One of North County's largest home builders is struggling to raise enough money in bank loans to pay its bills, forcing it to search for new investors, the company president said Tuesday.

The housing recession appears to have damaged the financial standing of Barratt American, a private builder based in Carlsbad. More than 40 civil lawsuits, many from subcontractors suing over failure to pay, have been filed against the company in the last six months.

Barratt American cannot afford to pay off the subcontractors, which include drywall and concrete companies, because of a credit crunch that has left banks unwilling to make loans -- especially to companies with significant exposure to the housing downturn, said Michael Pattinson, president and one of the company's owners.

Barratt American is forced to turn to London in hopes of securing foreign investment so it can pay off the outstanding bills, Pattinson said. The builder was originally a British company, starting an American division in California 28 years ago. Barratt American is now an independent entity.

"The story here is that the U.S.-regulated banks are basically getting out of home building as quickly as they can, and to the maximum extent that they can," Pattinson said. "And so we're getting proposals for capital not only for U.S., non-bank sources, but from overseas as well."

The company expects to secure enough cash to be able to pay off its outstanding bills within the next 30 days, said Pattinson in a phone interview Tuesday. He was in Atlanta Tuesday speaking as a panelist to members of the Federal Reserve, the nation's central bank, about the effects of the credit crunch.

Civil suits regarding contract and payment disputes are fairly common in the home building industry. However, about as many lawsuits have been filed against Barratt American in the last seven months as were filed in the seven years previous.

Housing weakness has hurt home builders across the board.

Goldman Sachs, a global investment firm, expects most of the nation's largest builders, including KB Homes and Lennar, to post losses this year and has applied a "sell" recommendation on Lennar's stock, according to a report released by Goldman Sachs Monday.

"This is, by far, the toughest time for home builders since World War II," said James Hamilton, an economics professor with UC San Diego. "It's really a phenomenal collapse in the market these past two years. So it's serious times for anyone trying to make a living by selling homes."

Some building analysts acknowledge rough waters for home builders. But one does not expect Barratt American is in danger of bankruptcy.

"There are some builders that are in trouble. Cash is king right now and those companies that have a lot of cash are sitting in a better position. Companies that are a little bit more leveraged are having a little rougher time," said Russ Valone, president of MarketPointe Realty Advisors, a San Diego research firm that tracks new home sales. "I don't expect to see Barratt American go away."

Valone has not seen Barratt American's financials. Because Barratt American is a private company, it does not publicly release revenue or liability numbers.

The Carlsbad builder typically builds and sells about 500 homes a year but sold only about 125 homes in 2007, Pattinson said.

Contact staff writer Zach Fox at (760) 740-5412 or zfox@nctimes.com.