Eshenbaugh, Keever make it official

The talked about power couple, husband-and-wife business alliance of Tampa land broker Bill Eshenbaugh, a.ka. “The Dirt Dog,” and former Florida Trend Publisher Lynda Keever is now official.

The pair have a hung a shingle on Rocky Point as USAsset Management & Disposition Corp., a company that will manage and sell foreclosed properties for banks and credit unions.

Eshenbaugh, former senior asset manager for the Resolution Trust Corp., is president and chief executive officer of USAsset. Keever is executive vice president.

Eshenbaugh's traditional land brokerage, Eshenbaugh Land Co., will remain open. Some staff, including Eshenbaugh, will give time to both companies, which are in the same office building in Tampa.

USAsset is managing and selling property in Florida, but may grow throughout the country.

Has it been difficult for Eshenbaugh to work with his wife? Not really., he says But there have been some adjustments, such as what radio station to listen to in the car, even after being married 20 years.

“We are actually liking it,” Eshenbaugh says. “In the very beginning, there was some trepidation. But we've had fun adjusting to it. We love what we are doing.”

Eshenbaugh got the idea for USAsset after suffering through a slow 2008 and taking a trip to Utah, where he has a home, to get a real estate license there. When he realized that there was a real estate slowdown there, and that banks were holding so many foreclosed properties, he decided to jump into the business of managing and selling that inventory of distressed property.