Commitments and contingencies

Loan origination liabilities

Our mortgage operations may be responsible for losses associated with mortgage loans originated and sold to investors in the event of errors or omissions relating to representations and warranties that the loans sold meet certain requirements, including representations as to underwriting standards, the existence of primary mortgage insurance, and the validity of certain borrower representations in connection with the loan. If determined to be at fault, we either repurchase the loans from the investors or reimburse the investors' losses (a “make-whole” payment).

We sell substantially all of the loans we originate to investors in the secondary market within a short period of time after origination. Historically, our overall losses relating to this risk were not significant. Beginning in 2009, however, we experienced a significant increase in losses as a result of the high level of loan defaults and related losses in the mortgage industry and increasing aggressiveness by investors in presenting such claims to us. To date, the significant majority of these losses relates to loans originated in 2006 and 2007, during which period inherently riskier loan products became more common in the mortgage origination market. In 2006 and 2007, we originated $39.5 billion of loans, excluding loans originated by Centex's former subprime loan business sold by Centex in 2006. Because we generally do not retain the servicing rights to the loans we originate, information regarding the current and historical performance, credit quality, and outstanding balances of such loans is limited. Estimating these loan origination liabilities is further complicated by uncertainties surrounding numerous external factors, such as various macroeconomic factors (including unemployment rates and changes in home prices), actions taken by third parties, including the parties servicing the loans, and the U.S. federal government in its dual capacity as regulator of the U.S. mortgage industry and conservator of the government-sponsored enterprises commonly known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which own or guarantee the majority of mortgage loans in the U.S.

Most requests received to date relate to make-whole payments on loans that have been foreclosed, generally after a portion of the loan principal had been paid down, which reduces our exposure. Requests undergo extensive analysis to confirm the exposure, attempt to cure the identified defect, and, when necessary, determine our liability. We establish liabilities for such anticipated losses based upon, among other things, the level of current unresolved repurchase requests, the volume of estimated probable future repurchase requests, our ability to cure the defects identified in the repurchase requests, and the severity of the estimated loss upon repurchase. Determining these estimates and the resulting liability requires a significant level of management judgment. We are generally able to cure or refute over 60% of the requests received from investors such that repurchases or make-whole payments are not required. For those requests requiring repurchases or make-whole payments, actual loss severities generally approximate 50% of the outstanding principal balance.

Our current estimates assume that claim volumes will not decline to pre-2009 levels until after 2013. Given the ongoing volatility in the mortgage industry, our lack of visibility into the current status of the review process of loans by investors, the claim volumes we continue to experience, and uncertainties regarding the ultimate resolution of these claims, it is reasonably possible that future losses may exceed our current estimates.

Changes in these liabilities were as follows ($000's omitted):



	Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2012			2011			2012			2011
Liabilities, beginning of period	$	120,711		$	97,836		$	128,330		$	93,057
Reserves provided	—			—			—			19,347
Payments	(2,089		)	(3,105		)	(9,708		)	(17,673		)
Liabilities, end of period	$	118,622		$	94,731		$	118,622		$	94,731

We entered into an agreement in conjunction with the wind down of Centex's mortgage operations, which ceased loan origination activities in December 2009, that provides a guaranty for one major investor of loans originated by Centex. This guaranty provides that we will honor the potential repurchase obligations of Centex's mortgage operations related to breaches of representations and warranties in the origination of a certain pool of loans. Other than with respect to this pool of loans, our contractual repurchase obligations are limited to our mortgage subsidiaries, which are included in non-guarantor subsidiaries (see Note 11 for a discussion of non-guarantor subsidiaries).

The mortgage subsidiary of Centex also sold loans to a bank for inclusion in residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBSs”) issued by the bank. In connection with these sales, Centex's mortgage subsidiary entered into agreements pursuant to which it may be required to indemnify the bank for losses incurred by investors in the RMBSs arising out of material errors or omissions in certain information provided by the mortgage subsidiary relating to the loans and loan origination process. The bank has notified us that it has been named defendant in two lawsuits alleging various violations of federal and state securities laws asserting that untrue statements of material fact were included in the registration statements used to market the sale of two RMBS transactions, which included $162 million of loans originated by Centex's mortgage subsidiary. The plaintiffs seek unspecified compensatory and/or rescissory damages on behalf of persons who purchased the securities. Neither Centex's mortgage subsidiary nor the Company is named as a defendant in these actions. These actions are in their preliminary stage, and we cannot yet quantify Centex's mortgage subsidiary's potential liability as a result of these indemnification obligations. We do not believe, however, that these matters will have a material adverse impact on the results of operations, financial position, or cash flows of the Company. We are aware of six other RMBS transactions with such indemnity provisions that include an aggregate $116 million of loans, however, we are not aware of any current or threatened legal proceedings regarding those transactions.

