Stokes Group Wins Top Real Estate Sales Honors for Coldwell Banker in Philadelphia for 2007

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) March 27, 2008 -- Tim Stokes (http://www.stokesgroup.com/agents/Tim-Stokes.asp) received top honors from Coldwell Banker Preferred for his real estat sales team's performance in 2007 in the center city Philadelphia real estate market. This is no small feat considering that Coldwell Banker Preferred is the second largest real estate firm in Philadelphia, just behind Prudential Fox & Roach. The Coldwell Banker Preferred franchise in the Philadelphia area was also ranked as the 10th best performing firm out of Coldwell Banker's more than 4,000 worldwide real estate offices.

Tim and his Stokes Group (http://www.stokesgroup.com) team specifically won the "International Presidents Premier Team" award that is given to teams who Achieve at least 140 closed deals OR $720k in closed Adjusted Gross Income for the year. The Stokes Group was the only team at Coldwell Banker Preferred to achieve this catagory. The Stokes Group also took home the "Top Team of the Year in Adjusted Gross Income" for Coldwell Banker Preferred in 2007.

"We are so proud to be associated with Tim Stokes and the Stokes Group, one of the most professional and productive sales teams in Philadelphia's residential real estate community," commented Dan Giannetto, Coldwell Banker Preferred Old City Office Manager."Their dedication to their clients and their craft is an inspiration to all of us at Coldwell Banker Preferred. We know that as incredible as 2007 was for Tim and his team, it was only the tip of the iceberg - their potential is unlimited," continued Giannetto.

About Stokes Group:

Timothy Stokes formed the Stokes Group in 2007. Something of a high-performer himself (his sales topped $30 million in 2006 - #1 Coldwell Banker agent in PA), Tim has gathered a team of young, high-energy professionals who share his 'let's get it done' philosophy. The Stokes Group specializes in new construction, with expertise in condo sales. The Stokes Group stands out from other teams in Philadelphia by employing a full-time business manager and marketing manager in addition to a talented staff of agents that enables them to provide the best service possible to all buying, selling or development clients. For more information on the Stokes Group visit www.StokesGroup.com (http://www.stokesgroup.com)

About Coldwell Banker Preferred:

Coldwell Banker Preferred is a Chairman's Circle Company and independently owned franchise of Coldwell Banker Corporation, a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, the world's largest real estate

franchiser. Coldwell Banker Preferred provides real estate and mortgage services, including both residential and commercial real estate, with a comprehensive, award winning relocation division, Previews International®, Concierge, New Homes, mortgage and title services. Since 1975, the company has successfully provided real estate services in the Delaware Valley. Coldwell Banker Preferred is ranked in the top 1% of all Coldwell Banker franchise companies worldwide. Offices are located in Center City Philadelphia, surrounding suburbs and Wilmington, Delaware. For more information visit: www.CBpref.com (http://www.cbpref.com)

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) March 27, 2008 -- Equity Based Services, Inc. ("EBS"), a private real estate investment and management firm, announced today that they have acquired Silver Star Self Storage at 1905 East William Cannon Drive in Austin, Texas.

Equity Based Services has once again proven their strength as deal closers in an otherwise difficult market. EBS was able to close the purchase of Silver Star Self Storage showing EBS' strength in negotiating sales contracts and closing deals.

The ability and core strength of EBS' acquisitions team, due-diligence team, legal, accounting and in-house management has facilitated great financing terms and an attractive purchase price in a difficult lending market. Silver Star represents a strong Value-Added addition to the EBS portfolio of 47 owned and operated Self Storage facilities.

The closing of Silver Star represents a total value of acquisitions and new construction of $9,350,000 in the last 90 days. In addition to this, EBS is under contract and scheduled to close an additional 5 projects worth an aggregate of $32,950,000 in the next 60-90 days. This puts EBS on track to close roughly $100,000,000 of new acquisitions for the 2008 Fiscal year bringing their portfolio holdings up to a total of 52 owned and operated projects with a fair market value of over $204,000,000.

