Beazer leaving area amid investigations
By STELLA M. HOPKINS
Beazer Homes USA, a home builder under federal investigation, said Friday it will stop building in the Charlotte market and close its national mortgage unit -- a business in which it says employees violated federal housing regulations.
The Atlanta company gave no timetable for the withdrawal. Beazer's statement also said it will stop building in Columbia, in Lexington, Ky., and in Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus, Ohio. The company said it will complete homes under construction and continue providing warranty services.
Beazer said it will pair with Countrywide Financial as a preferred mortgage lender. Countrywide, the nation's largest mortgage lender, has become the poster child of the U.S. mortgage crisis prompted by lending to people with sketchy credit and enabling some to buy houses they couldn't afford. Charlotte's Bank of America is buying the troubled lender
