Wachovia sues Tampa developer for $175-million

Wachovia Bank is calling its debts on Tampa's Metro Development Group, which went on a Florida lot buying binge last year with borrowed money.

Wachovia has filed a foreclosure lawsuit to recover $175-million it lent Metro to buy 9,000 lots in Florida. Metro, owned by Canadian businessman John Ryan, has been sued a bunch of time this year by banks, contractors and other business associates.

Metro spokesman John Heagney said the company is negotiating with Wachovia to restructure the debt. He called the foreclosure filing "a normal part of the negotiating process."

"They're like a lot of homeowners. These properties are upside down," Heagney said of Metro. "What they're doing is going in and saying, 'We need to restructure. Work with us.'"

Metro accumulated about 30,000 lots the past couple years, wagering that the housing market would recover strongly in 2010. The company scooped up 8,300 home sites from Lennar - including those in Pasco County's Epperson Ranch - and another 1,000 from M/I Homes.

In January, Metro announced a joint venture with D.E. Shaw & Co., a global investment firm. Private investors staked the partners to $250-million to scout land buying opportunities. Shaw isn't a party to the Wachovia lawsuit, Heagney said.

Comments

[mbenz55amg]

I am not surprised. I've tried to work with John Ryan in the past and his ego is as large as his debts! He's getting a good slice of humble pie now though!

[Darren]

"I need a restructure. Work with me. My eyes are bigger than my stomach and I'm a glutton. Can you cut my dinner bill in half? I didn't know what I was doing, so it's not my fault, please give me a break. The market screwed me - can I have a taxpayer/shareholder baiolout?"

[Tampa Bob]

I want to know when I am going to get a handout? Let's see, I pay my mortgage on time and have never missed a payment. I would like the bank to work with me to reduce my 5% fixed 20 year loan with only 15 left to pay by a couple of percentage points like the big guys and the idiots who purchased more house than they could afford. Stupid gets a bailout, but good people get screwed--as usual.

I think I'll have the bank send my bill to Obama and the Feds.

[Darren]

I agree, Tampa Bob - I am in the same boat as you. I have never been late on a payment even though I was given a misleading adjusting loan that I had to refi 2 years later; it was designed to rise much faster than the rate it was tied to (and that was represented to me) thanks to one small line about "rounding up with each adjustment" hidden deep in a 54 page document.

The Federal bailout is a disaster. See the famous I-banker Jim Rogers' (in Singapore) comments about this. However, I've noticed that the tune has changed in the past week or so, as the Obama administration appears to be saying the bailout will provide capital by buying "good assets" from struggling institutions rather than "toxic assets" (under the Bush plan). That is a significant distinction and would be better for us as taxpayers. If they hold it long enough, could be sort of a way to take advantage of the collapse. I could be reading that the wrong way, but it gives me hope.

[Michelle]

Amen, Tampa Bob, I second that!

[Billy]

Tampa Bob, oI feel like an idiot with 75% equity in my home. This isn't how thrifty Americans should be made to feel. I'm thoroughly disgusted.

Tne reason I feared McCain was that he actually proposed re-writing mortgages for those upside down. Had he been the winner, my strategy was to get myself upside down and out of work in a hurry.

[Bob Jr]

Make sure you send a copy to 'W'....he should be able to squeeze your request in the next 60 days.

[Leo]

I enjoyed reading your article, Mr. Thorner on Metro/John Ryan's fantasy world. He seems to be a typical developer.

I personally don't know him, but one of my friends has worked for him. He is a small consulting engineer that has suffered as many in the construction industry have. He didn't get a bailout for his small family, but John Ryan suggests that either the taxpayers or Wachovia shareholders shall be the bearer of his decisions.

The taxpayers nor the shareholders didn't make the mistake that Metro and Ryan did. When and if Wachovia re-negotiates, who is enriched? The person in the company that made the mistake. THIS IS INCESTUOUSLY WRONG OF THE HIGHEST ORDER!!!

The American Way....as he flies around in his personal jet and commutes in his Maserati to his personal helicopter. Please give me the toll free Wachovia number for Big Loans with Small Paybacks. I'm sure happy that the Canadians have adapted to the wonderful system that we have in the U.S.