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Guarantees and Indemnification | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2011
Guarantees and Indemnification [Abstract] |
Guarantees [Text Block] | Guarantees and Indemnifications Warranty The Company offers a limited warranty program in conjunction with a thirty-year transferable structural limited warranty on homes closed after September 30, 2007 in all markets except San Antonio, where we offer a 10-year transferable structural limited warranty. This warranty program covers construction defects and certain damage resulting from construction defects for a statutory period based on geographic market and state law (currently ranging from five to ten years for the states in which the Company operates) and includes a mandatory arbitration clause. Prior to this warranty program, the Company provided up to a two-year limited warranty on materials and workmanship and a twenty-year (for homes closed between September 1, 1989 and April 24, 1998) and a thirty-year (for homes closed after April 24, 1998) transferable limited warranty against major structural defects. Warranty expense is accrued as the home sale is recognized and is intended to cover estimated material and outside labor costs to be incurred during the warranty period. The accrual amounts are based upon historical experience and geographic location. Our warranty accruals are included in Other liabilities in the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets. A summary of warranty activity for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 is as follows:
| Years Ended December 31,
(In thousands) | 2011 | 2010 | 2009
Warranty accruals, beginning of year | $ | 8,335 |  | $ | 8,657 |  | $ | 9,518 |
Warranty expense on homes delivered during the period | 4,526 |  | 5,096 |  | 4,904 |
Changes in estimates for pre-existing warranties | 1,891 |  | 1,118 |  | 346 |
Settlements made during the period | (5,727 | ) | (6,536 | ) | (6,111 | )
Warranty accruals, end of year | $ | 9,025 |  | $ | 8,335 |  | $ | 8,657 |
Guarantees In the ordinary course of business, M/I Financial Corp. (“M/I Financial”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of M/I Homes, Inc., enters into agreements that guarantee certain purchasers of its mortgage loans that M/I Financial will repurchase a loan if certain conditions occur, primarily if the mortgagor does not meet those conditions of the loan within the first six months after the sale of the loan. Loans totaling approximately $53.0 million and $142.2 million were covered under the above guarantees as of December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. A portion of the revenue paid to M/I Financial for providing the guarantees on the above loans was deferred at December 31, 2011, and will be recognized in income as M/I Financial is released from its obligation under the guarantees. M/I Financial has not repurchased any loans under the above agreements in 2011, but has received inquiries concerning underwriting matters from purchasers of its loans concerning certain loans under those agreements. The total of these loans was approximately $4.6 million and $3.6 million at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. The risk associated with the guarantees above is offset by the value of the underlying assets. M/I Financial has also guaranteed the collectability of certain loans to third-party insurers (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Veterans Administration) of those loans for periods ranging from five to thirty years. As of both December 31, 2011 and 2010, the total of all loans indemnified to third-party insurers relating to the above agreements was $1.4 million. The maximum potential amount of future payments is equal to the outstanding loan value less the value of the underlying asset plus administrative costs incurred related to foreclosure on the loans, should this event occur. The Company has recorded a liability relating to the guarantees described above totaling $2.8 million and $2.0 million at December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively, which is management's best estimate of the Company's liability. At December 31, 2011, the Company had outstanding $41.4 million of 6.875% Senior Notes due 2012 (the “2012 Senior Notes”), which are fully and unconditionally guaranteed jointly and severally by all of the Company's wholly-owned subsidiaries. At December 31, 2011, the Company also had outstanding $200 million aggregate principal amount of 8.625% Senior Notes due 2018 (the "2018 Senior Notes"). The Company's obligations under both the 2018 Senior Notes and the Credit Facility are guaranteed by all of the Company's subsidiaries, with the exception of subsidiaries that are primarily engaged in the business of mortgage financing, the origination of mortgages for resale, title insurance or similar financial businesses relating to the homebuilding and home sales business and certain subsidiaries that are not wholly-owned by the Company or another subsidiary.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for each guarantee obligation, or each group of similar guarantee obligations, including (a) the nature of the guarantee, including its term, how it arose, and the events or circumstances that would require the guarantor to perform under the guarantee; (b) the maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted) the guarantor could be required to make under the guarantee; (c) the current carrying amount of the liability, if any, for the guarantor's obligations under the guarantee; and (d) the nature of any recourse provisions under the guarantee, and any assets held either as collateral or by third parties, and any relevant related party disclosure. Excludes disclosures about product warranties. + References No definition available. + Details
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