Community development and other special district obligations

A community development district or similar development authority (“CDD”) is a unit of local government created under various state statutes that utilizes the proceeds from the sale of bonds to finance the construction or acquisition of infrastructure assets of a development. A portion of the liability associated with the bonds, including principal and interest, is assigned to each parcel of land within the development. This debt is typically paid by subsequent special assessments levied by the CDD on the landowners. Generally, we are only responsible for paying the special assessments for the period in which we are the landowner of the applicable parcels. However, in certain limited instances, we record a liability for future assessments that are fixed or determinable for a fixed or determinable period in accordance with ASC 970-470, “Real Estate Debt”. At September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, we had recorded $35.7 million and $38.4 million, respectively, in accrued liabilities for outstanding CDD obligations. During the nine months ended September 30, 2011, we repurchased at a discount prior to their maturity CDD obligations with an aggregate principal balance of $26.6 million in order to improve the future financial performance of the related communities. The discount of $5.2 million was recognized as a reduction of cost of revenues over the lives of the applicable communities, which will extend for several years. There were no repurchases during the three or nine months ended September 30, 2012.

Letters of credit and surety bonds

In the normal course of business, we post letters of credit and surety bonds pursuant to certain performance-related obligations, as security for certain land option agreements, and under various insurance programs. The majority of these letters of credit and surety bonds are in support of our land development and construction obligations to various municipalities, other government agencies, and utility companies related to the construction of roads, sewers, and other infrastructure. We had outstanding letters of credit and surety bonds totaling $190.7 million and $1.1 billion at September 30, 2012, respectively, and $235.9 million and $1.2 billion at December 31, 2011, respectively. In the event any such letter of credit or surety bond is drawn upon, we would be obligated to reimburse the issuer of the letter of credit or surety bond. We do not believe that a material amount, if any, of the letters of credit or surety bonds will be called. Our surety bonds generally do not have stated expiration dates. Rather, we are released from the surety bonds as the underlying performance is completed and accepted by the applicable counterparty. Because significant construction and development work has been performed related to the applicable projects but has not yet received final acceptance by the respective counterparties, the aggregate amount of surety bonds outstanding is in excess of the projected cost of the remaining work to be performed.

Litigation and regulatory matters

We are involved in various litigation and legal claims in the normal course of our business operations, including actions brought on behalf of various classes of claimants. We are also subject to a variety of local, state, and federal laws and regulations related to land development activities, house construction standards, sales practices, mortgage lending operations, employment practices, and protection of the environment. As a result, we are subject to periodic examination or inquiry by various governmental agencies that administer these laws and regulations.

We establish liabilities for legal claims and regulatory matters when such matters are both probable of occurring and any potential loss is reasonably estimable. We accrue for such matters based on the facts and circumstances specific to each matter and revise these estimates as the matters evolve. In such cases, there may exist an exposure to loss in excess of any amounts currently accrued. In view of the inherent difficulty of predicting the outcome of these legal and regulatory matters, we generally cannot predict the ultimate resolution of the pending matters, the related timing, or the eventual loss. While the outcome of such contingencies cannot be predicted with certainty, we do not believe that the resolution of such matters will have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows. However, to the extent the liability arising from the ultimate resolution of any matter exceeds the estimates reflected in the recorded reserves relating to such matter, we could incur additional charges that could be significant.

Allowance for warranties

Home purchasers are provided with a limited warranty against certain building defects, including a one-year comprehensive limited warranty and coverage for certain other aspects of the home’s construction and operating systems for periods of up to ten years. We estimate the costs to be incurred under these warranties and record liabilities in the amount of such costs within Homebuilding home sale revenues at the time product revenue is recognized. Factors that affect our warranty liabilities include the number of homes sold, historical and anticipated rates of warranty claims, and the projected cost per claim. We periodically assess the adequacy of the warranty liabilities for each geographic market in which we operate and adjust the amounts as necessary. Actual warranty costs in the future could differ from the current estimates. Changes to warranty liabilities were as follows ($000’s omitted):



	Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2012			2011			2012			2011
Warranty liabilities, beginning of period	$	64,364		$	70,521		$	68,025		$	80,195
Reserves provided	12,593			11,858			32,014			30,966
Payments	(10,976		)	(12,705		)	(34,336		)	(40,914		)
Other adjustments	(1,453		)	(827		)	(1,175		)	(1,400		)
Warranty liabilities, end of period	$	64,528		$	68,847		$	64,528		$	68,847

Self-insured risks

We maintain, and require our subcontractors to maintain, general liability insurance coverage. We also maintain builders' risk, property, errors and omissions, workers compensation, and other business insurance coverage. These insurance policies protect us against a portion of the risk of loss from claims. However, we retain a significant portion of the overall risk for such claims either through policies issued by our captive insurance subsidiaries or through our own self-insured per occurrence and aggregate retentions, deductibles, and claims in excess of available insurance policy limits.

