Before lender closed, employees were told: ‘Your jobs are safe’

The big Smyrna-based lender Sunshine Mortgage, which announced this week it was shutting down, is part of a much larger real estate enterprise run by Edward L. Terry and his son, Edward M. Terry.

More than a dozen active companies are listed on the Georgia Secretary of State’s Web site in which the senior Terry is either the CEO or manager.

Those companies include Brentwood Homes, a builder of several communities in North Carolina and South Carolina.

E-mails obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution describe businesses that were doing well last fall, but recently the owners were concerned about obtaining credit and expressed an interest in selling.

The Terrys, who both go by Ted, are trying to shop Brentwood Homes to Toll Brothers, one of the nation’s biggest home builders, an e-mail sent Monday said.

“Ted Jr. asked me to accomplish an introduction to you in hopes that Toll Brothers would consider a well-priced acquisition of Brentwood Homes,” wrote C. Bradley Olson, a real estate lecturer at Cornell University and friend of the Terrys.

“Ted and his Dad are finding the credit crunch a significant inhibition on their ability to pursue projects the way they would like to, and feel that they might be a very good fit with Toll Brothers.”

Sunshine Mortgage, a 27-year-old company with branches in several states, closed suddenly, leaving its employees stunned.

Spokesman Daniel McKee said Friday the closing was “due to a lack of available funds necessary to continue. Sunshine Mortgage is evaluating its financial condition as it winds down its operation.” He would not comment further.

A note this week from Ted Terry Jr. to employees said, “Sunshine lost its warehouse line yesterday afternoon and was unable to continue operations.” A warehouse line of credit is used like a credit card to quickly fund loans for a short period of time before they’re bought by investors.

U.S. Bank and Guaranty Financial Group provided the lines of credit. It’s not clear whether the banks or the Terrys terminated the warehouse lines. With interest rates low, employees said Sunshine Mortgage was busy, particularly with refinancings.

Calls to the Terrys were not returned.

The Terrys this week also shut down a sister company of Sunshine Mortgage — Madison Mortgage, which worked with mortgage brokers and employed about 20 people, according to a Madison employee who did not want to identified.

In October, Ted Terry Sr. sent an e-mail to employees to “share some good news.”

“Sunshine and Madison Mortgage successfully renewed $99 million of warehouse lines of credit with our two banks,” he wrote. “These lines of credit are the life blood of our business and I was pleased that the banks determined that we are a safe and sound borrower.

“Sunshine’s service portfolio exceeds $400 million and is growing. Our home building company in the Carolinas is growing and having a nicely profitable year.

“Our commercial real estate company, Brentwood Realty, manages and has ownership interests in about 1 million square feet of commercial real estate.

“I started with two people [in 1973] and today employ 220 people. During these 35 years, I have experienced several bad economic downturns and have never missed a payroll. Your jobs are safe.”

Carlisle Dent, a mortgage consultant who worked in Sunshine Mortgage’s Buckhead office, said when employees learned Wednesday afternoon the company was closing, “we were all in shock. We were in a daze.”

Olson said in an e-mail sent Wednesday to Ted Terry Jr. that “Bob Toll called me late Monday in response to the e-mail. He appreciated the tip and seemed interested.”