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Letter to the editor

Talk of the bay: As home sales plummet, so do agent renewals

By Times Staff
Published October 5, 2007

Home sales are off about 40 percent the past year, and Florida Realtors are getting the message. In the state real estate license renewal period that ended Sept. 30, 64,418 of a possible 86,452 agents renewed their licenses. That's a dropoff of 22,034 Realtors, or about 25 percent. Realtors re-up their licenses every two years and only a quarter of licenses were up for renewal Sept. 30. The total number of licensed agents in Florida remains a healthy 348,280. Local Realtor groups say agents like to keep their licenses active even if they've sold no homes during the year. You never know when things might turn around.

Checkers finds slot among high-rollers

Tired of waiting in long lines to graze at a casino buffet? Las Vegas gamblers may be able to sink their teeth into a Champ Burger soon. Checkers Drive-In Restaurants says it has signed a 20-unit development deal for Sin City with a former Jack-in-the-Box franchisee. The Tampa company is trying to expand the reach of its 800 Checkers and Rally's stores, which historically have been concentrated in the southeast and Midwest, respectively. Though Checkers says the Vegas deal is part of a "strategic growth plan for the Western United States," the company's Web site does not include Nevada among the 24 new markets it seeks to conquer.

Pearlman mansion sale falls through

A deal is not a real deal until it's done. The sale of Lou Pearlman's Windermere mansion for $7.1-million has fallen through. Orlando plastic surgeon John Choi had agreed to buy the property but failed to close. He could end up forfeiting his $175,000 deposit. The house is back on the market, still listed with Sotheby's International. Naturally, the collapse of the transaction is not great news at a time when the real estate market is suffering. The lenders at Bank of America have to be particularly disappointed, since they were due to collect $5.3-million-plus to satisfy the first mortgage on the property.

[Last modified October 4, 2007, 23:14:10]