Sunday, October 12, 2008

3 posh projects go bust as Valley dreams bite the dust


Sacramento Bee has a story on the golf course community bust in the Valley
In the Central Valley these days, the bankruptcies and foreclosures don't just affect individual homeowners.

They swallow entire developments – and the people who conceive them.

Winchester Country Club in rural Placer County, which went into foreclosure and sent legendary Sacramento highway contractor C.C. Myers into bankruptcy protection, isn't the only lavish golf-course housing development to fall on hard times. Three massive high-end projects in the San Joaquin Valley have fallen into bankruptcy proceedings in the past two years.

The three insolvencies symbolize the California housing bubble at its most extreme. Combined, they have cost lenders and investors tens of millions of dollars – and offer clues about the roots of the financial crisis that has gripped Wall Street and the world's economies.

5 comments:

Rob Dawg said...

Nelson Muntz said it best.

Anonymous said...

Tim Moran of the Modesto Bee reports in October 8 2008, article 'Diablo Grande has new owners - with a new name to come' World International LLC, a company formed to acquire and develop the 28,500-acre property in the hills west of Patterson, CA, 95363, Stanislaus County, bought Diablo Grande from the bankrupt partnership headed by entrepreneur Donald Panoz.

The $20 million deal closed Tuesday, several days after the planned closing on Oct. 2. 2008.

I find it strange that investors would invest any amount in a down trending real estate market, especially when there is a credit gridlock, that is a liquiditiy gridlock in the financial market places.

I wonder if there is "more to the story"?

I ask were water rights involved with the purchase?

Could water rights have more to do with the purchase than ongoing development?

I am expecting a total economic collapse before the November 7 election with Martial Law to be declared by President Bush.

As things go from bad to worse, I hope you will continue to post articles.

civil-ized said...

"Richard said...

I find it strange that investors would invest any amount in a down trending real estate market, especially when there is a credit gridlock, that is a liquiditiy gridlock in the financial market places.

I wonder if there is "more to the story"? "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I agree - there is lots more to the story. Something keeps gnawing at me...does anyone else remember where investors ran when the stock market dipped after 9-1-1? wasn't it real estate? Didn't lots of people put money into real estate all at once - buying investment properties and rental properties and so forth - until the stock market got more reliable? Didn't that have something to do with the housing run up?

Strange now that the housing is in the toilet and all of a sudden the stock market collapses when it had been so strong - who is left to start investing in real estate? Will it teeter totter again? or did too many people lose money in real estate and then lose more in the stock market? And if people are losing money - that means someone else is making money somewhere.

I am just waiting for the announcement that Al Qada is buying Bank Of America or something. Maybe China. Maybe Dubai will rename Washington - New Dubai. Or West Dubai. Perfect time for Osama - Oops! Obama to be President.

sm_landlord said...

Hey Crispy,

Did you see the piece that Jane Wells did on Bakersfield yesterday?

http://www.cnbc.com/id/27165045

Anonymous said...

How does someone research "World International" to find out who the investors are?