Toll Brothers' No-Sale
Is a Family Matter

Toll Brothers Inc., like the vast majority of home builders, has been struggling with potential buyers walking away from contracts as house prices plummet.

But one recent cancellation hits close to home for the high-end builder.

The daughter of the company's vice chairman and co-founder, Bruce E. Toll, and her husband are walking away from a $2.5 million condominium that the couple bought in an undisclosed location from the builder, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Last month, Mr. Toll's daughter, Wendy Topkis, told the company she and her husband "did not intend to make settlement on the condominium," the Horsham, Pa., company said in a filing with the SEC Friday.

Mrs. Topkis declined to comment and Mr. Toll couldn't be reached. The company declined to state why Mrs. Topkis was walking from the high-end condo or discuss the terms of the couple's contract. Toll often requires a deposit of about 7% on its homes that the company typically keeps if the buyer walks.

In an interview, the company's general counsel, Mark Kessler, said, "We are not going to treat them any differently than any other customer."

Toll Brothers provides discounts on its homes to immediate family members of employees, according to its SEC filing. Mr. Kessler said he couldn't provide any details on what those discounts typically entail.

Toll Brothers also disclosed Friday that it sold a $2.2 million condo to a trust, whose beneficiary is a son of Chief Executive Robert Toll. That price reflects a $93,153 discount, according to the filing.

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