Homebuilder-Bankruptcy.com

Levitt & Sons, a homebuilder which filed for bankruptcy in Nov’07, has finally obtained court approval of its Chapter 11 plan. The unsecured creditors are projected to recover between 2.75-13.7%. On the other hand, creditors with claims on deposits are projected to recover between 2.75-23.2%. It is pretty low recovery and cold comfort for deposit [...]

John Laing Homes’s CRO declared that the expected rate of return on investment on distressed homes is around 18-20% and that such residential properties are routinely sold in bulk to speculators at 20-25 cents on the dollar.

An excerpt from a recent filing by the US Trustee for the estate of the Ginn companies in Chapter 7:
“Completely disregarding Trustee Dillworth’s repeated requests, AMEX failed and refused to release the Estate Proceeds. Given its receipt of actual notice of the institution of Debtors’ bankruptcy cases, Trustee Dillworth’s appointment and its prior release of [...]

When a home builder goes bankrupt, home buyers are confronted by a serious question – what will happen to the deposits which they have put down?
#1     One of the most important questions is whether the deposit has been placed in an escrow account. If the deposit is being held in escrow and the closing does [...]

A group of deposit holders are currently seeking summary judgment against Key Developers (the original developer of the Place at Channelside). They are alleging materially adverse modifications to the condo circular and claiming a refund of their deposits. These deposits are held in escrow accounts, pending the dispute. In earlier court filings, Key Developer asserted [...]

A court order in Laketown Wharf Marketing Corp’s bankruptcy proceedings had given the developer authorization to modify contracts and to close under modified contracts. In terms of modification, the order stated that purchasers can switch to another available unit, or negotiate for a lower price.
This authorization, however, is limited to the 50 original purchasers who [...]

Bankrupt home builder, Whitney Lake, filed its Disclosure Statement on Dec 17. Among others, the home builder unveiled a list of townhome sale and purchase agreements which it was prepared to assume. Buyers who have put down deposits – have you found out whether you fall within this class yet? Email adria@homebuilder-bankruptcy.com for a copy [...]

At the time of filing Chapter 11, Village Homes of Colorado had approximately $2 million in its deposit accounts, of which a portion consisted of earnest money deposits.
There’s a minor wrangle over whether Village Homes can use these funds. On one hand, the home builder asserted that the lenders only had security over the real [...]

There were at least 2 home buyers with 6-figure amounts in deposits who filed motions in the bankruptcy court against the developer of Peninsula Boynton Beach (Waterbrook Peninsula). Joseph Altman was trying to get back escrow deposits in the amounts of $109,760.00 and $123,670.00. E. Lee Moore wanted a refund of $109,760.00.
The premise for getting [...]

I was reading the transcript of the plan confirmation hearing for Towers of Channelside and a disturbing reference to buyers’ deposits caught my attention. The following is a snippet from the hearing regarding the deposits:
“The problem is, none of us know where those funds are. It’s been alluded that perhaps Wachovia, perhaps U.S. Bank, perhaps [...]