Dee said "Does anyone know of a similar situation?

( Yes)

It is happening all over the country, some area hit harder Florida for example, you may not know but most of what I do is new properties sub divisions etc.

Until the developer turns over the HOA to the home owners they are at the mercy of the builders/ developers.

In some cases when the builder/developer go bankrupt it could take years for another developer/builders to finish the sub division.

The developer/builders documents are always in favor of them, and not the new home owners, so they will have to wait it out after the storm clears out and the market bounces back, or wait until the courts and banks sort it out.

Look around your area and see how many of the building material suppliers that went out of business already or went bankrupt.

I have a friend of mine that repos very heave equipment from all over the south east, dump trucks etc for banks/lenders and his yard if full of them, this whole bottom has almost come full circle, the next shoe to drop is the major national builder start to fail..

In some markets the rental market is booming because qualifying for a mortgage is  nearly next to impossible since subprime has been shut dawn so bigger rents are here to stay for awhile...

We all just have to sit tight and be patience it gonna take some time to unwind this  big mess.

Hope this has helped Dee

There is a stealth election year bailout going on now it too will surface sooner rather then later!

Vancepinion

Wow. Just another thing to disclose when showing new home subdivisions.

Good point if trying to sale resales in established neighborhoods. The new home builders were hit the hardest with this Mortgage situation, and they were the worst offenders in lending practices (just my opinion), many in our area, did not even escrow for taxes because they were not set yet, then payments went up $200-$300 a month for that. San Antonio market is not so bad, however many of our builders are nationwide and being effected financially from their losses in CA or Florida, etc... So they are in same boat.

I wish you luck in your area and your endeavors.

And to throw a little politics in the mix, I hope no one thinks the goverment (our tax dollars) are going to go build this paradise for those folks. Bailout?

I have a subdivision that was started by the developer

land clearing laterals, roads and utilities etc.

The builder now buys over 100 lots or so on paper with down stroke give or take, and pays as the new homes are sold and then pays the developer for that lot as things start to go down hill fast and with very few homes sold and closed  with about 6  family's living there, the builder decides to give back most lots that were not built on to the developer, nice huh, signs of the times.

Well after all said and done the developer, well respected  by the way in the community, has almost finish the subdivision himself, hats off to that developer and a happy ending...for the people..

Vance

For everyone that is losing in our society, some one is winning.  Just depends whos' turn it is in the barrel.  Just be thankful that interest rates aren't 18%.  That's when real estate really sucks, just go out and find the buyers (you my need to educated them) that realize they may never get a better time to buy a home.  Isn't our system great. Licensed since 1976, nothing surprises me.  Good luck out, don't let the bas..... get you down

Dee,  everyone is right.

It has happened before and it will happen again.  I personally (as a builder/developer) got caught up in the same issue back in 2001/2002, and barely made it through the downturn.

Some people were upset, at the time, but as time has worn on and our market has greatly appreciated,  those same people have come to realize that none of the situation was really my fault.

If I had left the area it may not have turned out this way?

I think that someone may have to console the occupant's of the development and show them that they aren't hanging out in the wind by themselves.  That also may give you some marketing ideas?  

The developer may also be more pliable when it comes to any ideas that you may have to help him/her with their dilema.  Who knows maybe you can end up in the drivers seat?

Either way good luck!

Ah, yes, we had our version of that couple years back - huge masterplanned community with a private marina with valet service!

Except that the developer went bingo bango busto before the marina could be finished.

I remember touring the subdivision with one of the agents for the developer, as he extolled the virtues of the upcoming marina. I told clients of mine, "It concerns me that they are promising this marina a year from now - a lot can happen in a year."

Those 400-1m homes have auctioned as low as the mid 200s.

In the early 80s, my family bought into a 'waterfront' condo community with a promised private marina, which never happened. They couldn't get approval from ACOE, I believe. All the homeowners got cash or to rescind. So I knew it was possible!