Posted on Wednesday, 7th April 2010 by Christopher Allen
DeWoskin Properties Corp.. which filed for bankruptcy March 3, has put three commercial buildings up for sale after Southwest Bank would not renew business loans on the properties, said President Thomas H. “Tom” DeWoskin.
DeWoskin Properties sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization the day after Southwest Bank brought a collection suit in St. Louis County Circuit Court against the real estate business, DeWoskin and his wife, Karen. The DeWoskins had personally guaranteed the real estate loans.
Tom DeWoskin said that by filing bankruptcy, he hopes to buy enough time to sell the properties, worth about $1.6 million according to the bankruptcy filing. “My heart is being pulled out of my chest,” he said.
DeWoskin Properties listed assets of $2.19 million and liabilities of $2.28 million in the bankruptcy.
Southwest Bank is the largest creditor with secured claims totaling $1.76 million.
The properties up for sale are an industrial building at 2200 Locust St. in which Southwest has a secured claim of $1 million and a bank-appraised value of $840,000, which DeWoskin Properties disputes; an office building at 4120 Lindell Blvd. valued at $505,000 according to the court filing with a loan of $400,000; and a home at 919 Skinker Blvd. valued at $550,000 in the filing and a loan of $360,000.
Following Southwest Bank, DeWoskin Properties’ next largest creditors — all with unsecured claims — are the St. Louis Collector of Revenue, owed $101,819; Tom DeWoskin, who has $161,166 in unsecured loans to the business; and two area law firms, Capes Sokol Goodman & Sarachan, owed $10,138, and Friedman Weitzman & Friedman, owed $8,500.
Representing DeWoskin Properties in the bankruptcy is one of Tom DeWoskin’s cousins, A. Thomas DeWoskin, who leads the bankruptcy practice at law firm Danna McKitrick in Clayton. His legal fees are $28,717, according to the bankruptcy filing.
The bankruptcy filing shows DeWoskin Properties netted $102,000 from the sale Jan. 10 of an office property at 346 N. Boyle Ave. It then used $70,000 of the proceeds to pay off the mortgage on a DeWoskin Property at 900 S. Boyle and pay legal fees and delinquent taxes on other DeWoskin Properties buildings.
Tom DeWoskin said he had a payment plan in place to catch up on back taxes and had been making regular, automatic payments to Southwest Bank until earlier this year, when the bank told him it was considering foreclosing on the three properties.
Tom Wilcox, Southwest Bank’s executive vice president for commercial real estate, could not be reached for comment. Bruce LeMoine, an attorney with Armstrong Teasdale who represents Southwest Bank in the St. Louis County suit, declined to comment.
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Tags: Bankruptcy, Dewoskin Properties
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