credit suisse

New Buyer Steps Forward For The Tamarack Resort

There's a new twist in the case of the the Tamarack Resort with another potential new buyer set to step up to the plate. In May 2009, the resort in Donnelly, Idaho officially closed. The resort has remained in bankruptcy court and the current owners still owe $300 million to a syndicate of lenders led by Credit Suisse Group, as well as facing unpaid bills from builders, contractors and suppliers who worked on the project.

The new candidate is Matthew Hutcheson who is behind Green Valley Holdings, a group based out of Eagle, Idaho. The group called a press conference to announce a $40 million cash offer to purchase the resort and have submitted a letter of intent to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court overseeing Tamarack's bankruptcy. They say that they have hired a team of professionals with expertise in real estate and resort management but one thing hasn't been stated, where the money is coming from. The terms also require Tamarack to close by March 15th, 2011. Back in August we heard of another offer but that one seems to have disappeared.

Tags: credit suisse, Credit Suisse Group, idaho, tamarack resort

Continue reading “New Buyer Steps Forward For The Tamarack Resort”

New Hope For Tamarack Resort?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Real Estate Developments

In May 2009, Tamarack Resort in Donnelly, Idaho officially closed but now there is potential hope for a new buyer. A Salt Lake City real estate investment company, Pelorus Group, has expressed interest in buying the resort which was closed mid-construction amid massive debt. The resort has remained in bankruptcy court and the current owners still owe $300 million to a syndicate of lenders led by Credit Suisse Group, as well as facing unpaid bills from builders, contractors and suppliers who worked on the project.

Tamarack was welcomed with acclaim when it was announced in 2003 and buyers committed more than $500 million for condos, houses and building sites bringing a big rush of Aspen-style prosperity to the area. Tennis stars Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf were attached to building a luxury hotel complex, the Fairmont Tamarack Local stores and restaurants flourished, jobs abounded and rents rose. Former President George W. Bush visited the resort for a summer hike in 2005. But around the time of the start of the global recession in 2008 building slowed and eventually the investor who had already put up money for the Fairmont Tamarack decided not to put up any more money for the project. This led the developers to slow construction. Combine this with the nationwide real estate droop and you have a recipe for a boom town gone bust.

Tags: credit suisse, donnelly idaho, idaho, pelorus group, Tamarack

Continue reading “New Hope For Tamarack Resort?”

Credit Suisse Sued Over Resort Failures

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Should a lender be held accountable for a resort's failure? A class action suit may bring one answer. The Wall Street Journal reports on a suit filed by property owners at four resorts. The suit accuses Credit Suisse Group AG of predatory lending. The $24 billion suit was filed on behalf of over 3,000 homeowners and investors and includes Beau Blixseth, the son of former Yellowstone club owners Tim and Edra Blixseth. Yellowstone Club is one of the properties named in the suit, the others are Ginn Sur Mer in the Bahamas, the Lake Las Vegas resort in Nevada and the Tamarack Resort in Idaho. So far all of these properties except for Ginn Sur Mer have wrestled with bankruptcy. The plaintiffs have lost more than $8 billion in their investments.

Court papers accuse Credit Suisse and related corporations of wire and mail fraud, racketeering, money laundering and conspiracy all in the name of coercing developers to take out huge loans. The suit also takes on real-estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield Inc., saying that the firm aided the bank by creating property appraisals that inflated the value of the properties for sale. The suit says that the bank knowingly drove up the value of the properties, made massive loans and then charged exorbitant loan fees that it knew the resorts wouldn't be able to pay. The suit alleges that all this was done so the banks could take control of the resorts.

Tags: credit suisse, Credit Suisse Group, CreditSuisse, CreditSuisseGroup, lake las vegas, LakeLasVegas, tamarack resort, TamarackResort, yellowstone club, YellowstoneClub

Continue reading “Credit Suisse Sued Over Resort Failures”