Mercedes Homes
Mercedes Homes was a home building company headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, USA. Mercedes Homes was founded in 1983 and built new homes and communities throughout Florida, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina. 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. As of January 13, 2012 Mercedes Homes has closed their building division, the company has issued a statement that they intend to complete all homes currently under construction and finalize all active sales, but no new projects will be started. Mercedes Homes has also stated they are exploring options to complete unfinished developments, that may include, soliciting a new builder, completing the projects under another LLC/Division or selling the development rights. Key executives. The key  executives are: Divisions. Mercedes homes had three divisions: Bankruptcy. Mercedes Homes filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection 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. 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 stated 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: