October 06, 2006

HP dedicates this awesome rally crash video to the corrupt David Lereah - enjoy

We're gonna craaaasssshhhh...

Posted by blogger at 10/06/2006

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Housing bust !!!
Kara Homes files for bankruptcy
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/6/06

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/6/06
BY DAVID P. WILLIS AND CARMEN CUSIDO
STAFF WRITERS

Kara Homes Inc., one of the biggest home builders in Monmouth and Ocean counties, has filed for protection from creditors under the bankruptcy laws.

Earlier this week, at least some Kara Homes employees received a letter from the company notifying them that they were being laid off and stating that Kara "anticipates filing Chapter 11." Under that provision of the bankruptcy code, creditors claims are frozen by the court while the company can continue to operate as it attempts to reorganize.

It was unknown how many employees were laid off, and the company official who signed the letter, Roberta W. Schultz, vice president of human resources and organizational development, could not be reached for comment.

Patrick W. Turner, the general counsel for Kara, told Gannett New Jersey that filing for Chapter 11 "is one of the alternatives we're considering." He said he would not comment on the letter.

Turner said Wednesday the company terminated some personnel because it is "trying to restructure" the payroll. "We had to address payroll issues, and we did."

"We are trying to become more profitable," Turner said. He did not disclose what sort of financial trouble the home builder is experiencing.

East Brunswick-based Kara has a large presence in Monmouth and Ocean counties, with at least 15 housing developments in the two counties listed on its Web site, including Crine West Estates in Marlboro and Winding Run in Lacey.

The news has left people who have houses in the pipeline with Kara Homes anxious and uncertain.

Middletown resident Gina Haspilaire and her husband, Richard, have been waiting to move into their home at Cottage Gate at Navesink in Middletown since March 2005. The home's delivery date kept being delayed, Gina Haspilaire said.

Now the couple want Kara to return their deposit, which is about $125,000, she said. The couple used money saved for their son's college education to pay for the downpayment, figuring they would replace it with money from the sale of their existing home.

"When we did this, my son had two more years to finish high school," Haspilaire said. "Now we can't sell our house, and they won't give us back the money."

They don't want the house, which is completed but without a certificate of occupancy. She said she believes the contract was voided because the home wasn't delivered on time.

Frederick Young, a resident of Ocean Pines, Md., said he had a contract for a condominium at another Kara development in Mount Arlington, Morris County. After he and his wife became ill over the summer, he wanted to cancel the contract and get his $19,000 deposit back but hasn't been able to get in touch with Kara.

"I am being faced now with huge medical bills," Young said.

In a September interview, Kara founder Zudi Karagjozi responded to rumors about the company's problems. He said the company was operational, building and selling homes.

"Everything has been moving," he said. "It's just obviously, with this slower time, like all builders things are going a little slower than usual."

He said the company had been paring down debt, laying off some workers and selling some property.

Karagjozi started Kara Homes in 1999, and it quickly got noticed because of its rapid growth. In 2002, it was named the fastest-growing home builder in the nation by Builder Magazine. Last year, the company was 239th on Inc. magazine's list of 500 fastest-growing private companies in the nation.

But recently, Kara seems to have had problems paying its bills.

Some companies have filed documents with the Monmouth County clerk's office, saying they have not been paid for their work.

For instance, Whitman Construction LLC said that Kara owes it $44,326.75 for siding and roofing work done on a project in Sea Bright, according to a Notice of Unpaid Balance and Right to File Lien.

On Sept. 12, H&D Prime Construction Inc. filed a notice that it was owed $146,323 for supplying and installing siding and stucco at Kara at the Tradewinds in Sea Bright.

After several boom years, the residential real estate market has turned sour for home builders and real estate agents selling existing homes.

Homeowners are having a difficult time selling their existing homes, which is making it harder for them to step up into a new home, said Patrick J. O'Keefe, chief executive officer of the New Jersey Builders Association.

"Every builder I know . . . is in an aggressive inventory control posture," he said. "They are not starting projects; they are deferring projects.

"Where they have continuing construction, they are not beginning new units unless they have a firm contract in hand."

Housing starts are down 10 percent to 15 percent this year through August, compared with the same period last year, O'Keefe said.

"I expect it to decline further," he said. "This is the beginning of a very difficult market for builders and resellers alike."

David P. Willis: (732) 643-4039, or dwillis@app.com. Press staff writer James Prado Roberts contributed to this story.

October 06, 2006 4:13 PM
Anonymous said...

Video is great, but it just looks like another day on the L.A freeways!

October 06, 2006 4:59 PM
L'Emmerdeur said...

Want to know what the word "Karagjozi" means in Greek? "Trickster".

October 06, 2006 5:28 PM

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