Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Apr. 02, 2016

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

15. Commitments and Contingencies

Repurchase Contingencies. The Company is contingently liable under terms of repurchase agreements with financial institutions providing inventory financing for independent retailers of its products. These arrangements, which are customary in the industry, provide for the repurchase of products sold to retailers in the event of default by the retailer. The risk of loss under these agreements is spread over numerous retailers. The price the Company is obligated to pay generally declines over the period of the agreement (generally 18 to 36 months, calculated from the date of sale to the retailer) and the risk of loss is further reduced by the resale value of the repurchased homes. The Company applies ASC 460 and ASC 450-20 to account for its liability for repurchase commitments. Under the provisions of ASC 460, issuance of a guarantee results in two different types of obligations: (1) a non-contingent obligation to stand ready to perform under the repurchase commitment (accounted for pursuant to ASC 460) and (2) a contingent obligation to make future payments under the conditions of the repurchase commitment (accounted for pursuant to ASC 450-20). Management reviews the retailers' inventories to estimate the amount of inventory subject to repurchase obligation, which is used to calculate: (1) the fair value of the non-contingent obligation for repurchase commitments and (2) the contingent liability based on historical information available at the time. During the period in which a home is sold (inception of a repurchase commitment), the Company records the greater of these two calculations as a liability for repurchase commitments and as a reduction to revenue.

(1)

The Company estimates the fair value of the non-contingent portion of its manufacturer's inventory repurchase commitment under the provisions of ASC 460 when a home is shipped to retailers whose floor plan financing includes a repurchase commitment. The fair value of the inventory repurchase agreement is determined by calculating the net present value of the difference in (a) the Company's interest cost to carry the inventory over the maximum repurchase liability period at the prevailing floor plan note interest rate and (b) the retailer's interest cost to carry the inventory over the maximum repurchase liability period at the interest rate of a similar type loan without a manufacturer's repurchase agreement in force. Following the inception of the commitment, the recorded reserve is reduced over the repurchase period in conjunction with applicable curtailment arrangements and is eliminated once the retailer sells the home.

(2)

The Company estimates the contingent obligation to make future payments under its manufacturer's inventory repurchase commitment for the same pool of commitments as used in the fair value calculation above and records the greater of the two calculations. This contingent obligation is estimated using historical loss factors, including the frequency of repurchases and the losses experienced by the Company for repurchased inventory.

Additionally, subsequent to the inception of the repurchase commitment, the Company evaluates the likelihood that it will be called on to perform under the inventory repurchase commitments. If it becomes probable that a retailer will default and an ASC 450-20 loss reserve should be recorded, then such contingent liability is recorded equal to the estimated loss on repurchase. Based on identified changes in retailers' financial conditions, the Company evaluates the probability of default for retailers who are identified at an elevated risk of default and applies a probability of default, based on historical default rates. Commensurate with this default probability evaluation, the Company reviews repurchase notifications received from floor plan sources and reviews retailer inventory for expected repurchase notifications based on various communications from the lenders and retailers. The Company's repurchase commitments for the retailers in the category of elevated risk of default are excluded from the pool of commitments used in both of the calculations at (1) and (2) above. Changes in the reserve are recorded as an adjustment to revenue.

The maximum amount for which the Company was liable under such agreements approximated $46.6 million and $28.3 million at April 2, 2016 and March 28, 2015, respectively, without reduction for the resale value of the homes. The Company had a reserve for repurchase commitments of $1.7 million and $2.2 million at April 2, 2016 and March 28, 2015, respectively. Activity in the liability for estimated repurchase contingencies was as follows for fiscal years 2016, 2015 and 2014 (in thousands):



	Fiscal Year
	2016			2015			2014
Balance at beginning of period	$	2,240		$	1,845		$	1,352
(Credited) Charged to costs and expenses	(187		)	522			493
Payments and deductions	(393		)	(127		)	—
Balance at end of period	$	1,660		$	2,240		$	1,845

Leases. The Company leases certain equipment and facilities under operating leases with various renewal options. Rent expense was $5.1 million, $4.5 million and $4.4 million for the fiscal years ended April 2, 2016, March 28, 2015 and March 29, 2014, respectively. Future minimum lease commitments under all noncancelable operating leases having a remaining term in excess of one year at April 2, 2016, are as follows (in thousands):



2017	$	2,997
2018	2,567
2019	1,899
2020	1,308
2021 and thereafter	1,087
	$	9,858

Letters of Credit. To secure certain reinsurance contracts, Standard Casualty maintains an irrevocable letter of credit of $7.0 million to provide assurance that Standard Casualty will fulfill its reinsurance obligations. This letter of credit is secured by certain of the Company’s investments.

Construction-Period Mortgages. CountryPlace funds construction-period mortgages through periodic advances during the period of home construction. At the time of initial funding, CountryPlace commits to fully fund the loan contract in accordance with a predetermined schedule. Subsequent advances are contingent upon the performance of contractual obligations by the seller of the home and the borrower. Cumulative advances on construction-period mortgages are carried in the consolidated balance sheet at the amount advanced less a valuation allowance, which are included in consumer loans receivable. The total loan contract amount, less cumulative advances, represents an off-balance sheet contingent commitment of CountryPlace to fund future advances.

