Mercedes Homes is a home

House

A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...

 building company headquartered in Melbourne, Florida

Melbourne, Florida

Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of 2009, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 78,323. The municipal area is the second largest by size and by population in the county. Melbourne is a principal city of the Palm Bay – Melbourne – Titusville, Florida...

. Mercedes Homes was founded in 1983 and currently builds new homes and communities throughout Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, and South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

. It has since built homes for over 40,000 families. In 2007, Mercedes Homes was ranked #30 on the 2007 BUILDER 100 with 2,357 closings (down 45% from 2006) and $724 million in revenue (down 44% from 2006).

Corporate history

Mercedes Homes was established in 1983 by Howard Buescher, a veteran of the homebuilding business, and his daughter Susan Girard. He named the new company after his wife, Mercedes. Howard's other children followed him into the business and in 2009, five of them had executive positions in the company.

Key Executives

The key executives are:

• Keith H. Buescher, President
• Howard Buescher, Founder and Chairman
• Susan Girard, Co-Founder
• Scott Buescher, Chief Operating Officer
• Linda Swain, Regional President

Divisions and Corporate Structure

• Divisions
  • Florida: Daytona, Ft. Myers, Jacksonville, Melbourne, Ocala, Orlando, Port St. Lucie, Tampa
  • Texas: Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio
  • Carolinas: Charlotte

• Corporate Structure

• • Mortgage Brokering and Lending Services.

Cornerstone Home Mortgage Corp (dba MHI Mortgage) provides mortgage brokerage and lending services to customers.

• • Title and Closing Services.

BDR Title Corporation and BDR Title Corporation of Texas, Inc. provide a full range of closing and title services to customers in the states of Florida and Texas, including the issuance of title insurance policies in connection with the sale of homes constructed by Mercedes Homes.

• • Manufacture and Supply of Construction Components

Space Coast Truss, Inc., and Solid Wall Systems, Inc. manufacture and supply high quality components for use in the construction of homes, including roof and floor trusses and solid concrete walls that offer high levels of wind resistance, to Mercedes Homes and to unrelated homebuilders.

• • Real Estate Services

Mercedes Homes Realty, Inc (dba MHI Realty) and Our House Realty, Inc. provide Mercedes Homes’ customers with real estate sales services in the states of Florida and Texas.

• • Insurance

Preferred Home Insurance, Inc. provides MHI customers with homeowners’ insurance policies.

• • Other Operations

There are other operations not directly involving the marketing, sale or construction of single family homes. Suntree Office Complex, LLC is responsible for leasing of corporate headquarters offices in Melbourne, Florida. Dairy Towns Community Developers, Inc. has purchased land for sale and development by MHI. Additionally, the Mercedes Homes and some of its subsidiaries are parties to numerous joint ventures that own and develop residential communities.

Bankruptcy

Mercedes Homes filed for bankruptcy

Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code

Chapter 11 is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is available to every business, whether organized as a corporation or sole proprietorship, and to individuals, although it is most...

 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida

United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida is the federal United States district court with jurisdiction over the southern part of the state of Florida....

on January 26, 2009. The home builder listed between 5,001 and 10,000 creditors, and assets between $100,001 and $500,000. Fifth Third Bank, which was owed $7.1 million, was listed as the largest unsecured creditor. 84 Lumber was owed about $615,000, and Deal Air Electrical Services is owed about $563,000.

In a statement released after bankruptcy, the home builder stated that it expected to “move quickly through the reorganization process and to emerge from its reorganization proceedings better capitalized and financially stronger.” It also said that it had "suffered from the prolonged weakness in the economies of the markets" where it does business and has suffered additional "liquidity strains" after one of its lenders was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The Mercedes Homes’ Reorganization FAQ provided some information about the impact of the bankruptcy on deposits, warranties and title:

• Customer Deposits: Mercedes Homes stated that it would place any deposits received after the filing in an escrow account with a company that is not part of the reorganization filing to ensure customer deposits do not become involved in the bankruptcy. As for deposits received before the bankruptcy filing, the home builder stated that it would be seeking court authority to maintain customer deposits under existing procedures and refund customer deposits if warranted by the terms of the Home Purchase Agreement, consistent with its normal business practices.

• Home Warranty: Mercedes Homes stated that it has contracted with a third party to provide home warranties to new home buyers, and that it would be seeking court approval to honor some warranties that were made before the filing. On October 30, 2009, the court authorized Mercedes Homes to continue to honor obligations related to Customer Programs, including warranty claims. The builder would have authorization to honor home warranties, but it would not be obligated to do so. A limitation exists in relation this authorization: Mercedes Homes would not be able to spend more than 1% of a home’s final sale price on warranty claims.

• Home Title: Mercedes Homes stated that BDR Title, responsible for clearing titles of homes, though a subsidiary of Mercedes Homes, was not included in the reorganization filing.

External links

• http://www.mercedeshomes.com
• http://www.bdrtitle.com/
• http://www.spacecoasttruss.com/
• http://www.mhimortgage.com/
• http://www.swsflorida.com/