A CHANCE TO RELIVE ALL THE EXCITEMENT THAT WAS ROYCE BUILDERS Royce Builders alumni and victims: Do you miss all the intrigue that surrounded Royce’s implosion last year? KPRC Local 2 investigative reporter Amy Davis tells Swamplot she’s working on a story about Royce Homes and its various reincarnations. Got any news to pass on about former Royce subdivisions? If you have any information to share about Vestalia, WG Builders, or any other entities where former Royce higher-ups might have resurfaced, she’d like to talk to you. Just send her an email — she says you can remain anonymous! [Swamplot inbox; email]
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Ah the joy of Texas law. File bankruptcy, form a new corporation and you’re back in business. With no debt and more importantly, which I’ve never fully understood, lots of assets that somehow became part of the new corporation and are not subject to seizure by judgement by anyone including the bankruptcy court.
Maybe Amy Davis will figure it all out and clue us in on how to rip people off over and over and over in Texas.
I used to work in one of the Royce Builders communities, and I wouldn’t say there was that much “intrigue” about what happened. Royce was one of many builders who is no longer in business due to, in my understanding, a substantial reduction in construction lending by banks. From the people I talk to, it is still hard to get construction loans and homes started.
As for other entities where former people are, you don’t have to be that connected to find out. Just by looking around and hearing from other fellow sales people through the grapevine…
John Speer has been discussed at length on this sight and there are many crazy allegations made in the first posts that turn out to be untrue, but we all know what he is doing.
James Hunter, the guy in charge of all company wide operations, started a company called Anglia Homes. They build in several of Royce’s old communities building the same plans as Royce did.
George Kopecky, the founder of Texas Colonial Homes and partner, started a company called GreenEco Homes and is building in a couple of old Royce communities as well as using Royce floorplans. Strangely, he is using the logo used by Royce with the home sillouette.
Both Hunter and Kopecky, like the rest of us at Royce, benefitted from the good times at Royce Builders. They didn’t seem to have too much hesitation in getting their own gigs going using the same stuff as Royce while skating under the radar. You would think they would be just a little more creative
No intrigue here, nothing is wrong, Royce builders just had some issues with banks and their lending, during these times, totally understandable, everyone is doing fine. Everything is fine, in case you are worried about the principals of the company, they are all doing just fine, with new businesses to help people with their new home ownership. Just check out some of their product at 3427 Bluebird Park on HAR, damn those greedy banks.
Yeah right…… give me a break…
Is that a home that is by the people at Royce Builders for sale or someone else? There were a couple of homes torn down in that same area after the hurricane. I live around the corner. I was told that they were torn down after Ike because of the damage. The homes were bought/returned to the bank.
That listing says Royce Builder Foreclosure. The pictures are all the same. Is Riverway Properties or John Santasiero’s a person working with Royce Builders? The listing says frame to be torn down and leave plumbing…. that doesn’t sound like a person who buids a house but instead tears them down.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to build it than tear it apart? I don’t know if that is a greedy bank or a greedy someone else, but tearing it apart doesn’t make any sense. What happens with what is left? I know Royce Builders is no longer in business, so who makes these decisions? A bank? What bank? Can the bank fix it? It seems Riverway Properties or John Santasiero should be able to say.
I do have to ask why a reporter would be working on a story if there is no story.
I think the real story is all the trades and other businesses who wound up getting stiffed out of tens of thousands of dollars in some cases. Royce was a poorly managed company… especially in its final year. They built an empire building houses on credit and pocketing entirely too much cash. When the loans on new starts stopped, Royce found themselves way over their heads in debt from the thousands of spec homes sitting on the ground. But the cash was in their pockets… so they walked out and left all the trades and homeowners to drown. Anyone ever stop to think how this effected small companies like Conkir Electric or all the painters and sheetrock crews who worked for pennies anyway?
Ok, there are complaints that royce pulled out of subdivisions and now complaints that new builders are entering the subdivisions trying to finish them out. everyone who left royce is out there somewhere trying to make a living. and at royce, they didn’t own most of the plans they used…the architect did. sure, everyone, including me, made a good living at royce while they were doing well. unfortunately there was only one person holding the really expensive designer purse strings. but, what’s past is past. let’s all hope houston home building continues to grow so we can all benefit.