Home remodeling firm seeks bankruptcy after rough 2019

A home remodeling firm known for a catchy television jingle featuring its telephone number has declared bankruptcy after falling millions of dollars into debt.

Unique Home Solutions Inc., which is headquartered on the west side of Indianapolis and also has operations in Cleveland, made separate filings for each state in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Indiana on Nov. 2.

The filings for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection show the company has less than $2.8 million in assets and almost $6.6 million in liabilities. It also indicates it has anywhere from 200 to 999 creditors.

Unique Home Solutions, 5550 Progress Road, was founded in 1983 and specializes in home remodeling services, including installation of windows, doors, bathrooms and safety products. It touts that the products it uses are made in the United States. The firm has produced dozens of commercials over the years that are frequently broadcast on local TV channels.

The company has filed a three-year plan with the court to repay its creditors, but did not indicate the long-term future of the business itself.

Bob Dillon, president of Unique Home Solutions, said there are no intentions of closing the business.

“It’s just a reorganization,” he told IBJ. “We already have the court’s preliminary permission to continue with business as usual. We have no plans to alter our customer experience and are committed to continuing with the same high-level of service we have for the past few decades.”

The plan indicates Unique Home Solutions has worked closely with its secured claimants to repay funds over a matter of several years and that it will find ways to repay its unsecured creditors as it is able to. Efforts to finalize the plan could take anywhere from three to six months.

In the filing, the company said it first began experiencing financial issues in 2018, when its main window supplier began providing subpar products. The company tried to boost business by opening another office that has since closed—after Unique Home Solutions spent $500,000 on the new location.

The filing says the company had revenue of $22.4 million in 2018 and $13.3 million in 2019. Revenue for the first 10 months of this year was $8.7 million.

In 2019, the company had a net loss of about $3 million. Through September, the Indianapolis division of the company has turned a profit of about $243,600 and the Ohio office has been in the black by about $420,000.

But the gains have not been enough to keep the company in good standing with its creditors.

About $3.3 million of Unique Home Solutions’ debt is secured through property. Among its holdings is a fleet of about 40 vehicles and trailers used for various projects, with an estimated value of about $539,900.

The 20 largest unsecured Indianapolis creditors, which include an assortment of contractors for various projects, account for about $1.9 million of the company’s remaining debt.

The largest unsecured creditors are JSD Design Inc. of Hinckley, Ohio, with a claim of $678,478, and Lansing Building Products of Richmond, Virginia, with a claim of $352,740.

Lansing has filed suit against Unique Home Solutions in Marion County Superior Court and so has Grabill, Indiana-based Home Guard, the fifth-largest creditor, with a claim of $194,280.

“We had some disputes with some vendors and had issues with job costs,” Dillon said. “We’re trying to clean it all up.”

The largest secured creditor is Ally Financial of Louisville with a claim of $168,994.