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Bill Ross, owner of the Highlands housing development in Grass Valley, gets another two weeks before the bank auctions it off in foreclosure.
Bill and Susan Ross’ Grass Valley housing development was set to be sold at auction on the courthouse steps Thursday, but a last-minute house sale is giving them another chance to hang onto their investment.
The Rosses had envisioned a project that would house the city’s firefighters and nurses, so they borrowed $8 million from Citizens Bank for the project in Glenbrook Basin. But delays and a sour housing market undermined sales, and they hadn’t made a payment since September 2007, setting the stage for foreclosure, Ross said.
At the 11th hour, the Rosses sold a house in the subdivision on Wednesday — the day before the auction was set to take place.
“I called the bank yesterday and said there’s a person who’s buying a house, and it’s going into escrow tomorrow and asked if that would impact the sale date, and the bank said ‘yes,’” Bill Ross said.
The bank then informed Placer Foreclosure Inc. about the change in plans, and the foreclosure agent read the notice to about a dozen bystanders who had gathered at the courthouse steps in Nevada City.
Now the auction will be held at 12:30 p.m. on April 3 at the same venue, the foreclosure agent said.
Ross is managing director of Grass Valley Highlands LLC, the company that owns the subdivision.
The Highlands, located off East Main Street in Glenbrook Basin, had been hailed as a leading example of affordable housing. It consists of 35 houses, including five that have been sold so far, Ross said.
Ross is a real estate agent based in Smartville. He moved to the area in the mid-1980s.
“I usually buy and sell real estate,” Ross said. In recent years, Ross has renovated motels, apartment complexes and shopping centers in the southern states, he added.
Ross has $2 million invested in The Highlands project, he said.
“This is a major investment but I wasn’t banking on it to make a bunch of money off it,” Ross said. “I just wanted to do something good for the community.”
Ross started constructing The Highlands in early 2005 and had planned to finish the project by the end of the year, but various factors impeded the work, and he didn’t get permission to occupy the development until Jan. 18, 2007, Ross said.
“We found a lot of rocks while doing the underground project, and maybe I didn’t hire an active enough contractor,” Ross said. “So several months went by without much being accomplished.”
Ross’ contractor, Kevin Hastings, could not be reached for comment.
Hastings’ license has been suspended by the Contractors State License Board, said Barbara Bashall, executive director of the Nevada County Contractors Association. She didn’t know the reason.
As many as 15 prospective buyers lost interest, because the project wasn’t completed on time, Tim Peterson, executive vice president and chief credit officer of Citizens Bank, said.
By the time the houses were ready for sale, the real estate market had declined, Ross said.
Though most of the houses weren’t selling, Ross kept making the monthly payments until September 2007, he said. In October, Citizens Bank notified him about defaulting and said the property would go into foreclosure if Ross didn’t come up to date on the payments, he said.
A negotiation with the bank fell through, Susan Ross said.
“They have tried, but they stopped talking to us,” she said. “We weren’t able to make a deal with them.”
High cost of housing
The intention of building The Highlands subdivision was to provide affordable housing for working people in Grass Valley, Bill Ross said.
“Housing in Grass Valley costs $400,000 and above,” he said. “We wanted to provide housing for people like firemen, policemen, nurses and others serving the community.”
Michelle Cameron, who works part-time for UPS, bought a one-bedroom, one-bath house in the subdivision a year ago for $225,000.
“I’m very happy with my house and the way Mr. and Mrs. Ross own the development,” Cameron said at the courthouse. “They have been very accommodating to people who’ve been looking for somewhere to stay.”
Cameron said she didn’t think Citizens Bank “has dealt at a community level with this particular project.”
But other property owners disagree.
Renter Derek Ackley criticized the project’s design and the high rent. He said Wednesday that he “wouldn’t buy a house here. It’s like an apartment.”
To contact Soumitro Sen, e-mail ssen@theunion.com or call 477-4229.
The Rosses had envisioned a project that would house the city’s firefighters and nurses, so they borrowed $8 million from Citizens Bank for the project in Glenbrook Basin. But delays and a sour housing market undermined sales, and they hadn’t made a payment since September 2007, setting the stage for foreclosure, Ross said.
At the 11th hour, the Rosses sold a house in the subdivision on Wednesday — the day before the auction was set to take place.
“I called the bank yesterday and said there’s a person who’s buying a house, and it’s going into escrow tomorrow and asked if that would impact the sale date, and the bank said ‘yes,’” Bill Ross said.
The bank then informed Placer Foreclosure Inc. about the change in plans, and the foreclosure agent read the notice to about a dozen bystanders who had gathered at the courthouse steps in Nevada City.
Now the auction will be held at 12:30 p.m. on April 3 at the same venue, the foreclosure agent said.
Ross is managing director of Grass Valley Highlands LLC, the company that owns the subdivision.
The Highlands, located off East Main Street in Glenbrook Basin, had been hailed as a leading example of affordable housing. It consists of 35 houses, including five that have been sold so far, Ross said.
Ross is a real estate agent based in Smartville. He moved to the area in the mid-1980s.
“I usually buy and sell real estate,” Ross said. In recent years, Ross has renovated motels, apartment complexes and shopping centers in the southern states, he added.
Ross has $2 million invested in The Highlands project, he said.
“This is a major investment but I wasn’t banking on it to make a bunch of money off it,” Ross said. “I just wanted to do something good for the community.”
Ross started constructing The Highlands in early 2005 and had planned to finish the project by the end of the year, but various factors impeded the work, and he didn’t get permission to occupy the development until Jan. 18, 2007, Ross said.
“We found a lot of rocks while doing the underground project, and maybe I didn’t hire an active enough contractor,” Ross said. “So several months went by without much being accomplished.”
Ross’ contractor, Kevin Hastings, could not be reached for comment.
Hastings’ license has been suspended by the Contractors State License Board, said Barbara Bashall, executive director of the Nevada County Contractors Association. She didn’t know the reason.
As many as 15 prospective buyers lost interest, because the project wasn’t completed on time, Tim Peterson, executive vice president and chief credit officer of Citizens Bank, said.
By the time the houses were ready for sale, the real estate market had declined, Ross said.
Though most of the houses weren’t selling, Ross kept making the monthly payments until September 2007, he said. In October, Citizens Bank notified him about defaulting and said the property would go into foreclosure if Ross didn’t come up to date on the payments, he said.
A negotiation with the bank fell through, Susan Ross said.
“They have tried, but they stopped talking to us,” she said. “We weren’t able to make a deal with them.”
High cost of housing
The intention of building The Highlands subdivision was to provide affordable housing for working people in Grass Valley, Bill Ross said.
“Housing in Grass Valley costs $400,000 and above,” he said. “We wanted to provide housing for people like firemen, policemen, nurses and others serving the community.”
Michelle Cameron, who works part-time for UPS, bought a one-bedroom, one-bath house in the subdivision a year ago for $225,000.
“I’m very happy with my house and the way Mr. and Mrs. Ross own the development,” Cameron said at the courthouse. “They have been very accommodating to people who’ve been looking for somewhere to stay.”
Cameron said she didn’t think Citizens Bank “has dealt at a community level with this particular project.”
But other property owners disagree.
Renter Derek Ackley criticized the project’s design and the high rent. He said Wednesday that he “wouldn’t buy a house here. It’s like an apartment.”
To contact Soumitro Sen, e-mail ssen@theunion.com or call 477-4229.
