by Gary on August 28, 2008
According to to AZCentral.com, Woodside Homes has been forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy by it’s creditors.
I tried to access their website this evening and it was down. Woodside has communities in Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Queen Creek, Litchfield Park, and Phoenix. The Arizona Dept. of Real Estate (ADRE) has put out a list of Arizona homebuilders that are in financial trouble. If you are currently under contract with Woodside it would be wise to contact the sale of office of the community you purchased at as well as the ADRE.
Unfortunately, this is a sign of the times. Some many homebuilders are struggling to stay afloat. If you are planning on buying a new home in the I highly recommend checking with the ADRE to see if the builder is financial sound or not.
Update: From AZCentral.com
Woodside Homes will continue building houses and paying employees as it works through a bankruptcy reorganization initiated by the company’s creditors, a spokeswoman for the builder said Friday.
Sales offices will remain open and homes will continue to be built inside Woodside’s nine Valley subdivisions, as in all the privately held builder’s communities nationwide, spokeswoman Jennifer Mercer said.
“We have plenty of cash in the bank to continue our operations,” she said.
An interesting bill was introduced before the Arizona State Legislature this week.
From azcentral.com … U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., with help from the left-leaning Center for Economic and Policy Research, introduced a bill earlier this week that would allow homeowners who default on their mortgages to remain in their homes by renting them from the lender indefinitely.
The article goes on to explain that the bank could sell the home but the buyer would have to agree to let the previous owner remain as a tenant for as long as he/she wants.
An interesting solution to a problem many people are facing. And don’t get me wrong, a solution is needed for many Arizonians but I can’t help but think that a lot of people who don’t deserve to benefit from a program like this would take advantage of it. Wouldn’t a program like this encourage home owner’s who can afford to stay in their home but are just upset at the drop in the home’s value to default on the loan and rent the home back for as long as they want?
Theoretically, the home owner could take the hit on their credit rating from the foreclosure, rent the home back for 3 years after which time the foreclosure would no longer effect their credit score, and then buy another home. Heck, they wouldn’t even have the inconvenience of having to pack up and move.
I tried to find more information on the bill but haven’t had any luck so far. If anyone does find more on this please let me know.
It’s still a buyer’s market.
According to ARMLS (Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service) home sales for the month of April 2008 totaled 4,866 which is an increase of 13% over March 2008. By comparison April 2007 total sales were 5,535.
With 55,871 active lisitngs inventory/supply is running at 11.5 months. What this means is that it would take 11.5 months to sell all of the inventory on the market if we continue at April’s pace. A normal market is generally considered to have a supply of around 5 months inventory.
