Home builder files for bankruptcy

Developer plans to complete as many unfinished homes as possible

Email | Print By Glenna DeRoy

02-15-2008 2:57 PM —

Construction firm Corinthian Custom Homes has filed for bankruptcy, a move reflective of the region's listless housing market.

"It has slowed down dramatically, and there's been a lot of fallout from that as well as the subprime crisis, and unfortunately, Corinthian has fallen victim to that," said Robert Gonzales, a lawyer with MGLaw who represents the Franklin company.

Calls to owner Nick Psillas, a veteran developer who also owns Prestige Homes and other real estate ventures, were not returned. Corinthian, which has been in business since 2002, has about 65 homes under construction as well as several undeveloped lots.

Corinthian builds homes in two local developments, according to its Web site: the Woods of West Meade in Nashville and St. Regis Place in Brentwood.

Gonzales said their first move will be to secure the funds necessary to complete as many homes as possible, beginning with those that families have already contracted for.

"We're prioritizing as you always have to do in these situations," he said.

Corinthian must receive court permission to borrow the money necessary to complete these homes, and Gonzales said he would seek court approval once Corinthian reached loan agreements with its lenders, which include American Security Bank & Trust, Fifth Third Bank, Bank of America, Colonial Bank, Community First Bank & Trust, First Tennessee Bank and Green Bank.

The bankruptcy filing – available at this link – listed assets and liabilities as both in excess of $1 million. Gonzales said he cannot yet not be more specific about the numbers, though he has a "pretty good" sense of the money owed to different lenders. He will have a much better idea by March 10, when he must report a more detailed list of assets and liabilities to the court.

Corinthian's bankruptcy filing comes just days after a prominent local title company was placed in receivership. Nashville-area home sales came in about a third lower in the past two months than they did a year ago. And there remained almost 22,000 unsold properties in the area at the end of January.