KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT Acquires First Mortgage Loan Secured by Orlando, Fla., Office Portfolio - msnbc.com

ORLANDO, FL — KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT, a publicly offered, non-traded real estate investment trust based in Newport Beach, Calif., has announced the acquisition of a non-performing first mortgage loan collateralized by Primera/University Court, a three-building office portfolio in Orlando, Fla., totaling 106,672 square feet.

On July 2, 2012, the $15,750,000 mortgage loan was purchased at a discounted price of $8 million. As this is a non-performing loan, KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT does not expect to receive repayment of the entire principal balance.

Primera Court I and Primera Court II are twin, 31,840-square-foot buildings located in Lake Mary, Fla., 20 miles north of downtown Orlando. The buildings were completed in 1999 and 2000, respectively, and offer easy access to Interstate 4 and State Roads 417, 419 and 427.

The third building in the portfolio is the 42,992-square-foot University Court, situated blocks from the University of Central Florida campus in the University submarket of Orlando. The two-story building was developed in 2001 and is near State Roads 417, 408 and 50.

KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT is a public non-traded real estate investment trust that intends to invest in and manage a diverse portfolio of real estate-related loans, opportunistic real estate, real estate-related debt securities and other real estate-related investments. KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT was sponsored indirectly by Charles J. Schreiber, Jr., Peter Bren, Keith Hall and Peter McMillan III and is advised by KBS Capital Advisors LLC, an affiliated entity which is indirectly owned and controlled by KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT's sponsors.

About KBS
KBS is a private equity real estate company and SEC-registered investment advisor founded in 1992. Since its inception, KBS and its affiliated companies have completed transactional activity in excess of $22.4 billion via 14 separate accounts, six commingled funds, five sovereign wealth funds and five non-traded REITs. For information, visit www.kbscapital.com.

This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), including KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT's ability to invest in and manage a diverse portfolio. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT's or Primera/University Court's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

© Marketwire 2012

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KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT Acquires First Mortgage Loan Secured by Orlando, Fla., Office Portfolio - msnbc.com

ORLANDO, FL — KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT, a publicly offered, non-traded real estate investment trust based in Newport Beach, Calif., has announced the acquisition of a non-performing first mortgage loan collateralized by Primera/University Court, a three-building office portfolio in Orlando, Fla., totaling 106,672 square feet.

On July 2, 2012, the $15,750,000 mortgage loan was purchased at a discounted price of $8 million. As this is a non-performing loan, KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT does not expect to receive repayment of the entire principal balance.

Primera Court I and Primera Court II are twin, 31,840-square-foot buildings located in Lake Mary, Fla., 20 miles north of downtown Orlando. The buildings were completed in 1999 and 2000, respectively, and offer easy access to Interstate 4 and State Roads 417, 419 and 427.

The third building in the portfolio is the 42,992-square-foot University Court, situated blocks from the University of Central Florida campus in the University submarket of Orlando. The two-story building was developed in 2001 and is near State Roads 417, 408 and 50.

KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT is a public non-traded real estate investment trust that intends to invest in and manage a diverse portfolio of real estate-related loans, opportunistic real estate, real estate-related debt securities and other real estate-related investments. KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT was sponsored indirectly by Charles J. Schreiber, Jr., Peter Bren, Keith Hall and Peter McMillan III and is advised by KBS Capital Advisors LLC, an affiliated entity which is indirectly owned and controlled by KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT's sponsors.

About KBS
KBS is a private equity real estate company and SEC-registered investment advisor founded in 1992. Since its inception, KBS and its affiliated companies have completed transactional activity in excess of $22.4 billion via 14 separate accounts, six commingled funds, five sovereign wealth funds and five non-traded REITs. For information, visit www.kbscapital.com.

This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), including KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT's ability to invest in and manage a diverse portfolio. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT's or Primera/University Court's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

© Marketwire 2012

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Independent Producers of America Seeking to Fill Sales Representatives Roles with Opportunities for Leadership for Their Orlando Center of Excellence - Consumer Electronics Net

Company News: Page (1) of 1 - 02/21/12February 21, 2012 -- Orlando, FL (PRWEB) February 21, 2012

Independent Producers of America, LLC (IPA) and its Good News Crew announced recently it has exceeded company expectations and because of its record-breaking growth, has additional business opportunities available in their Orlando Center of Excellence. IPAs Orlando Center of Excellence expands across Florida to markets of Orlando, Daytona, Jacksonville, Melbourne, Lake County, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami and South Florida.