Loan contracts with off-balance sheet commitments are summarized below (in thousands):



	April 2, 2016			March 28, 2015
Construction loan contract amount	$	15,109		$	9,591
Cumulative advances	(6,566		)	(4,076		)
Remaining construction contingent commitment	$	8,543		$	5,515

Representations and Warranties of Mortgages Sold. CountryPlace sells loans to GSEs and whole-loan purchasers. In connection with these activities, CountryPlace provides to the GSEs and whole-loan purchasers, representations and warranties related to the loans sold. These representations and warranties generally relate to the ownership of the loan, the validity of the lien securing the loan, the loan’s compliance with the criteria for inclusion in the sale transactions, including compliance with underwriting standards or loan criteria established by the buyer and CountryPlace’s ability to deliver documentation in compliance with applicable laws. Generally, representations and warranties may be enforced at any time over the life of the loan. Upon a breach of a representation, CountryPlace may be required to repurchase the loan or to indemnify a party for incurred losses. Repurchase demands and claims for indemnification payments are reviewed on a loan-by-loan basis to validate if there has been a breach requiring repurchase. CountryPlace manages the risk of repurchase through underwriting and quality assurance practices and by servicing the mortgage loans to investor standards. CountryPlace maintains a reserve for these contingent repurchase and indemnification obligations. This reserve of $785,000 and $867,000 as of April 2, 2016 and March 28, 2015, respectively, included in accrued liabilities, reflects management’s estimate of probable loss. CountryPlace considers a variety of assumptions, including borrower performance (both actual and estimated future defaults), historical repurchase demands and loan defect rates to estimate the liability for loan repurchases and indemnifications. During the year ended April 2, 2016, one claim request resulted in an indemnification agreements being executed.

Interest Rate Lock Commitments. In originating loans for sale, CountryPlace issues interest rate lock commitments ("IRLCs") to prospective borrowers and third-party originators. These IRLCs represent an agreement to extend credit to a loan applicant, or an agreement to purchase a loan from a third-party originator, whereby the interest rate on the loan is set prior to loan closing or sale. These IRLCs bind CountryPlace to fund the approved loan at the specified rate regardless of whether interest rates or market prices for similar loans have changed between the commitment date and the closing date. As such, outstanding IRLCs are subject to interest rate risk and related loan sale price risk during the period from the date of the IRLC through the earlier of the loan sale date or IRLC expiration date. The loan commitments generally range between 30 and 180 days; however, borrowers are not obligated to close the related loans. As a result, CountryPlace is subject to fallout risk related to IRLCs, which is realized if approved borrowers choose not to close on the loans within the terms of the IRLCs unless the commitment is successfully paired with another loan that may mitigate losses from fallout.

As of April 2, 2016 CountryPlace had outstanding IRLCs with a notional amount of $4.3 million and are recorded at fair value in accordance with FASB ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging ("ASC 815"). ASC 815 clarifies that the expected net future cash flows related to the associated servicing of a loan should be included in the measurement of all written loan commitments that are accounted for at fair value through earnings. The estimated fair values of IRLCs are recorded in other assets in the consolidated balance sheets. The fair value of IRLCs is based on the value of the underlying mortgage loan adjusted for: (i) estimated cost to complete and originate the loan and (ii) the estimated percentage of IRLCs that will result in closed mortgage loans. The initial and subsequent changes in the value of IRLCs are a component of gain (loss) on mortgage loans held for sale. During fiscal years 2016, 2015 and 2014, CountryPlace recognized a loss of $11,000, a gain of $34,000 and a loss of $42,000, respectively, on the outstanding IRLCs.

Forward Sales Commitments. CountryPlace manages the risk profiles of a portion of its outstanding IRLCs and mortgage loans held for sale by entering into forward sales of mortgage backed securities ("MBS") and whole loan sale commitments. As of April 2, 2016 CountryPlace had $17.0 million in outstanding notional forward sales of MBSs and forward sales commitments. Commitments to forward sales of whole loans are typically in an amount proportionate with the amount of IRLCs expected to close in particular time frames, assuming no change in mortgage interest rates, for the respective loan products intended for whole loan sale.

The estimated fair values of forward sales of MBS and forward sale commitments are based on quoted market values and are recorded within other current assets in the consolidated balance sheets. During the years ended April 2, 2016 and March 28, 2015, CountryPlace recognized a gain of $23,000, a loss of $78,000 and a gain of $28,000, respectively, on forward sales and whole loan sale commitments.

Legal Matters. The Company is party to certain legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course and are incidental to its business. Certain of the claims pending against the Company in these proceedings allege, among other things, breach of contract and warranty, product liability and personal injury. Although litigation is inherently uncertain, based on past experience and the information currently available, management does not believe that the currently pending and threatened litigation or claims will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, liquidity or results of operations. However, future events or circumstances currently unknown to management will determine whether the resolution of pending or threatened litigation or claims will ultimately have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, liquidity or results of operations in any future reporting periods.

Commitments and Contingencies, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Derivatives, Reporting of Derivative Activity [Policy Text Block]