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Work At Gentry Crest Still Incomplete As Financial Disputes Continue In Court

Two banks are trying to foreclose on properties in Bloomington's Gentry Crest neighborhood, where some people put hundreds of thousands of dollars down to build their dream homes.

But several of those homes sit unfinished, and construction crews never even broke ground on some of the other lots.

Some of the people who shelled out the money are now worried they'll be left with nothing.

Dream Homes Turn Disastrous



When Leigh-Ann Cochran decided to build her first home, it didn't take long for her to settle on the Gentry Crest neighborhood. It's the latest development from Gentry Construction & Real Estate, which has been in business for decades.

After picking out a floorplan, Cochran wrote a check for a more than $42,000 down payment last year.

"It's probably the biggest check I've written, for sure," Cochran says. "But I was excited. I did trust them, too. Gentry is a company that's been around Bloomington for I think almost thirty years."

But more than a year later, Cochran's lot still sits empty.

Shortly after she signed a contract with Gentry, construction on the house stalled. Cochran tried to reschedule meetings to pick out finishes for her home, but never got a response. Then she got a call from a friend saying the owner of the company, Ben Beard, was out of money.

"I feel robbed," she says. "I was sad, I was angry, I was like in disbelief, I was in shock. I'm pissed. I'm really pissed."

And, she isn't alone in those feelings. Cochran is one of several people taking Gentry to court to try to get back some of the money.

Gentry Facing Several Civil Suits





The list of civil cases filed against Gentry and its owner is lengthy.

Some contractors say they never received payment for work completed on some Gentry properties. Court documents claim Gentry owes JJ's Concrete Construction more than $41,500 as of December. The case is still pending.

And Experience Technology says in a civil suit it installed audio visual and electronic equipment in at least 15 Gentry homes, but never received payment. The company is requesting Gentry pay the more than $75,000 it claims is owed. That case also has yet to be decided.

Multiple people who signed contracts to have homes built in Gentry Crest are also suing to try and recover some money. Work on several homes in the neighborhood stopped sometime last year. Some are partially complete, while other lots are completely empty.

According to court documents in one of the lawsuits filed by a hopeful homeowner, Gentry offered a woman a $10,000 discount in August of last year if she singed an offer to purchase soon. The company also reportedly offered an additional $6,000 discount for every $100,000 the woman put down on the home.

The woman ended up putting nearly $350,000 down on the house, but says construction never started. The lawsuit claims Gentry never intended to build the home, but misrepresented the situation in order to collect payment. The suit for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, fraud and theft also claims Gentry violated Indiana's Senior Consumer Protection Act and Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.

The situation is further complicated because two banks are trying to foreclose on some Gentry Crest properties.

Old National Bank filed a mortgage foreclosure case for five lots, alleging Beard owes them more than $1.6 million. The lots involved are ones people paid to build homes on, and they're in various states of completion.

Under the contracts prospective homeowners signed with Gentry, they don't own anything until the homes are complete. That means whether they will actually get the land or homes they paid for is up in the air.

The court appointed a receiver to oversee and sell the properties, but families who were under contract with Gentry do have an opportunity to try and redeem the lots. At least one family has filed paperwork indicating they intend to do so. Court documents say there are offers on four other properties.

The money they've lost and months of uncertainty are detailed in a cross-claim filed against Gentry Estates as part of the court proceedings. One couple says they've lost nearly $200,000, which came from their retirement and savings.

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The next hearing in that case is set for next week.

And, Owen County State Bank is also trying to foreclose on some Gentry Crest properties. It claims Beard owes them hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Neither Beard nor his attorney responded to multiple requests for comment.

Those currently living in Gentry Crest hope the legal issues will be resolved soon. They're worried their home values will be impacted by the bad publicity.

And, they're sick of seeing partially complete homes outside their windows. Some of the lots are overgrown with weeds and tall grass. The streets aren't even finished. That means the City of Bloomington won't provide services like trash removal, because their trucks can't drive on incomplete pavement.

It's a complicated, expensive situation that leaves people like Cochran with a lot of unanswered questions. At the top of that list: what happened to all of her money?

"That's a lot of money to just dish out and never get back, never see it again," she says. "It didn't go into anything, but it helped him pay whoever. I don't know where it went."

She's hoping to recover her down payment through her lawsuit, but is unsure what will happen to her land – or her dream of building a home. Whether she or others impacted by Gentry's financial issues will get any of their money or property remains caught up in court.

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