pacific Property Management, a leading community association management company providing management services to community associations throughout Southern California, has recently promoted Griselda Sapiens to management division project coordinator. Sapiens served as a receptionist since joining the firm in 2007.

“Keystone Pacific is very proud to announce Griselda’s well-deserved promotion,” said Denise Bergstrom, vice president of association management of Keystone Pacific Property Management. “Griselda’s attention to detail and organizational skills make her the perfect choice for this position”.

In her new position, Sapiens assists the CEO and Vice President of Association Management by tracking annual requirements, document preparation and distribution deadlines to ensure timely delivery of association materials to clients.

About Keystone Pacific Property Management

A leader in the community association management industry for more than 29 years, Keystone Pacific Property Management specializes exclusively in the management of common interest developments in Southern California. Currently, the firm manages over 40,000 units in master-planned, condominium, townhome, single-family home, mixed-use and commercial common interest developments. Keystone Pacific’s clients receive the best care and resources as the firm is committed to providing superior community association services. Keystone Pacific is one of the few local property management firms to have earned the Accredited Management Organization (AMO) designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) and the Accredited Certified Management Firms (ACMF) in Southern California, certified through the California Association of Community Managers (CACM®). Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Keystone Pacific also maintains offices in Rancho Santa Margarita and Temecula, Calif.

For more information, please contact Keystone Pacific at 1-877-KPPM-INC (577-6462) or visit www.keystonepacific.com.

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Tempe, AZ – Westwood Financial Corp., one of the largest owner-operators of shopping centers in the U.S., has purchased the 24,452-square-foot Crossroads of Tempe retail center in the Arizona town. It is the company’s latest transaction toward the company’s value-add program, to which it has earmarked $100 million in purchases.

“Crossroads of Tempe fits into our strategy to acquire distressed assets in these kinds of markets,” said Westwood Financial Executive VP Joe Dykstra, noting that WFC has recently purchased three additional notes and is in the process of foreclosing on each one. “This is the seventh such acquisition we’ve made in the past 12 months, as we continue seeking $1 million-$10 million strip centers in good locations.”

The 2004-built Crossroads of Tempe is at 315-325 W. Elliot Road and is 45-percent leased. With strong national tenants including Chase Bank, Massage Envy and AZ Bread Company as current tenants, Dykstra thinks the property has great lease-up potential.

“This asset has good in-place income with upside and sits at a busy intersection in an in-fill location with dense demographics,” Dykstra said.

Westwood purchased the property from CMBS Trust, which was represented by special services LNR Partners. It is the 16th property Westwood owns in the Tempe/Phoenix market and 19th overall in the state.

The acquisition follows Westwood’s recent purchase of the Stroh Ranch Retail Center, a 6,336-square-foot property at 12937 S. Parker Road in Parker, Colo.

About Westwood Financial Corp.

Westwood Financial Corp., is one of the largest privately held owner-operators of retail properties in the U.S., with a track record spanning 40 years. Based in Los Angeles with satellite offices in Atlanta, Dallas and Scottsdale, Ariz., the firm currently has a portfolio consisting of more than 100 shopping centers and retail properties in 24 metropolitan markets. Founded in 1970 by Steven Fogel and Howard Banchik, the firm has evolved into a fully integrated real estate company that acquires, leases, and manages its real estate portfolio. The firm implements an acquisition strategy that focuses primarily on mature neighborhood, grocery anchored shopping centers with portfolio holdings in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington. For more information, please visit www.westfin.com.

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