By MATT BARNARD

BROKEN ARROW -- About five months ago, Rich Farquhar was planning to build his dream home. All that's left is an empty plot of land and a few scraps of wood.

Farquhar lined up a construction loan and made arrangements with developer Grant Cole to build the two-story home in Broken Arrow, he said. Things seemed to be running smoothly -- until a contractor called and said Cole wasn't answering the phone.

The subcontractors never got their paychecks, and work on the house stalled, Farquhar said.

"It was like standing in the middle of the desert, not knowing where to go," he said. "I've never dealt with this situation before. He disappeared."

Farquhar said Cole runs Xite Homes and Oklahoma New Homes. Former clients say the companies made built-to-order houses and handled all the work of selling their existing residences.

"It sounds like a wonderful deal," Farquhar said. "Everybody said he checked out, so we went forward."

In the past, Xite Homes sponsored community fundraisers and built houses that took top honors in Tulsa's annual Parade of Homes.

The company was a member of the Home Builders Association of Greater Tulsa before the previous owner sold the business, association CEO Paul Kane said. It is no longer associated with the group, he said.

Cole did not return calls seeking comment Thursday. A woman who answered the phone for Xite Homes said she worked for an answering service and didn't know whether the company had an operational storefront.

Farquhar, who is a circulation district manager for the Tulsa World, said he plans to pursue his claims in court. He's not alone.

About 40 of Cole's former clients gathered Thursday evening in Broken Arrow, where lawyers gave legal advice to the group and offered ways to work around the lack of contact with the builder.

Glen McGowan was in the crowd at the Battle Creek Golf Club and said he contracted with Cole to build a new home in Verdigris. He said he had suspicions that something was amiss but didn't realize the extent of things until his bank contacted him about Cole.

"I guess we paid our 'stupid tax,' " he said. "I honestly don't know if we'll ever get that money back."

The lawyers wouldn't comment about Cole or allow reporters access to the meeting, citing concerns about attorney-client privilege.

After the meeting, McGowan said he was shocked at the size of the crowd.

"People just started showing up out of the woodwork, so there's definitely a lot of people impacted," he said.

McGowan said he has reached out to attorneys and the Rogers County Sheriff's Office in hopes of finding a solution. But for now, he and his wife are concentrating on finishing work on their partially built house.

"We're trying to move on right now. Once the dust settles, we can figure out how we're going to put everything back together."

Matt Barnard 581-8408

Originally published by MATT BARNARD World Staff Writer.

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