Stephen J. Ferrandi,

Broker of Record / Director of Religious Property Brokerage

Coconut logs on an island in the Philippines during World War II formed the beginnings of what is today PraiseBuildings Religious Property Brokerage. My father, a young private who was good with tools, was told to fashion together some logs from coconut trees  to form a makeshift chapel, so that the army chaplain could celebrate Catholic mass.

After the war, my father's humble worship space endeavor evolved into something far greater than he ever imagined.  1956, he founded Church Restoration Services, which grew to become the mid-Atlantic's largest and most respected construction firm dedicated solely to houses of worship. Even at its apex, the firm was still very much a family business. As such, I cut my construction teeth as a young boy, spending time on job sites with my father, taking on my first summer job as a laborer at age 16, and eventually running the company until my father retired  in 1996. By that time, we had served more than 450 houses of worship, helping congregations build, plan, restore, and decorate the worship spaces they dreamed of. Having worked my way from water boy to CEO, I knew the church business from foundation to rafters.

In 1998, I had the opportunity to parlay all my church construction knowledge into a real estate practice, serving congregations by buying, selling, and leasing their land, churches, and schools. Today, my real estate practice offers proven professional representation to houses of worship throughout Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

From my father's humble beginnings, PraiseBuildings Religious Property Brokerage has blossomed into the single source for all of the real estate needs for churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques in the mid-Atlantic. We have brokered over 400 million dollars in real estate deals and are dedicated to providing superior knowledge and excellent representation with every transaction. My decades of experience in working with congregations has led me to write hundreds of articles for magazines such as Your Church, Church Worship, Technology, and PraiseBuildings.com Report, as well for many internet sites dedicated to serving houses of worship. I am regularly invited to give presentations both nationally and regionally on the topics of church real estate issues and site selection. I look forward to meeting with you and the members of your building committee to discuss how we can serve you.

Josh Halbedel,

Sales Associate

A graduate of the Real Estate & Economic Development Program at the University of Baltimore, Josh joined the team in the spring of 2011. With a strong background in real estate auction marketing and sales, Josh has closed 10 million dollars in real estate auction transactions.   In his
former position as a principal in JHI Management, LLC, Josh orchestrated over 200 auction events for land, industrial offices, apartments and residential real estate. From 2004 to 2008, he was the top auction sales producer on a team of 30 associates.  Josh has solid experience in tailoring real estate agreements to purchase, sell, lease, finance, option, assign, 1031, and otherwise control real estate.  Active in the local and regional development industry,Josh is a Young Leaders Committee member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Baltimore and a member of the NAIOP Baltimore Chapter.

Prior to his real estate career, Josh completed a five-year term of service with the US Army Engineers, both stateside and abroad at Camp Casey, South Korea, and Camp Doha, Kuwait, where he was a Squad Leader / Sergeant, Combat Engineer, leading a team of heavy equipment operators in support of engineering operations including demolitions, site excavation, fortification and temporary bridge installation.  He was awarded multiple commendation medals for excellence in missions.