Homebuilder Fails Finish, Files for Bankruptcy
Posted on Dec 27, 2010 4:40pm PST
Oradell couple Bert and Bertina Tallaksen, owners of Tally's Construction Company Incorporated in Tenafly, while being scrutinized for incomplete home renovations, filed for bankruptcy on December 20, as reported by The Record for NorthJersey.com
Tally's listed their assets at a bit over $1 million with liabilities close to 1.5 million. Most of the company's assets consist of their headquarters in Tenafly at 38 Harold Street.
The company stated that in 2009 they lost $88,359 on revenues of $2.8 million.
The Chapter 7 filing allows debtor's assets to be liquidated to pay off creditors. Tally's reputation has taken a negative toll, as the company not only owes its vendors but also it's employees and subcontractors.
Added to that are the customers left with unfinished home remodels.
Four unpaid subcontractors - owed more than $170,000 - unwittingly pushed one of their related companies, Tally's Incorporated, into an involuntary bankruptcy in November.
Tallaksen and their attorney, Alphonse DeSimone, refused to release any information. However they stated that even though "difficult economic times" created a problem, they contended that their customers were made "whole".
One customer begged to differ with that statement for this article.
Terrie McColl had hired Tally's for work in her home that cost more than $60,000. First Tallaksen stopped showing up; then the subcontractors he hadn't paid followed suit. McColl was finally forced to hire another contractor.
McColl said, "The bathroom is still without a sink or shower and the heat is totally inadequate in the kitchen. The vents installed by Tally's barely give out any heat and, of course, the radiant flooring was never installed. The kitchen is very cold. This will not be an easy fix."
There have been several subcontractors, and vendors, that allege that Tally's never paid them. The owner of Supreme Gutter Supply in Saddle Brook, Nick Wille, quoted his unpaid bill at $4,000. He also said that Tallaksen continued running up bills knowing that filing for bankruptcy was going to be his only way out.
Wille said, "I - and I'm sure many others - would have never extended credit to him if we knew the trouble Tally's was in."
Creditors listed in the bankruptcy include the state Division of Taxation, Bank of America, Capital One and Citicards; as well as several companies that supply building materials.
David Crowe, the chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders, claims that the home remodeling industry is as bad now as it was during the Great Depression. He further believes that since homeowners are worried about their own jobs they have tightened their budgets. Homeowners have spent 27 percent less on remodels since March 2007.
In 2009 the Tallaksens had filed for a personal bankruptcy. In that bankruptcy they listed assets of $960,000 and liabilities of $2.87 million. According to public records, the debts were discharged by the middle of 2009.
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