Home builder pulls out of a dozen unfinished neighborhoods

YORK COUNTY, S.C.,None — Mercedes Homes has more than a half dozen communities under construction in the Charlotte area and York County.

David Beatson lives in one of those communities called Harper's Mill, and it's off Highway 49 near Lake Wylie in York County.

He noticed something very odd over the weekend.

"Mercedes showed up and started removing all the for sale signs from the lots. So people started wondering what was going on," Beatson said.

The Harper's Mill neighborhood has been in development for nearly a decade. There are still 85 vacant lots in the neighborhood.

Eyewitness News obtained a letter from the Harper's Mill Board of Directors to homeowners there. It states in part that "the building division of Mercedes Homes is in the process of closing their doors."

Beatson could not believe it happened so quickly. "I was shocked. I mean, they'd been building and selling houses. All of us are wondering what happens next," he said.

Channel 9 visited three Mercedes Homes communities in York County on Thursday.

At Norwood Ridge on Mount Gallant Road there are large brightly-colored Mercedes banners lining the entrance way, but the office there is closed as well.

Another builder called Ellis Homes is also working in that community. Owner Carl Catoe said Mercedes Homes informed him that they were pulling out of the Charlotte market entirely.

He said he urged them to come back to Norwood Ridge and remove their signs and banners.

Beatson is concerned about paying more in homeowner's association fees to maintain all the empty lots at Harper's Mill.

There is also a concern about newly-built homes that may need repairs. The letter from the Harper's Mill board also makes this plea to homeowners with complaints: "we encourage all owners that may have unresolved building concerns, especially ones under warranty, to take steps to resolve these matters as quickly as possible."

Mercedes Homes, according to the letter, has pledged to finish any partially-built homes, and continue any sales already in progress.

The Melbourne, Fla., based developer builds communities in Florida, Texas and the Carolinas.

Channel 9 tried to contact Mercedes officials, sales agents, and home-office staff on Thursday. None of the calls were returned.

A statement on the internet website Wikipedia said, as of Jan. 13, 2012, Mercedes had shut down its building operations.

Several sources confirmed that information, however Mercedes did not.

"This has just happened with no warning," Beatson said, who now worries about home values in his still-unfinished neighborhood.

It's not clear if a new developer will take over some of Mercedes Homes’ communities, or how long they could remain unfinished.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009, but emerged from that process less than a year later.

WSOC