Communities throughout Northeast Oklahoma including Claremore, Verdigris and the greater Tulsa metropolitan area are looking for Grant Cole, a builder associated with Oklahoma New Homes Direct of Broken Arrow and Xite Homes. Of equal if not greater importance is the search for the money Cole allegedly bilked out of local home buyers.

Wednesday, Brandon Perkins, president of the Home Builders Association of Greater Tulsa and former owner of Xite Homes, said he believes eventually Cole will pay his dues.

“I believe that there’ll be some justice coming,” said Perkins.

Cole is believed to have made off with well over $1 million paid to his company by homeowners and their banks and not paid out to subcontractors such as the plumbers, electricians and carpenters doing the work and providing the materials for the homes. Many of those houses are around 80 percent complete, but without payment to those who were building them, work has stalled.

Perkins sold Xite Homes to Cole around 18 months ago.

The Xite name lent some credence to Cole’s scam, but Perkins said that really shouldn’t have been the case. He said he sold the business because it did not have the most reliable reputation, and he had been unable to find good management to turn that around.

Hundreds of material mechanics liens against the properties in question were filed in Rogers, Tulsa and other counties in late October. Home buyers, not Cole or his businesses, will be held accountable for those liens.

Home buyers say they could end up paying twice what their homes are worth if they want to finish and occupy them.

Perkins said Cole put a stop payment on a check, forcing Perkins to file a lawsuit. All in all, Perkins said Cole burned him for around $50,000. He said Cole is not ignorant. Had the check bounced, the District Attorney would have become involved. Because of the stop payment, it became a civil matter.

Cole was apparently adept at talking even knowledgeable people into believing him. Dozens of subcontractors worked with no payment. Perkins said that is not totally unusual and that many in this business learn to wait on their money. Payment may come slowly, but usually it always comes. Those contractors providing services are normal working folks, trying to put food on the table. They, like the home buyers have been left holding the bag. An empty bag.

Lawsuits and other motions have been filed looking for any funds Cole may have left behind.

The biggest victims in this case, said Perkins, are the families whose dreams of a new home have been, at least for the time being stolen along with their investment dollars.

It is estimated that around 40 families of home buyers were affected. No estimates on the numbers of contractors financially impacted by the scheme have been released.

Scams such as the one Cole allegedly operated put a black eye on the industry and leave buyers skeptical in a market already suffering from a downturn. Perkins said while there is no sure way to for home buyers to protect themselves, there are red flags that can be warning signals.

“If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is,” said Perkins. “This isn’t industry specific. I love this industry. There are unscrupulous people in every industry.”