Builder TOUSA Files BK

Homebuilder TOUSA, which is based in Florida and markets under the names Trophy Homes, Engle Homes and Newmark Homes, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. From today's BuilderOnline.com:

A deteriorating housing market and severe credit crunch have knocked over another big domino. First it was Levitt & Sons, with nearly half a billion dollars in liabilities, which filed for protection from creditors in November. And today, Hollywood, Fla.-based TOUSA, the industry's 13th-largest home builder in 2006, announced that it, too, was filing Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida...

That filing would place under bankruptcy protection the parent company in the United States and all branded home building operations, which include Newmark Homes, Trophy Homes, and Engle Homes. However, TOUSA's title, insurance, mortgage, and information services subsidiaries are not included in this filing, and TOUSA's CEO, Tony Mon, emphasized that there would be "no interruptions in services" under Chapter 11, and that the company would meet all of its warranty obligations.