Palm Harbor Homes Announces Sale of Loans by CountryPlace Mortgage
DALLAS TEXAS - April 28, 2008 - Palm Harbor Homes, Inc. (NASDAQ: PHHM) today announced that CountryPlace Mortgage, Ltd., the Company’s full-service lending subsidiary, sold approximately $51.3 million of its $69.4 million warehoused portfolio of chattel and mortgage loans. Approximately $41.5 million of the proceeds were used to repay in full and terminate the Company’s warehouse borrowing facility scheduled to expire on April 30, 2008.
Commenting on the announcement, Larry H. Keener, chairman and chief executive officer of Palm Harbor Homes, Inc., remarked, “We are very pleased to announce the sale of these chattel loans and mortgages without incurring a loss. The favorable terms of this transaction indicate the buyer’s confidence in the high quality of CountryPlace’s portfolio, especially noteworthy in light of today’s difficult credit market conditions. Multiple parties expressed interest in our warehoused portfolio and we believe the positive market response, in sharp contrast to the tightening mortgage credit markets, reflects the strength of our business model and our strict underwriting standards, the historically strong performance of our two securitized financings, and the high quality of our assets. CountryPlace has a solid five-year track record as a chattel and mortgage lender, originating and servicing high quality, fixed rate, fully-documented, and fully-verified chattel loans and mortgages, with average credit scores exceeding 700. With our continued ability to originate and service conforming mortgage products, we remain confident in our ability to provide viable financing alternatives for our credit-worthy customers.”
Palm Harbor Homes is one of the nation’s leading manufacturers and marketers of factory-built homes. The Company markets nationwide through vertically integrated operations, encompassing manufacturing, marketing, financing and insurance. For more information on the Company, please visit http://www.palmharbor.com/.