Your Florida Treasure Coast Default Specialist

I’m Michele Lee Scherger, CSSE, GRI, CDPE, broker and owner of Pinnacle Real Estate Group and an active member of the National REO Brokers Association. I’ve worked the default side of Southeast Florida since 2003, and my coverage runs across six counties. South Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Palm Beach, Broward, and Martin. If you’re assigning inventory in this footprint, here is exactly what you get.

Full-Cycle Asset Management

I handle the complete scope from assignment to disposition, and I manage it myself rather than passing files to a coordinator.

  • Initial occupancy and condition inspections, with securing of vacant assets
  • Bi-weekly inspections with documented reporting through disposition
  • Relocation assistance negotiations with occupants, handled with the sensitivity that keeps properties intact and timelines moving
  • Code violation identification, management, and resolution
  • HOA negotiation, arrears resolution, and lien subordination
  • Contractor bid solicitation and oversight, with as-is versus repair evaluations that protect your net

Valuation You Can Defend

Pre-listing BPOs built from current county data, not automated estimates. I give you an as-is number, a repaired number, and a clear recommendation on which path produces the better return for the asset in its actual submarket. When I tell you what a property will bring in Port St. Lucie versus Stuart versus West Palm Beach, that number comes from working these markets every week.

Marketing That Moves Assets

Every listing gets a pre-marketing strategy before it hits the MLS. Floor plan virtual tours, hybrid marketing that reaches both retail buyers and investors, and pricing positioned to sell for maximum value without sitting. Vacant REO in Florida deteriorates fast and attracts attention you don’t want. My job is to compress days on market without leaving money on the table.

Short Sale and Pre-Foreclosure Depth

Every member of my team holds the Certified Short Sale Expert designation. That is not common in this market. It means pre-foreclosure assignments come with real lender negotiation capability. Hardship documentation, deficiency resolution, junior liens, HOA arrears, and seller management from first contact through close. Sellers who trust the agent stay in the process, and sellers who stay in the process close.

Built for Institutional Workflows

If your shop runs on Equator, RES.NET, Pyramid/Radian, Clear Capital, Atlas, HomePath, Exceleras, or TAZA, so do I. Tasks get accepted and completed inside your platform, on your timelines — my BPOs turn in 24 to 48 hours with a 97% on-time record, because I know a late valuation stalls everything behind it. Hedge funds, mortgage servicers, hard money lenders, insurance companies, estate and special asset managers, and workout officers all place inventory with me for the same reason: the file moves.

A Vendor Bench That Answers the Phone

Vacant assets don’t wait for vendor onboarding. My trades relationships on the Treasure Coast go back years — haulers, industrial cleaners, licensed contractors, roofers, electricians, plumbers, water remediation — all vetted on field performance, not directory listings. I also maintain a property preservation and rehab fund, which means securing, trash-outs, and repairs start when the asset needs them, not when the reimbursement cycle allows. That’s how properties stay intact and days on market stay compressed.

A Track Record You Can Verify

Top producer for more than a decade, 2021 Top 1% America’s Top Agents, Seven Star Top 100 Broker Agent Advisor, and roughly 5% market share in my home submarket. References from asset managers available on request — and I’d encourage you to actually call them.

Coverage and Credentials

  • Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker, broker/owner of Pinnacle Real Estate Group
  • NRBA Active Member
  • Certified Short Sale Expert, GRI, CDPE, RES.NET REO Certified
  • HUD Housing Counselor trained
  • Six-county coverage. South Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Palm Beach, Broward, and Martin

Assignment Ready

I pick up the phone, I protect the timeline, and I know what asset managers need before they ask for it. If you’re placing REO, short sale, or pre-foreclosure inventory in Southeast Florida, let’s talk.

Michele Lee Scherger | 561-309-2950 | michele@sellingportstlucie.com