Home builder leaves customers, contractors fuming

Hansen and Horn is a hometown company. For more than 30 years, it has built houses in more than 20 subdivisions in the Indianapolis and Central Indiana area. But I-Team 8 has discovered questions about the way the company has handled some customers and contractors. Plenty of people are now sorry they ever did business with the company.

Wednesday afternoon, Bryan Tibbetts stood in front of a house he painted for Hansen and Horn. It's one of many he painted for the company, work for which he still hasn't gotten paid.

"They owe me more than $60,000...I mean it's terrible what they've done to me," said Tibbetts.

Tibbetts is far from alone. I-Team 8 found more than two dozen lawsuits filed against the company in Marion County. Among them, Indianapolis-based Lee Supply, which in the past couple of weeks, won a judgment against Hansen and Horn for $172,000.

Another Indianapolis company, Best Flooring, is in court right now trying to get about $60,000 it says the company owes them.

But contractors aren't the only critics.

Erin Burkhart and her husband intended to build a house in the Anson subdivision in Zionsville, but nothing ever happened. Burkhart said for months all she got from the company was excuses. Ground was never broken.

"We decided to walk away at that point...We lost $6,000," said Burkhart.

Burkhart said she would use words like "distrustful” to describe Hansen and Horn.

Late last week, the Homebuilders Association of Greater Indianapolis voted to revoke Hansen and Horn's membership in the trade association for "non-payment of fees." The company had been a member of BAGI since 1980.

I-Team 8 talked with company executive Steve Horn on the phone and gave him the chance to defend his company. He said financing is in place to build each of the homes that are in question and that many of the vendors who have taken the company to court haven't fulfilled warranty issues or did not deliver goods and services as promised.

Horn added that, overall, "While these are difficult economic times, the company is still having successes."

Late Wednesday afternoon, I-Team 8 got a statement from company president Ward Horn saying in part:

"Our customers continue to be our number one priority...Hansen and Horn, as many in the construction field are these days, is involved in several lawsuits. We will continue to address them on their merits and on a case-by-case basis."

The I-Team 8 investigation has discovered that there are many more problems than what has been revealed in this report. I-Team 8 will continue to follow this story.

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