There's gonna be so many half-finished condo white elephants around the country, making downtowns look like war zones as construction tarps and steel skeletons serve as a reminder for years and years of the folly of man.
Then there's this hilarious (and sad) case from Dallas - just read it to believe. Thanks to an HP'er for the link
Sale of golf ranch suddenly called off - D.R. Horton was site's buyer
Nearly a year ago, Hank Haney, the man who helped revamp Tiger Woods' golf swing, thought he had scored an agreement to sell his golf ranch in McKinney for $5.6 million.
He was selling the 56-acre property, which used to be a ranch that belonged to the late World War II hero and actor Audie Murphy, to the country's largest homebuilder, Fort Worth-based D.R. Horton Inc.
Though the sale's March closing had been delayed to mid-October, Mr. Haney was so sure it would happen that last week he sold and removed the property's 240 trees and its sod. His employees unloaded the golf course's $300,000 in maintenance equipment at fire-sale prices and $150,000 worth of lights on its driving range.
"The place looks like a war zone," he said. "It's destroyed."
But Monday came and went. On Tuesday, Mr. Haney learned that there would be no closing.
"This is a mess," he said. "If they had let us know a week before, we would still have our business. Now we're stuck."
What happened to Mr. Haney illustrates the pitfalls a growing number of property owners face. The housing market is getting weaker, and homebuilders are pulling out of projects.
Horton's cancellation rate for new homes for its fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 30, climbed to 40 percent
October 22, 2006
DR Horton has Dallas golf course destroyed to make way for condos - then backs out of deal, leaving "war zone"
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15 comments:
this is sad - and predictable - but the seller was a complete fool. he should have protected himself through the sales contract, or he should have not changed his property/business until after the close.
did he actually trust that the REIC would do the right thing? of course they never would, for it is every man for himself right now whether you're a realtor, title agent, broker, loan officer, builder, etc.
"Never count your chickens until they hatch."
Someone needs to keep an eye on Mr. Haneys scorecard - looks like he writes down his score before the hole is finished!
crispy&cole
Wasn't there a Mr.Haney on the old Green Acres TV show ?
Haney was up to something like a lawsuit or suing for specific performance. Either that or he's a complete idiot. You know well in advance in the other party is going to close escrow. It's not a mystery. They don't suprise you with a "Hey, guess what? We're not closing today!"
I loved Mr. Haney and his truck of old useless crap, driving up to save the day for the Douglas's.
It,s just gonna be terrific here in miami when all these new highrisers get filled with greencard aspiring third worlders and the we will have a way of viewing central american life style without even leaving the states! Yeproosters in the morning,and. Extended family of eight adults and six kids all wedged into one home, I am counting on keeping my equity tied up until the obvious housing crash hits,now I gotta run and get me a colada at my corner store
What a moron. It is pretty funn though. LOL
Fat kid from The Simpsons pointing finger, saying "AH HA!"
Should have hired Arnold Ziffel as the attorney to assure things!
LOL. Mr Haney!
Green Acres is the place to be ...
I'll bet he gets a lot of that.
When your dealing with a corporation like Horton, you dam well better not count on the closing until the check has cleared. And by the way, they do cancel at the 12th hour without any notice even minutes before.
LMAO. The dude got taken because he was too naive. Lesson learned moron. If it's too good to be true, it probably is.
I LOVE THIS. Greedy a-holes f'd by their own greed.
But I feel sorry for the trees. They had value!!!!
things happen in business, i wouldnt have broken up the golf business until the check cleared, but thats me. i'm sure the market will clear itself up before too long especially if all of these idiots stopped screaming that the sky is falling and the prices will come down if we wait long enough. we are not going to go backwards in pricing so lets pick ourselves up and clean off the dust and move on. a loyal Dr employee.
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