"The ability to close the number, size, and value of the deals that we are diligently pursuing, shows our strength and showcases our reputation as being strong closers in a slow real estate market and a very difficult lending market. Sellers recognize that we are able to close which enables us to negotiate very favorable purchase agreements. In addition to this, lenders have high confidence that we are able to perform on our loans. This allows us to negotiate attractive and competitive financing terms. These traits make us a very attractive partner in both the commercial real estate and financial markets." -- Troy Downing, Manager EBS and Principal of Pilot Equity Partners

"Interest rates have gone down in general but Lender spreads and cap rates have gone up considerably more. This means that we are starting to get incredible buys on highly desirable properties, such as Silver Star. This is happening because we are one of the few groups out there that can still obtain excellent financing.

"We knew that there would be fallout from the sub-prime mortgage market about a year ago. For this reason, We started building relationships with Lenders outside of Wall Street. These Lenders are not as affected by the "Credit Crunch", have not been experiencing margin calls, and have plenty of liquidity. They are also able to lend at very good interest rates and in many cases afford interest only periods.

"The equity that we raised going into this pull back is a very useful tool. Almost every marginal player has been pushed out of the Self Storage Acquisition Market because the marginal players do not have equity or access to debt at this point. This means that inventory is building up and very few buyers are available to capitalize on the glut. Because we are a known buyer with an established equity pool and reliable debt sources, we are first in line with the Seller's and Self Storage Brokers and Lenders." -- Stephen Kaplan, CEO, Equity Based Services

Currently, EBS operates 12 Self Storage facilities in Texas:

Property Name Address Acquisition Date

Northwest Storage 3016 W. Gentry Pkwy, Tyler, TX 7/14/2004

Lonestar Self Storage 3521 Frankston Hwy, Tyler, TX 10/29/2004

Georgetown Best Self Storage 3009 Dawn Drive, Georgetown, TX 1/5/2005

Alamo Self Storage 903 Industrial Avenue, Copperas Cove, TX 2/2/2005

Hollytree Storage 6212 Hollytree Drive 4/12/2005

AAA Friendly Self Storage 12324 S. Hwy 155, Tyler, TX 8/31/2005

Storage Plus 5701 Old Bullard Road, Tyler, TX 10/11/2006

AMS I-Austin (Hill Country) 15616 Stewart Rd, Austin, TX 4/27/2007

Noah's Ark-Converse 8150 Kitty Hawk, Converse, TX 8/1/2007

Noah's Ark-Fredericksburg 3567 Fredericksburg, San Antonio, TX 8/31/2007

AMS 1 New Braunfels (Hill Country) 1150 Loop 337, New Braunfels, TX 11/29/2007

AMS I Lakeworth (Friendly SS) 3969 Boat Club Rd., Lakeworth, TX 12/6/2007

EBS is actively pursuing additional opportunities in Texas, with an emphasis on the markets in Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. EBS sees a potential for above average value in Self Storage properties in these markets.

Equity Based Services and its Affiliate Companies will be hosting a booth at the International Self Storage Convention and Exposition in Orlando Florida from April 1st - April 3rd, 2008. The convention will be held at the Gaylord Palms Resort with EBS hosting booth 528.

About Equity Based Services, INC.

EBS is a private real estate company specializing in the opportunistic acquisition and management of self-storage commercial property. EBS currently owns and operates 47 Self-Storage properties in 9 states worth more than $165,000,000.00. EBS also manages a family of equity funds for institutional and high net worth individual investors. EBS funds invest in both stabilized income producing commercial property and value added, opportunistic commercial real estate. The EBS Income Fund, the EBS Income and Growth Fund II, and the Pilot Equity Value Added Fund all closed in 2007 and represent more than $16,000,000.00 in capital contributions. All portfolio properties are aggressively managed by All American Property Management, Inc., an EBS company, to maximize returns to Investors. For more information, contact Katie