Foxtons Listings Sold - Oct 27, 2007
Bankruptcy judge clears sale of listings held by Foxtons
More than 3,400 New Jersey real estate listings that had been in limbo since the discount brokerage filed for bankruptcy protection last month will be sold to another brokerage, a federal judge in Trenton ruled yesterday.
The New Jersey listings were bought by Rahway-based Maplewood Homes for $100,000. Hundreds more Foxtons listings in New York were sold to Fillmore Real Estate, a Brooklyn-based brokerage, for $110,000. The proceeds of the sale will be used to pay Foxtons creditors.
Maplewood Homes, started by Lakewood investor and developer Glen Fishman, is the same firm that recently bailed out another victim of the housing market slowdown, Kara Homes, an East Brunswick-based homebuilder that filed for bankruptcy last year.
During yesterday’s hearing, Joseph DePasquale, an attorney representing Maplewood Homes, said the developer had formed a joint venture with Century 21 Atlantic Realty, a brokerage based in Roselle Park, to service the Foxtons listings.
Michael Holt, an attorney who represents Foxtons in the bankruptcy case, said Century 21 and Fillmore real estate agents could start contacting Foxtons homeowners as soon as Monday.
The judge’s decision means Foxtons customers who signed three- or six-month contracts with Foxtons will now become customers of Century 21 Atlantic or Fillmore under the same terms, including a discounted commission of 4 percent.
Judge Michael Kaplan said homeowners are free to cancel their contracts at any time, but would be prohibited from listing with another agency for the length of their Foxtons contract, and would also be bound by any cancellation clauses.
More than 30 homeowners sent letters to the bankruptcy court objecting to the sale of the listings to another brokerage and asking the judge to void their contracts because Foxtons had not performed its contractual duties. |
