The Perfect Storm: Deteriorating Rents and Occupancies, Deflating Sales Prices and Tight Credit

Government approved programs and bailouts are in place for many sectors of the
battered economy, but where are the resources and solutions for property
owners and investors in the heavily Distressed Commercial Real Estate Market?
CLEARWATER, Fla., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- While much has been made of the
aid the U.S. government has put into helping the economy, commercial property
owners nationwide are beset with distressed properties. Help is available to
commercial property owners, but it is not widely known about and commercial
properties continue to get foreclosed unnecessarily.

"Not since the early 1990s have we observed this perfect storm of
deteriorating rents and occupancies, deflating sales prices, and tight credit
that's leading to a lot of defaults," writes Victor Calanog, director of
research at Reis, a New York-based real estate research organization. "With
close to $3.5 trillion of loans outstanding and at least 12 to 24 more
months of rent declines, I expect to see more commercial properties defaulting
on loans."

Commercial real estate is expected to remain a drag on the U.S. economy
through 2010 and beyond. However, some savvy commercial real estate investors
that are unwilling to lose their holdings are taking a proactive approach to
avoid foreclosure and protect their assets against further financial decline.

"We are seeing more commercial mortgages in distress every week. Corroborating
our own findings, we recently received a report from the nation's largest real
estate researcher, Trepp; they found that delinquent loans in commercial
mortgage securities jumped 85 basis points to 5.65 percent, and that figure is
up from 4.8 percent a month earlier. Based on my experience, the worst thing
that a property owner can do now is to ignore his situation and hope that
things get better," said Ira J. Friedman, COO of Guardian Solutions, a
commercial loan restructuring firm based in Florida.

The Urban Land Institute, a research center, said in an emerging trends report
this month with consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers that respondents to its
survey predicted that "commercial real estate vacancies will continue to
increase and rents will decrease across all property sectors before the market
hits bottom in 2010 and projects value declines of 40 percent to 50 percent
off 2007 market peaks."

"Commercial property owners need to know that they can take steps to improve
their situation and seek help and guidance while the situation is still
salvageable; the longer they wait to take action, the more precarious their
situation becomes…," added Friedman.

As more commercial real estate property owners see tenants go bankrupt,
downsize or invoke escape clauses, they continue to feel the serious effects
of the economy. The national vacancy rate is expected to reach 19 percent by
the end of 2010, the highest recorded since 1986. Without paying tenets,
commercial property owners have little cash flow to make impending balloon
loan payments and may face foreclosure.

Commercial property owners who are trying to keep their properties viable are
seeking help from firms like Guardian Solutions that specialize exclusively in
commercial loan modification. Currently, there are a handful of specialized
firms that hire highly qualified employees, such as accountants, MBAs, real
estate professionals and attorneys to deal specifically with the complexities
involved in a commercial loan restructuring plan.

Unlike residential loan modification, commercial real estate mortgage
modifications are not based on cookie cutter recipes that can be easily
followed. Each modification is completely unique as is each business attached
to their respective commercial mortgage. These modifications are quite labor
intensive, but using experienced people in various disciplines makes for a
smoother process.

A major challenge facing commercial loan modifications firms is that they
have to please all parties involved to a certain degree. The property owner
needs new terms or concessions so that he can continue doing business, but the
lender or bank also needs assurances that extending new terms or giving
concessions will yield results for the business so that they do not end up
owning a property that is greatly devalued with a bankrupted business.

"Using an independent loan restructuring firm that is appropriately staffed
with skilled and proactive professionals is what commercial property owners in
distress need right now," said Jeramie P. Concklin, CEO of Guardian
Solutions. "A focused commercial loan restructuring company can ease the
entire process by doing all the work-the due diligence, business plan and
negotiations for the property owner."

Concklin added, "Once fully prepared with every piece of relevant information
and a realistic business plan, Guardian Solutions' staff enters into
negotiations with the lender to secure the best possible terms for the client,
while addressing the concerns of the lending institutions. It is important to
understand that what we are dealing with here is an overwhelmed banking
system. Our firm excels at providing the lenders the specific information they
need in order to make a timely, realistic decision."

About Guardian Solutions

Guardian Solutions is the one of nation's largest commercial loan
restructuring companies and is committed to helping commercial property owners
save their properties. The company's knowledgeable mediators are experienced
in a variety of disciplines to provide customized restructuring solutions. For
more information, visit www.GuardianSolutions.org

Contact:
Jamie Sene
Vice President, Marketing
Guardian Solutions
727-442-8833
jvs@guardiansolutions.org
www.GuardianSolutions.org

SOURCE Guardian Solutions

Jamie Sene, Vice President, Marketing, Guardian Solutions, +1-727-442-8833,
jvs@guardiansolutions.org