(LOUISVILLE) -- Shortly after a Mount Washington couple celebrated the birth of their new baby girl, they expected to move into a new home they were building. Instead, they had to move in with relatives where they've been for more than a year, with thousands of dollars tied up in a home they can't use. WAVE 3 Troubleshooter Charla Young investigates the contractor they say led them to this limbo.

Kristen and Tim Sherrard were newlyweds when they found their builder -- Ray Pinter Construction at the Indiana Home Expo. At that time, Pinter belonged to the Southern Indiana Homebuilders Association.

Kristen told us they checked out Pinter's credentials. "We called the Better Business Bureau. They only had one complaint that had been resolved satisfactorily. We called the attorney general's office, there was no complaints. We did everything we thought we were supposed to do and how we got in this situation we will never figure it out."

So the Sherrards hired Pinter to build their dream home, and as the home was framed and the foundation poured, they saw good, consistent progress being made -- until May of 2005. By then nothing had been done in weeks, so Tim and Kristen called Pinter.

"When he wouldn't return our calls, I knew we were in trouble," Tim said.

After a year of delays, and $160,000 out of their pocket, the Sherrards fired Pinter, then worked to protect their investment.

The bank froze the loan when unpaid subcontractors filed six liens. "The liens were from Big River Lumber for the lumber package, we had liens from the framers. We had the surveyor -- the surveyor had never been paid initially. Pinter has not talked with us in over a year."

But he returned our call immediately.

During that phone call I asked Pinter if he had a plan to try to make it right since he was still in business.

He replied: "Yes, we are trying to do that, yes."

Pinter went on to say: "this is the first time this has ever happened to me, and it's unfortunate."

But we found out that Pinter has been named in at least four other lawsuits. 

When I asked Pinter what he did with the Sherrard's $160,000, there was silence.

We looked for Pinter at a house he is currently building in Majestic Woods, a neighborhood located behind Caesars Indiana. He wasn't in when we showed up, but this latest project is proof he's still in business.

"We just want to move on with our lives," Kristen said, "and right now, we're stuck."

The Sherrards are pressing to file criminal charges against Pinter. They now have a civil lawsuit pending against his corporation. They are also working with Citizens Union Bank to come up with a way to unfreeze their loan so they can finish building the house.

The liens against their property total $60,000.

Online Reporter: Charla Young
http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?s=5470494