Investments in Unconsolidated Entities

As of December 31, 2012, we participated in certain land development joint ventures and other unconsolidated entities in which Beazer Homes had less than a controlling interest. The following table presents our investment in our unconsolidated entities, the total equity and outstanding borrowings of these unconsolidated entities, and our guarantees of these borrowings, as of December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2012:



(In thousands)	December 31, 2012		September 30, 2012
Beazer’s investment in unconsolidated entities	$	42,029	$	42,078
Total equity of unconsolidated entity	443,526		383,482
Total outstanding borrowings of unconsolidated entities	64,281		64,912
Beazer’s estimate of its maximum exposure to our repayment guarantees	—		696

For the three months ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, our income (loss) from unconsolidated entity activities, the impairments of our investments in certain of our unconsolidated entities, and the overall equity in income (loss) of unconsolidated entities is as follows:



	Three Months Ended
	December 31,
(In thousands)	2012		2011
Continuing operations:
Income (loss) from unconsolidated entity activity	$	36	$	(77	)
Impairment of unconsolidated entity investment	—		—
Equity in income (loss) of unconsolidated entities - continuing operations	$	36	$	(77	)
Reported in loss from discontinued operations, net of tax:
Loss from unconsolidated entity activity	$	—	$	—
Impairment of unconsolidated entity investment	—		(29		)
Equity in loss of unconsolidated entities - discontinued operations	$	—	$	(29	)

South Edge/Inspirada

The Company holds a minority (less than 10%) interest in Inspirada Builders LLC which was formed in connection with the bankruptcy and subsequent plan of reorganization of the South Edge joint venture. During the quarter ended December 31, 2011, we paid $15.9 million in connection with this plan of reorganization. Our right to acquire land from Inspirada is a component of our investment. As such, we have recorded an investment in Inspirada, which includes the $11.7 million we previously estimated for our future right to purchase land and our cash contributions to the joint venture, primarily for organization costs. In addition to our initial payment, we, as a member of the Inspirada joint venture, will have obligations for a portion of future infrastructure and other development costs. At this time, these costs cannot be quantified due to, among other things, uncertainty over the future development configuration of the project and the related costs, market conditions, uncertainty over the remaining infrastructure costs and potential recoveries from previously filed bankruptcies of certain other South Edge members. In addition, there are uncertainties with respect to the location and density of the land we will receive as a result of our investment in Inspirada, the products we will build on such land and the estimated selling prices of such homes. Because there are uncertainties with respect to development costs, in future periods, we may be required to record adjustments to the carrying value of this Inspirada investment as better information becomes available.

Pre-Owned Rental Homes

Effective May 3, 2012, we contributed $0.3 million in cash and our Pre-Owned Homes business at cost, including 190 homes in Arizona and Nevada, of which 187 were leased, for a 23.5% equity method investment in an unconsolidated real estate investment trust (the REIT). The Company also received grants of restricted units in the REIT, of which a portion vested during the year ended September 30, 2012 and the quarter ended December 31, 2012. As of December 31, 2012, we held a 15.14% investment in the REIT.

Subsequent to the initial REIT offering, we entered into a transition services agreement with the REIT under which we provide interim Chief Financial Officer and various back office and administrative support on an as needed basis. These services may include treasury operations and cash management services, accounting and financial reporting services, human resources support, environmental and safety services, and tax support. Fees received related to the transition services agreement billed at our cost and recognized as other income were not material to our consolidated financial results.

Guarantees

Our land development joint ventures typically obtain secured acquisition, development and construction financing. Generally, Beazer and our land development joint ventures partners provide varying levels of guarantees of debt and other obligations for these unconsolidated entities.

As of September 30, 2012, we had recorded $0.7 million in Other Liabilities related to one repayment guarantee. During the quarter ended December 31, 2012, we entered into a guarantee release agreement and paid $0.5 million to settle our liability and recognized the remaining $0.2 million as other income.

We and our joint venture partners generally provide unsecured environmental indemnities to land development joint ventures project lenders. In each case, we have performed due diligence on potential environmental risks. These indemnities obligate us to reimburse the project lenders for claims related to environmental matters for which they are held responsible. During the three months ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, we were not required to make any payments related to environmental indemnities.

In assessing the need to record a liability for the contingent aspect of these guarantees, we consider our historical experience in being required to perform under the guarantees, the fair value of the collateral underlying these guarantees and the financial condition of the applicable unconsolidated entities. In addition, we monitor the fair value of the collateral of these unconsolidated entities to ensure that the related borrowings do not exceed the specified percentage of the value of the property securing the borrowings. We have not recorded a liability for the contingent aspects of any guarantees that we determined were reasonably possible but not probable.