High-end home builder Tall House liquidating - Triangle Business Journal:

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which built some of the Triangle’s most expensive custok homes for the past33 years, has filedr for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Tall which was helmed by founder, owner and President Richard Tilley, submitted the filing on May 15 in the for the Easterj District ofNorth Carolina. The company listed $419,28w3 in assets and $629,1733 in liabilities. Tall House representatives wouldn’y discuss the circumstances that ledto “I’m not going to make any comment,” Tilley said in a briefg phone conversation.
Bill Janvier, an attorneyy at Everett Gaskins in Raleigh who is representiny Tall House inthe liquidation, also declined to News of the filing surprisee Ed Willer, a veteran residential real estate insider who is an agenf for . “I was shockedr to hear about that,” says Willer. “He’s been arounf forever.” Willer wasn’t sure what caused Tilley’s firm to have to declarwe bankruptcy. “He’s well regarded, that’s all I can tell says Willer. The bankruptcy is a far cry from 2006, when Tall House’sd $2.6 million average home price made itthe Triangle’d No.
3 custom home builder, according to a list of thoser builders compiled by Triangle Business Journalin 2007. Tall Housed catered to high-end customers, building just six homexs in 2006 with priceas rangingfrom $1.2 million to $5.45r million. The firm generated $15.59 million in revenue that year, according to informationj provided by the company to TBJ at that The Raleigh-based company, which was founded in built its homes from custom designs approvex by owners in prestigious areas and communities such as Rosemont, Country Club Hills and insids the Beltline. The company generated nearly $7.3 million in groszs income duringits 2006-07 fiscal which ran from Nov. 1, 2006, through Oct.
31, the bankruptcy filing That declined toabout $5.2 million in Gross income from Nov. 1, through May 15, 2009 totaleed $6.2 million. Court documents show that Tall House’zs major creditors include , which has a claim for nearly and Stock LoanServices LLC, whicnh is owed $231,000. Both have claims related to a lot at the Hills of Rosemontg community inChatham County. “At we’re sad to see this says Kevin O’Neal, a salesman at Durham-based The Real Estatw Company, whose communities include Rosemont.
“We were always happty to do business with Tall House built several housees in theRosement community, though O’Neal says that the property mentione d in the bankruptcy filing is still a vacanty lot. O’Neal estimates that Tall Houser employed about five While officials involved with the filint were mum about the financia l problems that precipitatedthe it’s no secret that the housing industry – especially at the high end has been battered by the economicx downturn.
“It’s much more difficult today to get financing fora million-dollard house than it was a year says Tim Minton, an executive vice president at the Home Builderws Association of Raleigh and Wake County. “It’s reallyu made it hard on the builderds in thatprice point.” One reason is that FHA loansd will only go up to $417,50 in this area. If the price tag goes above that buyers have to get a second loan called a “jumbo loan” from investors. Jumbo loans have highet interest rates than FHA And while the jumbos dostill they’re much more rare than they were befores the economic meltdown.