Swamplot Archives by Tag: Bankruptcy

Monday, November 9, 2009

Comment of the Day: Where O Where Has Our Subdivision’s Builder Gone?

November 9, 2009 – 2:47 pm
   

“Does anyone have any information of OBRA HOMES bankruptcy? I am also in TimberMeadows and a few of us are trying to organize a meeting this coming Sunday, Nov 15th at 6 pm to see about hiring an attorney to contact OBRA Homes. Any info will help. Thanks.” [Miguel, commenting on Obra Homes Secret Hiding Place Revealed!]

2:47 pm | 2 Comments | Read more about Bankruptcy, Comments, Homebuilders, Homeowners' Associations, Neighborhoods: Timber Meadows, Quicklink
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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Bankrupt Houston Recycler

April 30, 2009 – 8:03 am
   

AbitibiBowater, the Canadian paper company that runs Houston’s residential recycling operation — and which recently began a pilot single-stream program in a few Houston neighborhoods — declared bankruptcy earlier this month. “The central question is how this bankruptcy could impact the city’s already abysmal recycling rates, which city officials hoped would go up considerably after the implementation of single stream, a wood-waste program and an upcoming contract for recycling in city buildings. Gary Readore, the chief of staff for the Solid Waste Management Department, said he has spoken with Abitibi officials in Houston who said the bankruptcy would not impact their operations.” [Houston Politics]

8:03 am | 5 Comments | Read more about Bankruptcy, Quicklink, Recycling
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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Available Soon: Dashed Tuscan Fantasy Wedding Headquarters in Garden Oaks

February 18, 2009 – 11:46 am

Ready for the market: the site of the Great Tuscan Wedding Fantasy Crash of ’08! Listing agent Bill Burge says the sellers of the wedding venue in Garden Oaks once known as the Tuscany Gardens and Villa will be asking $4.5 million.

The Tuscany of Garden Oaks, at 835 W. 34th St., was built from the ashes of the famed Bill Mraz Ballroom, by Titus Inc. — operators of that other wedding stage set on Chimney Rock, Bella Terrazza. Titus of course is better known as the company that stranded all those brides and grooms without the $2 million in deposits they had paid for their weddings before Hurricane Ike hit. (Though maybe the company isn’t quite so well known: HCAD lists the property’s owner as “Tutus Inc.”)

We all know the ending: Rachael Ray swooped in and gave that big de-Tuscanized group wedding in the middle of the baseball field at Minute Maid Park — and 33 couples got to get married on teevee for free! Happily ever after, right? Well, almost.

Continue Reading This Story >

11:46 am | 3 Comments | Read more about Commercial Real Estate, Neighborhoods: Garden Oaks
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Monday, November 10, 2008

Circuit City Shorts Out

November 10, 2008 – 11:21 am
   

Last week Circuit City announced it would close 155 stores nationwide, including its Sharpstown and League City stores in Houston. But this morning the electronics retailer announced it is filing for bankruptcy too. “‘This is a major positive’ for Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Costco Wholesale Corp. and others, Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter said in a note. ‘We have not seen a consumer electronic retailer successfully reorganize in Chapter 11 in our 24 years in this space. Should (Circuit City) ultimately close all of its operations, we assume there’s roughly $10.5 billion of annual domestic sales up for grabs. Best Buy should take a disproportionate share of that business.’” [Marketwatch]

11:21 am | 2 Comments | Read more about Openings and Closings, Quicklink, Retail
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New Homes from Royce Builders: Back from the Dead and Available for Sale!

November 10, 2008 – 10:41 am

Map of Royce Homes Neighborhoods

What’s a failed homebuilder to do when it hurriedly goes belly-up . . . but still has a huge chunk of inventory on hand?

Welcome to the Royce Builders Already-Gone-Out-of-Business Home Sale!

How’s it work? Well, if you’re a lucky real-estate agent, you receive a mysterious message with a couple of attachments listing the more than 300 homes in the Greater Houston area the . . . uh, former company still has available! In 49 different neighborhoods around town! And all at discount prices!

Included with the list: a map of the neighborhoods Royce graced (shown above), demonstrating the company’s vast exurban spread.

Of course, the email message doesn’t come from Royce Builders, because Royce is . . . no longer with us. (And, to judge from the comments coming into Swamplot from recent Royce buyers, employees, and vendors, it is sorely missed!) The list comes instead from an email address on the h-smith.com domain. That hyphen, of course, stands for “ammer.” Didn’t Hammersmith Financial, Royce’s sister mortgage company, also go out of business?

But the property list is so much more fun than a collection of random way-far-out addresses:

Continue Reading This Story >

10:41 am | 42 Comments | Read more about Hazards, Homebuilders, Homes for Sale, Openings and Closings
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Thursday, October 9, 2008

Delinquent Debt: West Oaks Mall Sale!

October 9, 2008 – 2:36 pm
   

Here’s another chance to clean up some of the wreckage left by mysterious investor Edward Okun: “West Oaks Mall in Houston . . . has $81.3 million in delinquent debt attached to it in the form of commercial mortgage-backed securities. Joseph Luzinski, the federally appointed bankruptcy trustee for West Oaks Mall, said he hopes to sell the mall by year’s end, though store closures continue to hamper its value. [The mall] . . . is about 80% occupied, having lost a J.C. Penney, Linens ‘n Things and Whitehall Jewelers. The mall recently cut a deal to keep its Steve & Barry’s LLC store open amid that retailer’s bankruptcy. The special servicer for the mall’s debt, LNR Partners Inc., attempted to foreclose in September 2007, but Mr. Okun forestalled the move by putting the mall into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection the next month. A federal grand jury indicted Mr. Okun on fraud charges last March after his 1031 Tax Group LLP, a company that helped facilitate tax-free real-estate deals for small investors, collapsed into bankruptcy and didn’t return $132 million of investors’ money.” [Wall St. Journal; previously]

2:36 pm | 4 Comments | Read more about Commercial Real Estate, Financing, Foreclosures, Fraud, Malls, Neighborhoods: Alief, Openings and Closings, Quicklink
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Monday, September 22, 2008

Royce Builders: It’s All Over But the Refunds

September 22, 2008 – 5:03 pm

Royce Builders Building, 7850 N. Sam Houston Pkwy. West, HoustonRoyce Builders has finally shut down. The company slipped out somewhere between gusts of Hurricane Ike, leaving only a note on its website.

Looking for an earnest money refund? Try Royce’s handy new sounds-like-spam Gmail address! But do it before October 1, because . . . well, just because.

Got a home warranty issue? Well then, just . . . read the warranty!

A reader comments:

My concern is for the people who closed on one of their poorly built homes in the last 365 days. Royce was the backer of the new home warranty for the first year of ownership and now they are gone. My friends who used to work for them tell me there are thousands of unfinished warranty requests that were never completed or even addressed. I wish all the home owners good luck on getting things fixed. At least they will have the Two to Ten Waranty beginning in the second year (if Royce paid the premium).

Royce’s happy farewell message is after the jump!

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5:03 pm | 12 Comments | Read more about Hazards, Homebuilders, Openings and Closings
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