Kissimmee Realtor/Short Sale Expert Paul Antonelli Hosting Radio Show to Help Struggling Homeowners

Sept. 14, 2010 - PRLog -- KISSIMMEE, FL – With thousands of Florida properties already in foreclosure and scores more on the brink, Central Florida Realtor Paul Antonelli of Coldwell Banker Ackley Realty has launched a local weekly radio show aimed at helping struggling homeowners.
   Antonelli, who kicked off his Central Florida Real Estate Talk Show on station Big 810 AM Radio (www.big810am.com) on August 28, has pledged to help one million homeowners with their housing dilemma.
   The program, which airs each Saturday afternoon from 4-5 p.m., can be heard throughout Central Florida, says Antonelli who specializes in short sales for Kissimmee-based Ackley Realty now in its 26th year of operation.
   “Over the past three years foreclosures have become so common that each day that goes by another homeowner is in peril of losing their home,” says Antonelli. “The goal of the show is to help 1 million homeowners who are treading those troubled waters.”
   Antonelli, now in is in his sixth year with Ackley Realty, wanted to do a radio show on this topic “because of all the bad and misinformation” that was being disseminated by both the media and real estate agents.
   The one-hour call-in show features segments on mortgages, legal issues and real estate news. But the primary focus of the show is about foreclosures and foreclosure defense, notes Antonelli.
   Antonelli starting cultivating his niche in short sales – when properties are priced to sell below their mortgage amount – about three years ago and today is considered one of Central Florida’s foremost experts, a reputation that has spread throughout the state and beyond. As a result, he has garnered numerous listings for short sales in Miami, Cocoa Beach and Deltona and has been approached by homeowners from Boston and Utah to help with their short sales.
   He estimates that over the past three years he has helped more than 200 troubled homeowners get out from underneath their devalued homes.
   Although Orlando’s real estate market remains strong, home values continue to fall. The average sales price of homes from June to July fell nearly 4.5 percent. In July, there were 2,387 sales with only 740 of those sales being traditional or by owner. Also during July, 69 percent of all real estate sales were for bank-owned and short sale listed properties.
   Although on average, homes in the Orlando market are selling within 85 days of being listed (better than the national average), homeowners still need to know how to list their home and ensure specifically that a short sale will be successful.
   “Short sales depend on the lender signing off on the reduced sales price, and, if the sale does not follow specific criteria, the bank can refuse the offer,” says Antonelli.
   “So many people have told me that the real estate representatives they spoke to told them that it is impossible to short sale a home or that a foreclosure can still happen before they can successful short sale a home,” he adds. “But the truth is if a Realtor knows hoe to get a short sale price approved and hire the experts necessary, it can save a family’s livelihood.”
   Antonelli says that he has watched hundreds of people ask for help to avoid foreclosure and most of them have been told to “just walk away.” To make sure that his listeners are armed with accurate and trustworthy information his radio show features two Orlando experts: Wells Fargo Mortgage Broker Colleen Mitchell and Charles Castellon, a real estate and foreclosure attorney.
   “Our goal,” says Antonelli, “is to give those struggling homeowners hope where they was little hope before.”

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