Get Help for Your Home: York County Realtor Becomes a Professional on Distressed Properties

York, PA, November 09, 2008 --(PR.com)-- In today’s market, more and more homeowners are finding themselves in financial distress due to real estate than ever before. If you are a homeowner in danger of losing your home, do not get discouraged—there are many options to get your finances back on the right track. That’s why Jerry Pilgrim, broker of Professional Realty Associates in York, recently became a Certified Distressed Property Expert© (CDPE©) and a member of the Distressed Property Institute.

The CDPE© designation is a nationally recognized certification given to agents who have dedicated their time and effort to understanding the issues distressed homeowners are facing. After taking multiple courses and training sessions, the agents are better equipped to deal with entering the distressed property market—REOs, short sales, preforeclosures and working with investors.

Foreclosure is a devastating financial and emotional process for a homeowner to go through, and in many cases they do so alone and without help. Homeowners who are in the preforeclosure process need to speak with an agent as quickly as possible. If you are a homeowner in distress, Jerry believes the best solution for homeowners is to seek the guidance, counsel and services of an educated and trained real estate agent. Homeowners no longer have to go it alone. Jerry has received the tools, information and tactics to effectively help homeowners through his certification from the Distressed Property Institute.

One of the first options a homeowner has to avoid foreclosure is a loan modification, or loan restructuring, which is simply a permanent change in one or more of the terms of the mortgage loan. If a homeowner runs into temporary financial hardship, the next option is to negotiate for a loan forbearance, which reduces or delays payments for a short amount of time with the understanding that the account will eventually be brought to a current status.

While these two options do serve as practical alternatives to foreclosure, they still leave homeowners with the same burden of debt. The more favorable option, according to real estate experts, which considerably benefits both the homeowner and lender, is a short sale. A short sale is an agreement wherein the lender allows for the homeowner to sell the home at a price lower than the mortgage-debt amount. The lender will then take the proceeds from the sale as a settlement for the mortgage debt. A short sale becomes a beneficial alternative when the homeowner’s mortgage debt is higher than the property’s value.

It’s a complicated market out there, but Jerry Pilgrim, a CDPE© professional, is an agent who understands the full range of solutions and is ready to help. Distressed homeowners need an advocate like Jerry—who chose to set himself apart from other agents by receiving formal training to help homeowners in financial crisis.

If anyone would like more information about this topic or to schedule a meeting with Jerry Pilgrim, please call Professional Realty Associates at (717) 757-5955 or e-mail their request to JPilgrim@PilgrimTeam.com. or visit http://www.YorkShortSales.com

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