From left: Twins Andrew and Kenneth Herzberg of Sirius

The depressed market for new condominium apartments is driving the creation of new incentives to facilitate the sale of distressed units. To that end, developers have been trying mortgage payment guarantees and buyback guarantees, with little indication of success. Toll Brothers, developer of Northside Piers in Williamsburg, offered a mortgage protection plan at the condo, but scrapped it last summer. And a little over a year ago, in December 2008, condo developer Rockrose Development, which has split into Rockrose and TF Cornerstone, said it would give 20 buyers at the View in Long Island City the right to sell their unit back in five years to the developer at the original sales price. It was not clear if that had any impact. Now a new financial firm based in Manhattan is setting its sights on a national price protection program, but some industry experts are uncertain about its chances for success in New York City. The company, Sirius Value Protection, headed by identical twins Andrew and Kenneth Herzberg, is talking with developers about its program that offers a qualified price guarantee to buyers, Andrew, a co-managing partner, told The Real Deal. [more]