Mercedes Homes is a home building company headquartered in Melbourne, Florida. Mercedes Homes was founded in 1983 and currently builds new homes and communities throughout Florida, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It has since built homes for over 40,000 families.[1] 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).[2]
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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.
The key executives are:[3]
Cornerstone Home Mortgage Corp (dba MHI Mortgage) provides mortgage brokerage and lending services to customers.
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.
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.
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.
Preferred Home Insurance, Inc. provides MHI customers with homeowners’ insurance policies.
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.
Mercedes Homes filed for bankruptcy in the United States District Court for the Southern District 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.[5]
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.[6]
The Mercedes Homes’ Reorganization FAQ provided some information about the impact of the bankruptcy on deposits, warranties and title:[7]