Meritage Homes to Donate Brand New Mortgage-Free Home to Operation Homefront in 2019

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., May 30, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE: MTH), a leading U.S. homebuilder, will donate its thirteenth home to Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit serving America’s military families. Together, Meritage and Operation Homefront will welcome a military family into a brand new, mortgage-free, and energy-efficient Meritage home in Canton, Georgia, located north of Atlanta and help them learn how to become successful home owners. 

Meritage home to be donated through Operation Homefront’s Homes on the Homefront program Operation Homefront

Operation Homefront will select the recipient for the new home through its Homes on the Homefront (HOTH) program. Families in the HOTH program work directly with Operation Homefront caseworkers and financial counselors to build up savings, reduce debt, and learn the skills to manage their home. Upon graduation from the program, the family will be deeded the home mortgage-free. This life-changing opportunity will be announced the week of September 11, with keys awarded to the family around Veterans Day. 

This is the seventh year Meritage Homes has built and donated new homes to Operation Homefront, helping provide military families with the foundation to become strong, stable, and secure in communities across the country.

“We are excited to continue our tradition of partnering with Operation Homefront to build a beautiful home for yet another deserving military family,” said Steven J. Hilton, chairman and CEO of Meritage Homes.

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch home will be built in a LiVE.NOW community called The Vistas of Towne Mill. As with all Operation Homefront homes, it will include handicap-accessible options such as wider doorways and zero entry showers. It will also include a two-car garage, private study/flex room, a covered outdoor living area, the M.Connected Home^TM Automation Suite and an array of money-saving features.

Last year, a Meritage home in Commerce City, Colo. was donated to U.S. Army Specialist and two-time Purple Heart recipient Herbert Jackson and his family. “We are so grateful for the opportunity to move toward a stronger, more stable, and secure future,” said Jackson.

The HOTH program offers military families the foundation for long-term stability and resiliency. More than 650 military families have been entered into the program and since 2012, Operation Homefront has deeded over 550 homes to military families, at a value of nearly $80 million in home equity.

“We are absolutely thrilled to extend our long-standing relationship with Meritage Homes for the seventh year to place another deserving military family in a mortgage-free home,” said retired Brig. Gen. John I. Pray Jr., president and CEO of Operation Homefront. “We are grateful to the entire Meritage team who shares our commitment to building strong, stable, and secure military families so they can thrive – not simply struggle to get by – in the communities they have worked so hard to protect.”

For more information about the program, please visit OperationHomefront.org.

About Meritage Homes Corporation:

Meritage Homes is the seventh-largest public homebuilder in the United States, based on homes closed in 2018. Meritage offers a variety of homes that are designed with a focus on first-time and first move-up buyers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The Company has designed and built over 120,000 homes in its 33-year history, and has a reputation for its distinctive style, quality construction, and positive customer experience. Meritage is the industry leader in energy-efficient homebuilding and has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for Sustained Excellence Award every year since 2013 for innovation and industry leadership in energy efficient homebuilding. 

For more information, visit www.meritagehomes.com.

About Operation Homefront:

Founded in 2002, Operation Homefront is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive - not simply struggle to get by – in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefront expenditures go directly to programs that support tens of thousands of military families each year. Operation Homefront provides critical financial assistance, transitional and permanent housing and family support services to prevent short-term needs from turning into chronic, long-term struggles. Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the support from thousands of volunteers, Operation Homefront proudly serves America’s military families.

MEDIA INQUIRIES:  Jason E. Moody - Sr. Manager, Public Relations
                                  Operation Homefront
                                  [email protected]
                                  210.243.1657

                                  Lauren Hendeles – Meritage Homes Corporation 
                                  [email protected]
                                  602.750.5934

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7f31ff2c-a4b4-4130-80cc-e02af296d035