Weiser: There’s no question about it. Our business pre-2008 was generally institutional. Clients hired us to take care of real estate that was performing well. Then along came the special servicers and banks with troubles, and we got back to the workout business we were doing back in the early 1990s. The quantity of multifamily has become much more prominent than it was in the early ‘90s.

LeClaire: Has there been a shift in the receivership role? Are you focused more now on preserving value than increasing the value of the asset?

Weiser: There are different receiverships goals each time we take over a property. Creating value is the most exciting goal. We’ve actually done sales of individual condo units during receiverships. We’ve been leasing out space during these receiverships. Not as exciting but equally important is preserving the physical asset—cleaning up any safety issues that might occur or enhancing the appearance of a property. That’s the bread and butter of our business. But in some situations it makes more financial sense to shut properties down, board them up, wait until it goes through the foreclosure, and let the next investor put the capital in to improve the property.

LeClaire: What are the biggest challenges of being a receiver in today’s market?

Weiser: There are certainly new challenges. It depends on where the borrower stands in the picture. Is there still equity left in this property? Most of the time there isn't. You get situations where there is a borrower trying to hold on and find some equity in the property. It’s a dance because you’re not technically working for the lender and you’re not working for the borrower. You are working for the court. You need to juggle what the borrower’s goals are with the lender’s goals and keep in mind the overall responsibility to the court to make sure you are doing the right thing for the property. It’s challenging to manage those expectations.

LeClaire: What new lessons have you learned about handling distressed assets in this latest real estate crisis?

Weiser: Every asset has its own unique attributes and no two properties are exactly the same. You’ve got different personalities to deal with. You’ve got different locations. You’ve got different goals. It’s a question of making sure that you’re doing what’s best for that property. But it’s always a learning experience. It is always unique. You got to go in there with an open mind and dive into the piece of property.

LeClaire: What’s your forecast for 2011 in Florida in terms of assets falling into default, bulk deals, and assets being sold?

Weiser: I expect a very vibrant 2011. That’s not to say there won’t be still some pain from both the borrower side and the lender side. There’s going to be pain and that’s just unfortunate. But there’s nothing that you can do about it. The dynamics of the economy have changed drastically. But I do see that it’s going to be a very active 2011. There’s a lot of capital out there. There are still a lot of properties that are going to be foreclosed upon but I think there’ll be a lot of trading. Everyone is in a different stage of the ballgame, so to speak.