Long Beach based real estate brokerage firm committed to One Less Foreclosure program
Long Beach, CA. – With almost 3,000 Long Beach properties approaching foreclosure, according to foreclosuresradar.com, most troubled homeowners are unaware of the option to short sale their distressed properties with assistance from the federal Treasury Department’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) Program. Offering financial incentives to both the borrower and the mortgage lender, HAFA was established to help families avoid foreclosure.
In a free, downloadable book, Should I Short Sale My Home? A Homeowners Guide How to Survive the Worst Real Estate Market in History, authors Mark Shandrow, CEO of Shandrow Group and Tim and Julie Harris of Harris Real Estate University, aim to provide HAFA and Short Sale information to homeowners early in the foreclosure process, so they can seek out professional assistance from a qualified short sale specialist or counselor, a significant step to stemming the overall rate of foreclosures.
“Missing mortgage payments, or anticipating missing them is stressful and hard to face, but reaching out to talk to a professional while there’s still adequate time to develop a plan of action is key to preventing a foreclosure, and in some cases, avoiding damage to the family’s credit scores,” says Shandrow, whose real estate brokerage firm employs more than six trained short sale specialists.
A qualified short sale real estate agent can be invaluable to navigating a short sale transaction, which often involves completing intensive paperwork, meeting deadlines, and negotiating the terms with the lender in a direct, proactive manner. But Shandrow Group’s relationships with many of the top U.S. banks and real estate companies through its bank-owned properties (REO’s) business is one of the firm’s most powerful tools for brokering successful short sales on behalf of its clients.
One example, PMH Financial, LLC, a financial services company from Denver, enables Shandrow Group to better help clients expedite short sales. Like Shandrow Group, PMH Financial has strong relationships within the banking industry and direct access to lenders’ key decision-makers.
The melding of Shandrow Group on the local level and a partner like PMH on the national level assures the highest success rate and the most professional service for their clients.
“The Shandrow Group’s proactive and full-service approach shows that if the right representatives are at the table discussing their needs and options, we can facilitate a short sale transaction and avoid a foreclosure,” says Kristy B. Wray, Vice President of Loss Mitigation at PMH Financial.
Educating property owners about HAFA and short sales is central to Shandrow Group’s One Less Foreclosure philosophy aimed at helping homeowners explore alternatives to foreclosures. “While foreclosures are sometimes a reality, they have devastating, long-term effects to the individual, the community, and the market, driving real estate prices down,” says Shandrow. “One less foreclosure means one less homeless family, one less vacant home in the neighborhood and one less problem for our economy.”
The free book, Should I Short Sale My Home? A Homeowners Guide How to Survive the Worst Real Estate Market in History, is available for download at: http://www.shandrowgroup.com. For further information, contact Shandrow Group at 562.364.9595, ext. 100.
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For frequently asked questions about short sales or related information on foreclosures, visit: www.shandrowgroup.com or call 562.364.9505 ext. 100
“As a Short Sale Specialist, I help families in the Long Beach area navigate their underwater mortgages and find suitable solutions to their loan issues. In some situations it’s too late to do anything, but wait for the bank to take their home. But when a client comes to me early enough in the process, we can usually find an alternative that doesn’t leave them out in the cold. – Mark Shandrow -
Other sources of counseling and information for borrowers in default including:
- Americans for Fairness in Lending: www.affil.org
- Freddie Mac’s online guide to avoiding foreclosure: www.freddiemac.com
- L.A. County Department of Consumer Affairs Home Owner Assistance: 1-800-973-3370
- Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services: www.lanhs.org
- National Assn. of Consumer Advocates: www.naca.net
- NeighborWorks America: www.ng.org
- U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development: 1-800-569-4287
