Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Warranties and Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

14. 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) and is further reduced by the resale value of 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 sales.

(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 interest cost to carry the inventory over the maximum repurchase liability period at the prevailing floor plan note interest rate and (b) the 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.

(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 the retailers as well as for dealers who, the Company believes, are experiencing financial difficulty. 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 sales.

The maximum amount for which the Company was liable under such agreements approximated $12.0 million and $11.1 million at March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively, without reduction for the resale value of the homes. The Company had a reserve for repurchase commitments of $819,000 and $597,000 at March 31, 2012 and March 31, 2011, respectively. The Company made payments under repurchase commitments of $110,000 and $26,000 during fiscal years 2012 and 2011, respectively. Activity in the liability for estimated repurchase contingencies was as follows (in thousands):

	Year Ended March 31,
	2012			2011			2010
Balance at beginning of period	$	597		$	760		$	741
Charged to costs and expenses		332			(137	)		64
Payments and deductions		(110	)		(26	)		(45	)
Balance at end of period	$	819		$	597		$	760

Leases. The Company leases certain equipment and facilities under operating leases with various renewal options. Rent expense was $4.2 million, $1.4 million and $1.6 million for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Future minimum lease commitments under all noncancelable operating leases having a remaining term in excess of one year at March 31, 2012, are as follows (in thousands):

Fiscal Year
2013	$	2,851
2014		2,038
2015		1,393
2016		873
2017 and thereafter		386
	$	7,541

Letters of Credit. To secure certain reinsurance contracts, Standard maintains an irrevocable letter of credit of $5.0 million to provide assurance that Standard will fulfill its reinsurance obligations. This letter of credit is secured by certain of the Company’s investments. CountryPlace maintains an irrevocable letter of credit of $100,000 related to state licensing requirements. The Company maintains a $100,000 irrevocable letter of credit to satisfy the remaining requirements of the self-funded workers’ compensation program which concluded on September 30, 2006. There have been no draws on any of the aforementioned letters of credit.

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. Construction-period mortgages are carried in the consolidated balance sheet at the actual amount of cumulative advances, 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):

	March 31,
	2012
Construction loan contract amount	$	6,397
Cumulative advances		(3,865	)
Remaining construction contingent commitment	$	2,532

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 $805,000 as of March 31, 2012, 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. There were five claim requests during the year ended March 31, 2012, and four claims open for review for $144,000 as of March 31, 2012.

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.

As of March 31, 2012 CountryPlace had outstanding IRLCs of $22.9 million. IRLCs totaling $10.9 million were related to loans held for sale and loans in construction, which are carried at the lower cost or market. The remaining $12.0 million of commitments are recorded at fair value in accordance with ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging. 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 based on quoted market values and 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 or IRLCs that will result in closed mortgage loan. The initial and subsequent changes in the value of IRLCs are a component of gain (loss) on mortgage loans held for sale. CountryPlace recognized a gain of $11,000 as of March 31, 2012 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 commitments. Commitments to forward sale of whole loans are typically in an amount proportionate with the amount of IRLC expected to close in particular timeframes, 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. CountryPlace recognized a gain of $7,000 as of March 31, 2012 on the forward sales and whole loan commitments.

Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest. In accordance with the Shareholder Agreement entered into among Fleetwood Homes and its shareholders (Cavco and Third Avenue), as amended, after the fifth anniversary of the Fleetwood Acquisition Date, (i.e., after August 17, 2014), or at any time after Fleetwood Homes has earned net income of at least $10.0 million in each of its two most recently completed consecutive fiscal years, excluding the gain on bargain purchase, Third Avenue has the Put Right to require Cavco to purchase all of Third Avenue’s shares of Fleetwood Homes common stock for an amount based upon a calculation that is designed to approximate fair value. Likewise, Cavco has the Call Right to require Third Avenue to sell all of its shares of Fleetwood Homes common stock based on the same timing and calculation as described above for the Put Right. Subject to certain conditions, the satisfaction of this purchase price obligation may be in the form of cash or Cavco common stock at Cavco’s discretion if Third Avenue exercises its Put Right, or in the form of cash or Cavco common stock at Third Avenue’s discretion if Cavco exercises its Call Right. The conditions for the Put Right or Call Right to become exercisable have not been met as of March 31, 2012; however, in any event, these conditions will be met on August 18, 2014 (see Note 22).

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.