Beazer Homes - Responsibility In Lending
As a follow up to my recent post regarding the spike in Newark foreclosures, I am pointing to the White Collar Crime Prof Blog's post,Tough Times At Beazer Homes.
Beazer Homes is currently being investigated by the FBI, HUD, and IRS in respect to its mortgage lending to low-income borrowers. The investigation by the Federal agencies is a result of an investigation by the Charlotte Observer which determined that the foreclosure rates in several North Carolina Beazer developments ran at around 20 percent, compared with the national average of 3 percent.
Beazer is the 6th largest builder in the U.S. and regularly provided ARM mortgage financing for their properties. This is a common practice for larger homebuilders who want to maximize the amount of money they are able to make in their deals. Beazer happens to be the first but certainly not the last builder that will be called to task on their lending practices.
