ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May. 19, 2009--
Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE: BZH) (www.beazer.com)
(“the Company”) today announced that its subsidiary, Beazer Mortgage
Corporation (“Beazer Mortgage”), which voluntarily ceased operations in
February 2008, has entered into a settlement agreement with the North
Carolina Office of the Commissioner of Banks (“OCOB”) concerning the
OCOB’s examination of certain mortgage origination issues in 2007.
Under the settlement agreement, Beazer Mortgage consented, without
admitting the alleged violations, to the entry of a consent order which
provides that Beazer Mortgage will apply approximately $2.5 million in
restitution to certain borrowers in respect of the alleged violations.
This amount was included in the approximately $13 million of expense the
Company previously disclosed it had recognized in the quarter ended
March 31, 2009 for estimated payments related to governmental
investigations.
The settlement agreement concludes the OCOB’s investigation into these
matters with respect to Beazer Mortgage.
As previously disclosed, the Company has had several discussions with
the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina (“the U.S.
Attorney”) to negotiate a resolution of its investigation. The
negotiations with the U.S. Attorney are continuing and the Company has
not reached an agreement on such a resolution. There can be no assurance
that the Company can conclude an agreement with the U.S. Attorney on
financial or non-financial terms that are mutually acceptable.
Beazer Homes USA, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, is one of the
country’s ten largest single-family homebuilders with continuing
operations in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana,
Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Beazer Homes is listed
on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “BZH.”
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements represent our expectations or beliefs
concerning future events, and it is possible that the results described
in this press release will not be achieved. These forward-looking
statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many
of which are outside of our control, that could cause actual results to
differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking
statements, including, among other things, (i) the timing and final
outcome of the United States Attorney investigation and other state and
federal agency investigations, as well as the results of any other
litigation or government proceedings; (ii) additional asset impairment
charges or writedowns; (iii) economic changes nationally or in local
markets, including changes in consumer confidence, volatility of
mortgage interest rates and inflation; (iv) continued or increased
downturn in the homebuilding industry; (v) estimates related to homes to
be delivered in the future (backlog) are imprecise as they are subject
to various cancellation risks which cannot be fully controlled, (vi) our
ability to maintain the listing of our common stock on the New York
Stock Exchange, (vii) continued or increased disruption in the
availability of mortgage financing; (viii) our cost of and ability to
access capital and otherwise meet our ongoing liquidity needs including
the impact of any further downgrades of our credit ratings or reductions
in our tangible net worth or liquidity levels; (ix) potential inability
to comply with covenants in our debt agreements; (x) increased
competition or delays in reacting to changing consumer preference in
home design; (xi) shortages of or increased prices for labor, land or
raw materials used in housing production; (xii) factors affecting
margins such as decreased land values underlying land option agreements,
increased land development costs on projects under development or delays
or difficulties in implementing initiatives to reduce production and
overhead cost structure; (xiii) the performance of our joint ventures
and our joint venture partners; (xiv) the impact of construction defect
and home warranty claims including those related to possible
installation of drywall imported from China and the cost of
investigation and remediation and availability of insurance; (xv)
delays in land development or home construction resulting from adverse
weather conditions; (xvi) potential delays or increased costs in
obtaining necessary permits as a result of changes to, or complying
with, laws, regulations, or governmental policies and possible penalties
for failure to comply with such laws, regulations and governmental
policies; (xvii) effects of changes in accounting policies, standards,
guidelines or principles; or (xviii) terrorist acts, acts of war and
other factors over which the Company has little or no control.
Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which
such statement is made, and, except as required by law, we do not
undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible
for management to predict all such factors.
Source: Beazer Homes USA, Inc.
Beazer Homes USA, Inc.
Leslie H. Kratcoski, 770-829-3764
Vice
President
Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
lkratcos@beazer.com