Neighborhood SHOcase, National Homebuyer Auction Series Launched by APD Solutions, Hudson & Marshall and Coalition of Governments, Lenders, Community Groups

ATLANTA, July 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The Neighborhood SHOcase, a national homebuyer auction series designed for working families was launched by Fulton County Chairman John Eaves and DeKalb County Board of Commissioner's Presiding Officer Larry Johnson, APD Solutions, Hudson & Marshall, and a coalition including lenders, real estate professionals, consumer and housing groups.

The Neighborhood SHOcase is a Special Homeownership Opportunity (SHO) event where working families can purchase real estate for an affordable price, at an auction marketplace, in the neighborhoods they desire to live without competition from investors.  The first stop of this national tour will be in Metro Atlanta with the City of Atlanta, DeKalb County and Fulton County neighborhoods as the target. These areas have seen major increases in foreclosures over the past few years.  National projections indicate as many as 11 million new foreclosures over the next 18 months.

"Fulton County neighborhoods are heavily impacted by foreclosures.  Our goal is to provide a marketplace for families to purchase and occupy homes without competition from investors.  We support the Neighborhood SHOcase as a vital way of reviving metro Atlanta neighborhoods.  We salute the efforts of APD Solutions to reduce vacancy rates and help sustain healthy neighborhoods," said John Eaves, Chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners.

Many consumers are interested and capable of buying foreclosed homes but are confused by conflicting information and discouraging messages. Too often in today's market when a family is able to walk down the path to homeownership the home they want is purchased by an investor through portfolio purchase or auction. The Atlanta collaborative has down payment and closing cost assistance for eligible families and access to flexible financing including interest rates of below 5%.

"We are trying to create a marketplace for homebuyers that is empowering and presents an opportunity to purchase their new home at a real value," said Vaughn D. Irons, CEO of APD Solutions.  "Working families deserve a chance to get a high level of support in their desire to own a home and have the same pricing advantages and convenience as investors in buying real estate."

The History of the SHOcase and Source of Assets

APDS is launching a local SHOcase collaborative in 12 major communities across the nation, including Dallas, Washington, DC, West Palm Beach, and San Francisco Bay Area. Formerly called the Hope for Homes Auction and Affordable Housing Opportunity Event, the SHOcase was created by APD in the early 90's as a part of its work with the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) and FDIC. The SHOcase was a successful disposition strategy used to liquidate vacant and abandon real estate to owner occupants. Recognizing similar conditions and trends as the Savings & Loan challenges, APDS decided to reintroduce the concept as a creative option for saving foreclosure ravaged neighborhoods. Partnering with APDS on those early homebuyer auction events was Hudson & Marshall.

"We started the homeowner auction with APD 20 years ago, right here in Atlanta and I'm excited to be doing these auctions again.  We do auctions all day every day, but what makes these auctions unique is the involvement of community and municipal partners; the assembly of the home purchase subsidies is also key," said Monty Marshall, Chief Auctioneer, Hudson and Marshall.  "My Dad, may he rest in peace, always enjoyed the homeowner auctions more because families are excited to buy their home versus investors that buy homes as a business transaction, looking for a specific return on investment," he added.

The sources of assets for sale were provided by servicers, nonprofits, institutional investors, local governments and home builders. Most homes are fully renovated including half of the properties being from the Federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). The other private sector properties were assembled by APDS in the same areas as the NSP homes in an effort to create more concentration and impact. Builders and developers hurt by the real estate downturn have found this a viable option for disposing of their inventory and having a positive impact on families and neighborhoods.

Chris Burke, VP of the Greater Atlanta Homebuilders shared. "The Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association fully supports APD Solutions Neighborhood SHOcase.  Through this program APD Solutions utilizes its resources and vast experience as a conduit between builders and consumers to providing excellent housing choices for qualified buyers to stabilize these communities.   APD Solutions is providing a vehicle towards neighborhood stabilization that improves everyone's quality of life." 

How to Get Involved in SHOcase

One of the unique aspects of the Neighborhood SHOcase is the extensive effort to qualify families for financing, connect them to down payment assistance and prepare them for the auction experience.

"I support this endeavor one hundred percent. We need to find creative ways to get families back into homes," said Larry Johnson, Presiding Officer, DeKalb County Board of Commissioners.  "We not only need to look at the number of foreclosures, but remember that these are displaced families.  With the right amount of knowledge and preparation, they will be able to purchase affordable homes and stay in them.  By doing this we can improve our communities one home at a time."

Interested families can go to www.HomebyRequest.com to view the nearly 60 homes and to review the 4 simple SHOcase steps. To help those attracted to the homes APDS, in conjunction with nonprofits D&E Group, Greenforest CDC, and HomeFree USA will host a series of nearly 50 home-buyer preparation seminars to adequately prepare potential buyers on what to expect at the auction and to ensure homeownership readiness. Beginning today, interested families can go to the website to register for a free 1-hour seminar being held at locations throughout the community.

About APD Solutions:

APD Solutions, LLC is a national Neighborhood Revitalization Firm created to provide community development consulting and comprehensive real estate services to public and private sector clients. Our goal is to Restore credibility in the housing industry, Rebuild challenged neighborhoods and Renew the lives of impacted families. APD Solutions has a talented staff with over 200 years of combined relevant housing industry and real estate experience. We have offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Jacksonville and San Francisco. For more information, visit www.APDSolutions.com.

About Hudson & Marshall

H&M is America's Premier Auction Authority. Our 40-year history combined with our continued process enhancements and innovative systems have allowed us to become one of the largest and most respected real estate auction firms in the United States. H&M has set the standard as a full service auction company and continues to consistently raise the bar for our industry. Our number one priority is to provide top-quality service to our customers. H&M has assisted clients ranging from individuals to large, medium, and small corporations, government agencies, and financial institutions. Since 1999, H&M has sold over 70,000 homes throughout the country. We have offices in Atlanta and Macon, Georgia and Dallas, Texas. For more information, visit www.hudsonmarshall.com.

SOURCE APD Solutions