LB Brokerage, Inc
Why Larry Boren?
Larry Boren grew up in Southern California and moved to Long Beach June 1967 to gain his teaching credentials in Health Education at California Stat University, Long Beach. After graduation, he taught health education in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for 10 years. In 1974, he bought a house in Belmont Shore and to bolster his income, he took a summer job selling local real estate. Due to his success, in 1980, he left teaching to pursue real estate sales full time. He worked with a small independent brokerage in Belmont Shore, earning his broker's license in 1982. But Boren had a vision: he wanted to develop, manage, and promote residential real estate in addition to selling.
Late one night in 1985, he found a foreclosure property on a busy corner lot at the edge of the Belmont Shore commercial district. The next day he bought the property, soon gutting and rebuilding it. He started LB Brokerage and recruited three other realtors plus two support people. By 1987, he had added a 1,000 - square foot second floor to the building to accommodate LB Brokerage's rapid growth.
The recession of the early 1990's depressed real estate values and forced many homes into foreclosure. Even as most of the country experienced economic recovery, Long Beach kept declining and houses and apartment buildings lost up to 50 percent of their value. Boren jokes that by 1992, "Those of us who worked in real estate didn't realize we were unemployed." LB Brokerage survived by diversifying operations. As interest rates fell beginning in 1992 and people refinanced their homes as often as twice a year, Boren added mortgage services, eventually becoming approved by 80 major lending institutions. The brokerage also became involved as a specialist in bank-owned properties, or REOs, and handled the growing number of foreclosures, short sales, and workout situations for property owners.
LB Brokerage thrived by providing services that covered the myriad details of real estate transactions. The loan mortgage division continued to grow and the brokerage began to manage condominium associations. Boren has also spent considerable time with probate sales - and conservator sales - representing attorneys, executors, buyers, and their agents, restoring their properties to bring them the highest value on behalf of the estate.
The new century of 2000 hit Long Beach real estate with major appreciation - values for condos, homes, rental properties, and even vacant land increased over 25 percent per year until 2005. Before this latest boom, million dollar homes sold in Long Beach were rare. It is now common for newer two-story homes in Belmont Shore to sell for amounts over $1 million. LB Brokerage and Larry Boren have fruitfully endured fluctuating economic cycles to consistently provide clients with the best services in the market.
Today, LB Brokerage continues as a successful boutique real estate office with a strong history of experience in Long Beach. Boren and his agents and staff offer efficient, friendly, and personalized service. Their goal: to help clients determine the most profitable way to buy, sell trade up, or exchange. As the broker-owner and President of LB Brokerage, Larry Boren personally controls every aspect of his business, and still works actively as an agent-broker.
Larry Boren proudly states that his career is very satisfying and fun. "I run a small boutique company located in the city where I love to live - Long Beach," he says with a smile. "The joy of each and every day is representing people through LB Brokerage. I hope that people say, "With all his experience, I'm calling Larry Boren or his agents to handle my real estate business!"
