GINA B. GOOD / PVT Pleasant Valley model homes are cordoned off with a low metal fence. The homeowners are now responsible for converting the area into legal residences, which includes removing the fence so their properties are accessible. Advertisement

On Oct. 10, Concordia Homes, owners of Pleasant Valley community in southern Pahrump, ceased doing business.

A Pleasant Valley homeowner, who preferred not to be identified but will be called "Jane Smith," said, "They abandoned their sales office."

It is common practice for home builders to sell the model homes but rather than the new owners moving in, the builder leases back the home for a specific time. In effect, the builder makes the mortgage, insurance and utility payments and maintains the home.

That arrangement worked fine until October when the same homeowners said Concordia defaulted on their lease payment.

"They have informed the owners of the models that they must pay for any reconversion costs, inspections and permits to make the models legally habitable," said Smith.

Smith and her husband were in Louisiana when they got the surprising news and headed to Pahrump to do whatever is necessary to move into their home. "We love the Pahrump area, but we weren't planning on moving here this soon," she said.

The homeowners have no idea how much it will cost to turn the sales office into the three-car garage on their home's plans, or how to get the fencing removed from the front of their home. Or for that matter, exactly how many other changes must be made in order to obtain their certificate of occupancy. "Concordia is offering help with the logistics to make the homes habitable, and they told us to keep receipts of our expenses so we can be reimbursed," said Smith. "They are being very cooperative with everything except the money; they are telling us that right now they don't have any money. They said we're not getting any money this year."

Concordia's sales offices in Las Vegas and Henderson are also closed. There is no contact information for communities under development in Avondale and Bullhead City, Ariz., on their Web site.

The Smiths were told by Concordia that the company has not filed for bankruptcy but has suspended construction as well as sales. Several online real estate and construction industry sources report Concordia will refund deposits on homes that have yet to start construction.

It was further reported that Oct. 15, Gidget Graham, president of Concordia Homes, issued a statement saying that her company "has taken an action that was necessary to reflect the realities of today's homebuilding market."

Graham's statement explained the main factor leading to her decision to close was the rapid decline in real estate values. "Our intention is to reopen our sales centers when market conditions improve," she wrote.

To a casual observer, nothing much has changed at Pleasant Valley. The manicured entrance to the subdivision, which is less than a mile south of Terrible's Lakeside Casino on Homestead Road, is announced with great fanfare. Drivers can't miss seeing the large billboard, colorful logo flags and signs touting Energy Star-rated homes with boat and RV parking.

Turning onto the long, landscaped entrance road of the subdivision, potential buyers are rewarded with an upscale ambience and a selection of model homes to tour, with many upgrades from which to choose.

Unfortunately, the one feature you won't see much of in Concordia's Pleasant Valley is people. No one is walking a dog down the sidewalk and there are no kids playing a pick-up game on the regulation basketball court in the community park.

More importantly, there are no sales people in the model homes. A peek through the glass doors of the office shows file boxes stacked on the floor but no furnishings. Large box springs and mattresses without linens are stacked against the walls.

Pahrump is the most economical of Concordia's projects, with prices starting at $159,000. In Henderson, Concordia's solar-powered Sommerset homes are priced in the $300,000's.

Graham did not respond to e-mail inquiries and the phone continued to ring at Concordia's corporate office, without even an answering machine to take a message.

Friday, a phone number surfaced for information on the remaining inventory of six model homes for sale at Concordia's Glenbrook Estates in Las Vegas, with prices from $389,000 to $535,000. Messages to the number listed were not returned.

Concordia has been in business for 30 years and won several prestigious construction industry awards in 2007 for customer satisfaction, initial customer care and overall home quality. It appears the home-builder is yet another once-successful company negatively affected by bad mortgage deals and tight credit.