Loan renewals pose threat; one builder acts to force negotiation
Unable to get bankers to renegotiate nearly $22 million in debt, Southwest Florida home builder Lee Wetherington has filed a legal action akin to a bankruptcy proceeding.
Wetherington said that the filing, known as an “assignment for the benefit of creditors,” affects only the development side of his business, and that he is using it as tactic to bring bankers to the negotiating table.
“This forces them to come back and look at the properties and also gives us more time to negotiate better terms,” Wetherington said.
As is the case with thousands of builders across the state and nation, Wetherington’s bankers want him to fork over millions of dollars in return for renewing loans on land that has lost value in the real estate meltdown.