IPA Area Performance Leader who leads these markets Mr. Jeff Hill comments I have been in this industry for many years and this is the most rewarding career opportunity I have been a part of. Having the ability to lead my own business while serving others and earning significant wealth is rewarding and fulfilling!

Qualified candidates will possess the following attributes: ability to make decisions and solve problems, active listening skills, critical thinking skills, selling, time management, and most importantly who operates with the highest ethical standards. This is a true career opportunity that could change your life. Selected candidates will be provided with a complete and comprehensive program to promote the success of their personal and professional performance. Such items include but are not limited to:
Generous compensation programs;Residual income and monthly bonuses;Aggressive lifetime vesting schedules;Dollar for dollar matching stock program;Free qualified sales leads and lead management systems;State of the art training and business technologies; andMany other performance based programs and incentives.

What I love most is meeting people and mentoring them with a great opportunity to build their own business by helping others in their local communities with business benefits and health insurance needs comments Sandy Carpenter, Regional Performance Leader.

In order to be considered for one of the select positions with ability to participate in a professional and confidential interview process please direct inquiries with resume to info(at)ipa-america(dot)com. Due to IPAs culture of continuous growth, state of the art technology, and market expansions they are currently accepting inquiries for existing and new markets. For more information about Independent Producers of America and the companies it represents, visit http://www.ipafamily.com or contact direct at 813-983-2900 or 1-800-772-8667 and indicate you saw our press release.

About Independent Producers of America, LLC (IPA)
Independent Producers of America is a national marketing organization that distributes major medical insurance plans and other health insurance plans and consumer benefit membership programs across the nation. IPAs trained professional sales associates, referred to as the IPA Family, provides information and a product portfolio that can meet the needs of most small business owners and self-employed individuals and families. Headquartered in Tampa, Fl., IPA is accredited and has an excellent reputation with the Better Business Bureau (bbb.org) and is a member company of The IHC Group.

We encourage you to visit us on the following social media sites:
Facebook: Simply search Independent Producers of America, LLC (IPA), IPA Family, and IPA Wisdom.
YouTube: TheIPAFamily and IPAWisdom
Twitter: Subscribe to us @IPA_Family and @IPAWisdom

Share Independent Producers of America, LLC and IPA Family

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Independent Producers of America Seeking to Fill Sales Representatives Roles with Opportunities for Leadership for Their Orlando Center of Excellence - YAHOO!

Sales Representative and Leadership Career Opportunities are available with ability to earn Shareholder Equity available now.

Orlando, FL (PRWEB) February 21, 2012

Independent Producers of America, LLC (IPA) and its “Good News Crew” announced recently it has exceeded company expectations and because of its record-breaking growth, has additional business opportunities available in their Orlando Center of Excellence. IPA’s Orlando Center of Excellence expands across Florida to markets of Orlando, Daytona, Jacksonville, Melbourne, Lake County, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami and South Florida.

IPA Area Performance Leader who leads these markets Mr. Jeff Hill comments “I have been in this industry for many years and this is the most rewarding career opportunity I have been a part of. Having the ability to lead my own business while serving others and earning significant wealth is rewarding and fulfilling!”

Qualified candidates will possess the following attributes: ability to make decisions and solve problems, active listening skills, critical thinking skills, selling, time management, and most importantly who operates with the highest ethical standards. This is a true career opportunity that could change your life. Selected candidates will be provided with a complete and comprehensive program to promote the success of their personal and professional performance. Such items include but are not limited to:

“What I love most is meeting people and mentoring them with a great opportunity to build their own business by helping others in their local communities with business benefits and health insurance needs” comments Sandy Carpenter, Regional Performance Leader.

In order to be considered for one of the select positions with ability to participate in a professional and confidential interview process please direct inquiries with resume to info(at)ipa-america(dot)com. Due to IPA’s culture of continuous growth, state of the art technology, and market expansions they are currently accepting inquiries for existing and new markets. For more information about Independent Producers of America and the companies it represents, visit http://www.ipafamily.com or contact direct at 813-983-2900 or 1-800-772-8667 and indicate you saw our press release.

