ORLEANS — Taylor Perkins, a hotelier based in York, Maine, purchased two motels and a vacation-rental property in three different Lower Cape towns in the last two years through a collection of limited liability companies.
The lenders on all three purchases are now pursuing Perkins in court.
Perkins has put two of those LLCs into Chapter 11 bankruptcy to ward off foreclosure auctions on two of the properties: the Seashore Park Inn at 24 Canal Road in Orleans and the Cape Cod Wishing Well motel at 212 Route 28 in West Harwich.
Perkins bought the 63-room Seashore Park Inn for $5.1 million in July 2022 through an LLC called Cape Cod Lodge, of which he is manager.
He initially secured a commercial mortgage and a construction loan, but he paid off the second loan when he signed a new $5.25-million mortgage with Coastal Heritage Bank of Weymouth in August 2023.
Perkins failed to make his monthly payments, however, and Coastal Heritage called in the loan with a demand letter in December 2023. The principal, interest, late fees, and a $157,000 penalty brought the total owed on the loan to $5,476,062, according to the bank’s December letter.
When the bank failed to get a response or a mortgage payment, Coastal Heritage filed a complaint in Norfolk Superior Court in February demanding full payment of the loan plus interest. The bank also asked the court to grant a preliminary injunction stopping Perkins from transferring any of the property’s assets.
A foreclosure auction was scheduled for March 21, but Perkins was able to get that auction delayed to May, and then to Aug. 8. His strategy for preventing the auctions included arguing that the property had appreciated to be worth more than $8 million and could support an even larger loan that could pay off Coastal Heritage Bank.
Perkins also filed evidence in court of an agreement he had with the Chatham Bars Inn, which had rented all 63 rooms from April to October 2023 for its employees for $1,500 per month per room.
On Aug. 20, the Norfolk Superior Court endorsed an order granting Coastal Heritage Bank the authority to take “whatever steps are necessary to gain access and control” over the three-acre Seashore Park property and all related assets of Cape Cod Lodge LLC.
In a counter-maneuver, Cape Cod Lodge LLC, controlled by Perkins, filed for Chapter 11 in state bankruptcy court on Aug. 22, which put all actions by creditors on hold.
Two Other Properties
The story at the Cape Cod Wishing Well motel in Harwich, also owned by Perkins through an LLC, has been similar.
Perkins purchased the motel for $1.7 million in March 2023 through West Harwich Holdings LLC, of which he is manager. To make the purchase, Perkins borrowed $1,275,000 from a Tennessee-based lender, Paradyme Secured Income Fund.
Perkins failed to make the required payments, and Paradyme began foreclosure proceedings in early 2024, according to documents at the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds. An auction of the property was scheduled for April 11 but was canceled.
In June, West Harwich Holdings LLC filed for bankruptcy, which put a stay on all actions by creditors, according to documents at the Mass. Bankruptcy Court.
A third company, Cape Cod Casita II LLC, and Perkins as its manager are both being sued in Suffolk Superior Court by Thomas and Julie Duda, who allege a failure to pay them $433,000.
The Dudas, who are in their 60s, say they sold their home at 137 Depot St. in Dennis Port to Perkins for $483,000 in August 2023, for which he paid them $50,000 up front and signed a 15-year promissory note for the remaining $433,000.
Perkins told the Dudas he planned to make the property a short-term rental, according to their court filings.
The Dudas allege that Perkins never made any payments and ignored multiple demand letters, so the couple are calling in the entire amount. They also allege that Perkins performed some construction work on the home without their permission.
Town records in Dennis list Cape Cod Casita II LLC as the owner of 137 Depot Road, and the home is now on the market for $550,000. According to the listing, it is “in need of significant renovation.”
The Independent reached Perkins on the phone this week, but he hung up without providing any comment.