Our general liability insurance includes coverage for certain construction defects. While construction defect claims can relate to a variety of circumstances, the majority of our claims relate to alleged problems with siding, plumbing, foundations and other concrete work, windows, roofing, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. The availability of general liability insurance for the homebuilding industry and its subcontractors has become increasingly limited, and the insurance policies available require companies to maintain higher per occurrence and aggregate retention levels. In certain instances, we may offer our subcontractors the opportunity to purchase insurance through one of our captive insurance subsidiaries or to participate in a project-specific insurance program provided by the Company. Policies issued by the captive insurance subsidiaries represent self-insurance of these risks by the Company. This self-insured exposure is limited by reinsurance policies that we purchase. General liability coverage for the homebuilding industry is complex, and our coverage varies from policy year to policy year. We are self-insured for a per occurrence deductible, which is capped at an overall aggregate retention level. Beginning with the first dollar, amounts paid on insured claims satisfy our per occurrence and aggregate retention obligations. Any amounts incurred in excess of the occurrence or aggregate retention levels are covered by insurance up to our purchased coverage levels. Our insurance policies, including the captive insurance subsidiaries' reinsurance policies, are maintained with highly-rated underwriters for whom we believe counterparty default risk is not significant.

At any point in time, we are managing over 1,000 individual claims related to general liability, property, errors and omission, workers compensation, and other business insurance coverage. We reserve for costs associated with such claims (including expected claims management expenses relating to legal fees, expert fees, and claims handling expenses) on an undiscounted basis at the time product revenue is recognized for each home closing and periodically evaluate the recorded liabilities based on actuarial analyses of our historical claims. The actuarial analyses calculate estimates of the ultimate net cost of all unpaid losses, including estimates for incurred but not reported losses ("IBNR"). IBNR represents losses related to claims incurred but not yet reported plus development on reported claims. These estimates comprise a significant portion of our liability and are subject to a high degree of uncertainty due to a variety of factors, including changes in claims reporting and resolution patterns, third party recoveries, insurance industry practices, the regulatory environment, and legal precedent. State regulations vary, but construction defect claims are reported and resolved over an extended period often exceeding ten years. In certain instances, we have the ability to recover a portion of our costs under various insurance policies or from subcontractors or other third parties. Estimates of such amounts are recorded when recovery is considered probable.

Our recorded reserves for all such claims totaled $723.8 million at September 30, 2012, the vast majority of which relate to general liability claims. The recorded reserves include loss estimates related to both (i) existing claims and related claim expenses and (ii) IBNR and related claim expenses. Liabilities related to IBNR and related claim expenses represented approximately 79% of the total general liability reserves at September 30, 2012. The actuarial analyses that determine the IBNR portion of reserves consider a variety of factors, including the frequency and severity of losses, which are based on our historical claims experience supplemented by industry data. The actuarial analyses of the reserves also consider historical third party recovery rates and claims management expenses.

Adjustments to reserves are recorded in the period in which the change in estimate occurs. Because the majority of our reserves relates to IBNR, adjustments to reserve amounts for individual existing claims generally do not impact the recorded reserves materially. However, changes in the frequency and timing of reported claims and estimates of specific claim values can impact the underlying inputs and trends utilized in the actuarial analyses, which could have a material impact on the recorded reserves. Because of the inherent uncertainty in estimating future losses related to these claims, actual costs could differ significantly from estimated costs. Costs associated with our insurance programs are classified within selling, general, and administrative expenses.

Changes in these liabilities were as follows ($000's omitted):



	Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	September 30,						September 30,
	2012			2011			2012			2011
Balance, beginning of period	$	733,042		$	759,714		$	739,029		$	787,918
Reserves provided	15,557			14,790			37,772			42,000
Payments	(24,773		)	(18,104		)	(52,975		)	(73,518		)
Balance, end of period	$	723,826		$	756,400		$	723,826		$	756,400