About Independent Producers of America, LLC (IPA)

Independent Producers of America is a national marketing organization that distributes major medical insurance plans and other health insurance plans and consumer benefit membership programs across the nation. IPA’s trained professional sales associates, referred to as the “IPA Family,” provides information and a product portfolio that can meet the needs of most small business owners and self-employed individuals and families. Headquartered in Tampa, Fl., IPA is accredited and has an excellent reputation with the Better Business Bureau (bbb.org) and is a member company of The IHC Group.

We encourage you to visit us on the following social media sites:

Facebook: Simply search Independent Producers of America, LLC (IPA), IPA Family, and IPA Wisdom.

YouTube: TheIPAFamily and IPAWisdom

Twitter: Subscribe to us @IPA_Family and @IPAWisdom

Share – Independent Producers of America, LLC and IPA Family

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Sondra Bradley
Independent Producer's of America, LLC
678-982-1800
Email Information

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Apps drive Central Florida businesses, schools - Orlando Sentinel

Mark Hawks has sold Apple products for the past 20 years, but the popularity of mobile applications has his career heading in a different direction.

"My clients kept telling me they needed iPhone apps to make their businesses better, so I started taking classes in app development at Seminole State College," said Hawks, 53, of Port Orange, who already has sold his first app to a Kentucky chiropractor.

His second one, he said, "will be a guide to better living, showing good food choices, exercises and also a direct line to my [Lake Mary] chiropractor."

A boom in apps — tiny programs for smartphones and other mobile devices that do everything from creating games to crunching financial spreadsheets — is creating new opportunities for Central Florida businesses and schools.

Already established builders are welcoming novice developers into Central Florida's flourishing tech industry, advising them that there's more to building an app than just the colorful icon that appears on a device's screen.

At the same time, the University of Central Florida, Valencia College, Full Sail University and other schools are offering more app-development courses.

"Businesses are eager to move their customers from the Web to their mobile devices, and apps facilitate the transition," said Dick Grant, professor of information technology at Seminole State College.

A report from Elance, a California-based online work platform, shows U.S. demand for workers equipped to create apps for Apple devices soared by 457 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 in comparison with same time last year. The demand for developers with Android skills jumped 224 percent, the report shows.

"There is a lot of hand-holding and educating the client in the process of creating an app," said Rainer Flor, creative director at Orlando-based Echo Interaction Group. "The client usually has no idea what they are getting into. It's our job to guide them through the process and tell them what their app will eventually accomplish."

Flor said app building really begins with conversations with a client about what they want the app to accomplish.

"Do they want to engage an audience, enhance their business, solve a problem or be the first to offer something innovative?" he said. "We also have to consider how to build the app for future updates."

Before any programming begins, developers create an outline that details the goals of an app and a storyboard on paper — not unlike those drawn in the movie industry — that gives glimpses of the proposed app.

Tweaks and other modifications are scribbled on paper before a more detailed storyboard containing dozens of images that show each function of the app is presented to the graphic designers and programmers.

When the app is coded and all graphics installed, the developer submits the app to Apple. Technicians at Apple check each line of code to make sure the app meets Apple's strict guidelines. Graphic content is also evaluated before Apple agrees to place the app in its App Store.

The whole process can take six to eight weeks or longer if Apple returns the app for reprogramming. Some developers said publishing apps to Google's Android Market is akin to the "Wild West" because there is no approval process or standards to meet.

It's difficult to gauge the cost of building an app because of their wide range of complexity. Games, for example, require greater graphic-design hours, and that will considerably increase the cost. A report from Internet Retailer, a technology trade publication, shows quality apps can cost $30,000 to $100,000 to design, program and publish.

Jason Madsen, program manager at Full Sail University in Winter Park, said the future of app development in Central Florida is strong because there is "so much movement and excitement."

"We have a strong [app]-development community here that gets together and collaborates," Madsen said. "It's a great opportunity for our talent to get involved with this now to really take advantage of it."

wpacheco@tribune.com or 407-420-6262. Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/techblog

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