Homeowners Respond to Hiatt Bankruptcy

Sterling R. Quinton

During his time in Buena Vista, seasoned resident and “town-friend” Dean Hiatt made a big impact on area development and politics.  A man said to be devoted to his church and his community, Hiatt served his peers through his commitment to high-quality, affordable housing as well as with discreet acts of philanthropy and kindness.    

A March 2009 article by The Chaffee County Times summarized this fact in a quote from long-time Hiatt friend and business associate Bill Woodhouse. “It is an interesting fact that Dean helped people (with donations and projects), but always stipulated that the people didn’t tell anyone what he (Hiatt) did,” he said.  “Dean was generous and always doing something for people.”  Because of this, many find Hiatt’s absence from town and his alleged move to Prescott, Arizona difficult to understand.  Certainly the void created by his generous acts will be hard to fill.   

Hiatt, who was unavailable for comment, moved to Buena Vista in the early 1990s and his presence quickly became an integral part of the town.  He was a member in good standing of Clear View Community Church and he served in Town politics with an honest devotion.  Hiatt was a part of the Planning and Zoning Commission in the mid-`90s and was also elected to the position of Town Trustee.   

A recall was launched against him in 1997 for an alleged conflict of interest, but he defeated the attempt.  Not surprisingly, according to some, since he has been likened to a town pillar.  He even assisted Mayor Cara Russell and her husband Mickey by constructing their home in Sunset Vista.  Mickey and Hiatt are alleged to have shared the use of the developer’s D-40 Diamond airplane.  Mayor Russell did not respond to questions sent by email regarding the plane. 

Some Hiatt detractors claim that in reality, things aren’t so straightforward.  People who feel that he should have stayed in town in order to help resolve issues regarding the effects of his bankruptcy, also question why he didn’t renew a 2005 Letter of Credit through Community Banks of the Rockies which would have deflected a nearly $240,000 shortfall needed to finish basic infrastructure and improvements (such as sidewalks) in the Vista development.   

“Why,” they ask, “are the town and the people he loved so much now in this position?”  Or, “How does a man justify alleged travels abroad in the midst of his company’s financial collapse?” Or, “Why has a multi-million dollar impact on the local economy not been examined with more scrutiny and transparency at all levels of the township?”  And finally, “If the development agreement between Vista Builders and Town said that the Letter of Credit should be renewed, then why didn’t anybody in Town ensure that it was?”

But, these are just so many questions in the public mind and, as Jonathan Swift once famously declared, “When a true genius [or a great developer] appears in the world, you may know him by this sign: that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.”  

Despite the fact that an array of Town and County dignitaries and professionals, including: former Town Administrator Mr. Jerry L’Estrange, former Trustee/current Town Planning and Zoning Commissioner Mr. Bill Woodhouse, and one-time Chaffee County Building Official Mr. Harold Murray, worked directly for Dean Hiatt, for many, something still doesn’t sit right.

One such resident is Dennis Hutton.  He’s a tall, white-haired Buena Vistan with a heavy Australian accent, who owns a Hiatt-built duplex on the north-east side of town.  Dennis has a lot of concern for the bankruptcy’s fallout and, accordingly, he brought the issue to the current Board of Trustees. 

Hutton said he started speaking out, not because of his own losses in the bankruptcy, but because he was concerned about people struggling in the community who were worse off than himself. 

“Without sounding smug,” he said, “I can afford it. I can get my hands on that money. But, if you sort of look at a person who maybe has got bank financing to finish a house and hired Vista Builders to build it and there might be 10, or 20, or 30, or $50,000 to finish it, they’re stuck out in no man’s land.  They can’t get any more financing.  They’ve got to try to finish it themselves.” 

Hutton’s concern over the plight of others highlights how dire the situation is for some homeowners, especially when you consider what it cost him to complete his own Hiatt-built project.  “It’s cost us $24,000 to finish up the place and that doesn’t count the liens that we’ve got.”  According to Hutton, those liens, placed on the duplex for supplies and work completed by contractors but never paid for by Hiatt, total more than $20,000.  Hutton says that, unfortunately, he may end up paying twice for various parts of his home.

Another couple affected by the bankruptcy is James and Bonnie Gurevitch. They own a Hiatt-built home in Bear Trail, north of town.  Gurevitch says that he hired Hiatt in July of 2007 for a project to be completed within the year so as to be able to host the couple’s wedding in their own “dream house.”  

“This was a very big learning experience for us,” Gurevitch said.  “We signed a year construction loan at 8.25% interest for $300,000.  He (Hiatt) told us that the house would be done by Christmas.  Six months came and went, 8 month came and went.  Two years later the house still isn’t completed.” 

“Our wedding reception was supposed to be at our house.  Needless to say, that did not happen.  Our one-year construction loan did not pan out.  We got charged $1000 for going over loan.  We had to have our house reappraised because it was a one-time close loan.”   

He continued, “Our house now is not the same plan that we had drawn up.  Every step of the way there were problems with excuse after excuse after excuse.  On top of that, we have a legal contract that both parties have signed.  Our contract included wood-casement windows.  He (Hiatt) had a vinyl-window package delivered.” 

“To add another twist to this whole nightmare, I paid the price for those vinyl windows.  I never got any compensation for the vinyl package.  Then I paid $5,200 dollars for the wood replacements and now I’ve got a lien on my house to the tune of $11,400 which includes that $5,200 dollars for the wood windows that I paid for.”   

Gurevitch is not optimistic that the bankruptcy will have a favorable outcome.  “We’re one of many people who have been burned by this, but his (Hiatt’s) bankruptcy does not alleviate our pain whatsoever.  Right now interest rates are at 4.5%.  I locked in last September at 6.38%.  I would love to refinance.  I’d have loved to.  But, the bank won’t refinance because we’ve got a lien on the property.” 

“This is just one heart wrenching incident after another,” he said.  “Every time we think we’re going to be able to get out from under this and be able to move on with our lives, it just comes back like a bad head-ache.  It’s been unbearable, it really has.” 

Gurevitch stated that he was pleased with the steps the town has taken, including hosting a lawyer who specializes in liens, to help people who have been affected.  He said that he knows that neither the town nor the county have a legal duty to step in. 

Gurevitch believes that the reality of the situation is really very simple and expressed confusion regarding a statement made by Mayor Russell in a March 11 Times article in which she offered the following words to those upset by the bankruptcy:  

“Vista Builders is just one of many developers in Colorado negatively impacted by the economic

downturn,” she said. “Unfortunately, he may not be the last, depending on how the economy goes. If townspeople are looking for someone to blame, they should look to Congress and start with (Massachusetts Congressman) Barney Frank.”

“What is the Mayor talking about?” asked Gurevitch.  “What does Barney Frank have to do with any of this? Our local economy is pretty insulated from the recession,” he said.  “Dean Hiatt is bankrupt because of Dean Hiatt and his project management, not because of Barney Frank.”

Gurevitch looks out the wood-casement windows contributing to the lien on his home.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 at 10:29 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.