JACKSONVILLE, FL-It was bound to happen. In late April, a Chicago real estate company, which advises clients on commercial real estate purchases,especially distressed assets, set up shop in Florida, which is ground zero for luxurious, but distressed real estate. The new office, located in St. Augustine, near Jacksonville, is now the East Coast headquarters for Diliberto Real Estate Services.

The new office is overseen by Douglas G. Dennison, former executive vice president with the Fisher Auction Company and Louis B. Fisher III, formerly the CEO and owner of the Fisher Auction Company. Dennison is the manager of the Florida operation of Diliberto, while Fisher joined the advisory committee for the company.

"These seasoned professionals carry a wealth of experience in helping investors identify real estate and loan buying opportunities and providing exit strategies through quick-to-market auction sales, and in the case of Mr. Fisher, a legendary name in real estate."

The new St. Augustine office will also be home to AmeriBid in Florida, making the office a dual brokerage operation. It makes sense to have a dual brokerage operation with AmeriBid in Florida, says Dennison, because what Diliberto Real Estate Services does is complementary to AmeriBid. Diliberto is a real estate advisor, while AmeriBid auctions properties or finds other exit strategies for real estate investors.

Executive responsibilities at the two companies, Diliberto and AmeriBid also overlap. Louis B. Fisher III is president of AmeriBid, while Douglas Dennison is its chief operating officer.

Recently, Diliberto was chosen to advise a client in Chicago, KDC Consultants, on the acquisition and disposition of up to $100 million in commercial and residential properties and loans throughout the US, especially in Florida.

Diliberto needed to set up a Florida operation and register with the state in order to legally sell real estate there.“There is enormous opportunity today in Florida which will exist for the next two to five years,” says Fisher.

But the Southeast and the Northeast also have lots of distressed real estate. The St. Augustine office will be used as a hub for US operations, not just Florida, says Fisher.

The Florida expansion enables Diliberto to have presence in Florida with the banks and government agencies, says Dennison. “The hope is that (the new office) will allow us to identify opportunity to buy distressed assets and re-market them through conventional methods or through an auction,” he says.