Beazer Homes

Beazer Homes, Home Builder / Dream Maker
Notice they are a "home" builder, rather than a "house" builder.

2008-01-12: Stock slump the latest of Beazer's woes
Some warned in 2003 that builders were selling too many homes. Too many unqualified buyers were getting mortgages with ballooning interest rates. And housing prices were rising too fast, too high.

But Beazer Homes USA, one of the largest and most aggressive builders in Charlotte, didn't see it that way.

"The so-called housing `bubble' is, in fact, a myth," it said in its fiscal 2002 annual report. "While many continue to wait for this bubble to burst, we agree with most respected economists that there has never been a national housing bubble in the U.S."

This week, shares of Beazer Homes USA dropped below $5, more than 90 percent off its all-time high just two years ago. Stock swoons in the housing industry were fueled by KB Home's lackluster earnings, followed by mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp.'s report on rising loan delinquencies and foreclosures.

Beazer was aggressively helping buyers with down payments in some Charlotte-area starter-home subdivisions. It helped pay the first two years of home loans, an arrangement called a buydown. And it arranged loans that some buyers couldn't afford. The Observer found financial documents provided by four families showed their loans were arranged by Beazer Mortgage based on misstated debts or income. Knowingly falsifying that information is a federal crime.
2007-12-12: SEC Requires Beazer to Disclose Mortgage Details Any questions?