John Laing Homes filed for Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., Feb. 19, according to a Feb. 20 Denver Post article.The filing is just another blow to homeowners Patty and Tim Hunter. Last fall, they bought a house, built by John Laing Homes, in The Gables in Falcon.Since purchasing their home, the Hunters have received notices of intent to file mechanics liens from the unpaid subcontractors who built their home.One subcontractor has filed a mechanics lien that, if unpaid, could force their home into foreclosure as soon as March, Patty Hunter said.Hunter said mechanics liens have been filed on at least 13 houses and lots. “Two houses have so many mechanics liens on them, they can’t be sold,” she said.In Hunter’s case, the mechanics liens were filed after closing, so the title company is probably not responsible, said Joe Morgan, coordinator of Homeowners Helpline, a local group of volunteers that educates the public about foreclosure.Morgan said it is his understanding that Wells Fargo, which arranged financing for John Laing Homes, will make sure the builder satisfies all the mechanics liens.Hunter is not so sure. “The Wells Fargo person said ‘We’ll pass these on to John Laing Homes,’ but they’re not guaranteeing anything,” she said.If John Laing Homes indicated to the title company and the homebuyer that they had satisfied all the liens, John Laing Homes is the one that should pay, Morgan said.”We researched builders for months before we decided to purchase our house,” Hunter said. “We dealt with real estate professionals, a professional mortgage broker and the title company. None of these people advised us that John Laing Homes was having financial issues.”Hunter would have been happy to pay for extra title insurance that would have protected them from this situation. “But that’s something they [John Laing Homes] have to offer to the title company and they didn’t do that,” she said. “So we weren’t even eligible for it.””We’re paying for our house again by paying all the subs they didn’t pay.”A representative of John Laing Homes asked to remain anonymous and said she couldn’t comment on Hunter’s case specifically.She said that homeowners should contact the builder at 800-873-4813 and arrange to fax copies of any liens filed after closing so the company can review them for validity.She also said that “payments cannot be made for anything prior to the Chapter 11 filing” and that anyone who has a claim against John Laing Homes should file it with the bankruptcy court.According to their Web site, www.johnlainghomes.com, the builder’s history dates back to 1848 when “James Laing, John’s father, built his first home in the English countryside. After becoming one of Great Britain’s most respected builders, John Laing Homes entered the United States market in 1984.”The Web site also states that in 2006, the company “partnered with Dubai-based Emaar Properties, one of the world’s largest global real estate development companies.”
