PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995
SAFE HARBOR COMPLIANCE STATEMENT FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
In passing the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the
"PSLRA"), Congress encouraged public companies to make "forward-looking
statements"(1) by creating a safe-harbor to protect companies from securities
law liability in connection with forward-looking statements. Meritage intends to
qualify both its written and oral forward-looking statements for protection
under the PSLRA.
To qualify oral forward-looking statements for protection under the PSLRA,
a readily available written document must identify important factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking
statements. Meritage provides the following information in connection with its
continuing effort to qualify forward-looking statements for the safe harbor
protection of the PSLRA.
Important factors currently known to management that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to, the following: (i) changes in national and local
economic and other conditions, such as employment levels, availability of
mortgage financing, interest rates, consumer confidence, and housing demand;
(ii) risks inherent in homebuilding activities, including delays in construction
schedules, cost overruns, changes in government regulation, increases in real
estate taxes and other local fees; (iii) changes in costs or availability of
land, materials, and labor; (iv) fluctuations in real estate values; (v) the
timing of home closings and land sales; (vi) Meritage's ability to continue to
acquire additional land or options to acquire additional land on acceptable
terms; (vii) a relative lack of geographic diversification of Meritage's
operations, especially when real estate analysts are predicting that new home
sales in certain markets may slow during 2000; (viii) Meritage's inability to
obtain sufficient capital on terms acceptable to Meritage to fund its planned
capital and other expenditures; (ix) changes in local, state and federal rules
and regulations governing real estate development and homebuilding activities
and environmental matters, including "no growth" or "slow growth" initiatives,
building permit allocation ordinances and building moratoriums; (x) expansion by
Meritage into new geographic or product markets in which Meritage has little or
no operating experience; (xi) the inability of Meritage to identify acquisition
candidates that will result in successful combinations; (xii) the failure of
Meritage to make acquisitions on terms acceptable to Meritage, or to
successfully integrate acquired operations, into Meritage; and (xiii) the loss
of key employees of the Company, including Steven J. Hilton and John R. Landon.
Forward-looking statements express expectations of future events. All
forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain as they are based on various
expectations and assumptions concerning future events and they are subject to
numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties which could cause actual
events or results to differ materially from those projected. Due to these
inherent uncertainties, the investment community is urged not to place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements. In addition, Meritage undertakes no
obligations to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed
assumptions, the occurrence of anticipated events or changes to projections over
time.
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(1) "Forward-looking statements" can be identified by use of words such as
"expect," "believe," "estimate," "project," "forecast," "anticipate,"
"plan," and similar expressions.
