Hometown Restoration, a New Rochelle company that repairs houses damaged by fire and other misfortune, has filed for bankruptcy due to the death of its owner.
Thomas A. Keith, 61, “unexpectedly passed away at a job site” in October, according to a Chapter 11 petition filed April 15 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, White Plains. A project manager tried to continue the work, but by December he fell ill and was no longer able to help.
Hometown Restoration booked $3.5 million in 2019 and nearly $5.8 million last year. Now it has 14 construction agreements but enough money to finish only one or two jobs, according to a declaration by Nat Wasserstein, the chief restructuring officer hired to wind down the business.
Hometown Restoration was formed in 2011, according to a state Department of Corporations record. The company worked for homeowners who received insurance payments to cover damages to their property.
Hometown declared about $1.5 million in assets and $2.3 million in liabilities. Most of the debt, $1.5 million, is owed to five subcontractors.
It has about $119,000 in financial assets and is owed nearly $1.2 million.
After Keith died, a construction manager was hired to determine how much work had been completed and what needed to be done at each job site. Klinger & Klinger, a Manhattan accounting firm, calculated the financial status of each job and the company”™s overall finances.
“It became apparent that the debtor would be unable to complete all of the pending jobs due to lack of funds,” Wasserstein said. “There are only one or two projects with only punch-list items that the debtor may complete” and easily collect payments.
The contracts go as far back as February 2019 to this past August, from Pelham to Parsippany, New Jersey.
Wasserstein, of Lindenwood Associates, Nyack, said he would oversee completion of jobs that are fiscally appropriate, collect payments, sell assets, evaluate claims and pay creditors.
Hometown Restoration is represented by Eastchester bankruptcy attorney Dawn Kirby.
