Toll relative walks away from new condo - filing
By Martha Graybow
NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Luxury builder Toll Brothers Inc (TOL.N), hurt as many buyers to try to get out of contracts for new homes amid falling prices, says a member of its founding family is trying to walk away from an agreement to buy a new condominium.
The daughter of Vice Chairman and co-founder Bruce Toll informed the company last month that she and her husband "did not intend to make settlement" on a $2.47 million home they had previously agreed to purchase, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Toll Brothers went on to say that it intends to pursue its rights under the agreement of sale with Toll's daughter, Wendy Topkis.
A company spokesman was not immediately available for comment on the filing, which was made public on Friday.
The company, hard hit by the U.S. real estate slump, said last week that it sees no signs of improvement in the depressed housing market. It estimated a 22 percent drop in home-building revenue for its fiscal first quarter, ended Jan. 31.
In its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Toll Brothers said it has a policy of providing home purchase discounts to immediate family members of company employees.
The contract with Topkis was reached prior to fiscal 2007, it said. The location of the condo was not disclosed. (Reporting by Martha Graybow; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
