Atlanta, Georgia-based Beazer Homes USA Inc., said Friday that the builder is exiting the mortgage origination business and no longer issuing loans through Beazer Mortgage Corp.
Instead, Beazer says it will form a strategic relationship with Countrywide Financial Corp. and market Countrywide as a preferred mortgage provider.
“We remain disciplined in our operating approach, responding to what has been and what we expect will continue to be a challenging environment for homebuilding,” said Ian J. McCarthy, Beazer’s president and chief executive officer. “We continue to make reductions in direct costs, overhead expenses and land spending, as well as unsold home inventories and believe the actions we have taken to preserve liquidity and generate cash will enable us to successfully weather the downturn.”