Siesta Key resort operator goes after lender

Like practically every major real estate investor in the region, Richard Dear is reeling from the multimillion-dollar decisions he made during the boom.

The Siesta Key vacation rental operator has defaulted on eight loans totaling $10.8 million since June, and sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September for three companies that owe more than $20 million to two banks and a prominent Sarasota hard money lender.

Unlike other real estate investors, however, Dear was not caught completely off guard by the downturn. He tried to sell off most of his assets before the end of the boom. But Dear said that potential buyers either pulled out at the last minute or were unable to come up with the necessary funds.

What really put him under, Dear said, was a sluggish county permitting process that delayed his efforts to rehabilitate more than 70 rental units on Siesta Key, and alleged efforts by his hard-money lender, Stephen Witzer, to run down his business.