Work stoppages in new neighborhoods have trapped homeowners near unsafe sites, as developers face financial woes. Their plight should serve as a lesson to others.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — After people in multiple parts of the Charlotte area closed on new homes in neighborhoods under construction, a WCNC Charlotte investigation found work on the remaining houses stopped.
The stalled projects, the result of financial problems with the developer, left homeowners stuck for roughly a year, living next to unfinished and unsafe construction sites. An attorney who specializes in real estate said this case should serve as a warning to anyone looking to buy.
Alex Oleksy appreciates the silence. It's what attracted him and his family to Mooresville's new Silverwood Court neighborhood in May 2024.
"I love the quiet," he said. "That's why we moved out here."
But for the better part of the next year, the silence only grew as construction on several neighboring homes came to an abrupt halt.
"Very unexpected. We were told they would be finished by the fall of 2024," Oleksy said, sitting on his porch. "I'm very disappointed."
How could he not feel disappointed when every time he stepped out his front door over the last several months he witnessed the same view?
"You see rods sticking out. You see tall grass," he said. There's a roof being held by a 2x4. Looks unstable. We have to look at that every single day. It's concerning and I think about the safety."
Just a half-hour drive north up I-77, Dolphus Lee shares similar frustrations.
"I didn't think it was going to look this way," the Marine veteran said. "It's depressing."
July will mark a year since he and his wife bought their retirement home in a new neighborhood off Sullivan Farm Road in Statesville. Even more homes sit incomplete there.
"I'd like to have some neighbors," he said. "It's a nice area. I don't know why it's just sitting like this. It makes no sense."
Helmsman Homes is the listed developer for several unfinished homes in both neighborhoods. Building inspection records provided to WCNC Charlotte show several more homes in Rowan County were also stopped by Helmsman Homes and the connected company Nest Homes. The companies' most recent filings with the North Carolina Secretary of State list the same address, phone number and manager. WCNC Charlotte's repeated attempts to discuss the situation with past and present company officials or their attorney have proved unsuccessful.
"Based on the latest information, the properties in question are now owned by mortgage companies or banks, as both Helmsman Homes and Nest Homes are no longer in operation," Iredell County Director of Building Standards Robby Wilkinson told WCNC Charlotte in early May. "From what I understand, this situation stems from financial mismanagement by one of the owners."
A town of Mooresville spokesperson, meanwhile, indicated there is at least one other unfinished Nest Homes community in Mooresville, Lake Walk.
"The town is aware of local unfinished homes and infrastructure that were to be built by Helmsman Homes and Nest Homes," Communications and Marketing Director Rika White told WCNC Charlotte. "Our understanding is that they are experiencing financial difficulties that have left many projects unfinished in multiple communities in the region at-large."
Two federal lawsuits filed in 2025 by contractors accuse the companies of owing them a combined $1.7 million. The masonry and roofing/siding contractors said in court documents that they completed the work, but did not get compensated, even though Helmsman Homes has repeatedly said "payment is forthcoming."
The attorney representing Helmsman Homes and Nest Homes in those cases did not reply to an email for comment sent by WCNC Charlotte on Thursday. Iredell County tax records show thousands of dollars in 2024 property taxes remain unpaid by the companies.
Back in Statesville, Lee said he's received no clear information about what happened and how the project in his neighborhood will move forward.
"If you can use your imagination, look how good this could look. All the flowers blooming and everything looking nice and instead you're looking at this," the retiree said. "I'm upset, but ain't nothing I can do about it."
In Mooresville, Oleksy said, he too is frustrated by the lack of communication.
"At a minimum, the developer should acknowledge the fact that 'Hey, we're in trouble,'" he said. "This kind of rubs people the wrong way."
It's especially bothersome because Oleksy paid $650 in a one-time HOA capital contribution at closing, yet he said the homeowners don't even have control of the neighborhood.
"The community doesn't own the HOA now," Oleksy added. "The developer owns it until they finish the last home."
Attorney James Galvin, a real estate expert, believes North Carolina needs tougher laws to better protect homebuyers.
"You have very little recourse in North Carolina," Galvin told WCNC Charlotte. "North Carolina needs a lot of improvement around developer accountability."
Galvin said, based on how frequently he encounters these kinds of situations, people must protect themselves on the front end when they're considering buying in a new development.
"It's not uncommon. It's common enough where buyers need to be aware of buying into a neighborhood that's not complete," Galvin said. "Many, many, many homeowners have taken that risk and it has been great and fine and good and enjoyed the benefit of living in a new neighborhood, but there is that risk and it needs to be acknowledged."
He said especially low HOA fees that seem too good to be true are often a red flag. The yearly dues in Silverwood, for example, are set at $650, according to closing documents. He said potential buyers should also ask the seller for a financial snapshot of the company, including how much money the developer has deposited in the HOA's reserves.
"You're going to really want to kick the tires. You can't treat that purchase in the same way as you are treating a purchase in a finished neighborhood," he said. "That's, I think, the problem. People are treating it the same. They're not doing that deeper inspection and they might not even know how and the bad news is, there are some portions of that that you can't inspect. You don't know what will happen."
Even so, he said it's worth spending a little extra money to hire someone to investigate the developer further, like a lawyer, HOA company manager or property manager..
"You need to know if the developer is solvent or in financial trouble," he said. "You can hire someone to look at all of the assets owned to find out how much it should cost to responsibly maintain it."
Galvin added, even while neighborhoods are under construction, developers are required to appoint an HOA board, hold regular meetings and take minutes. He recommends people request those meeting minutes, since they could reveal financial problems.
If a developer abandons a project, Galvin said, usually, after a lot of waiting, a new developer eventually gets involved. That appears to be the case in Iredell County.
" ... lenders have started releasing some of the properties, and Building Standards has received several inquiries from realtors and developers interested in completing the developments," the county's director of building standards told WCNC Charlotte.
The town of Mooresville said it would use whatever authority it has to ensure, at least, the infrastructure is completed in neighborhoods there.
"Since this issue has been brought to the Town's attention, the Town has sent numerous letters and engaged in many conversations with the builders of the Silverwood development to encourage them to complete the development and remedy this situation," the town's spokesperson added. "They have been informed that should the properties remain unfinished and be deemed abandoned, the Town will pursue all code enforcement remedies available by law. The Town is pursuing claims with the bond companies for completion of the infrastructure in the Lake Walk community, another Nest Homes project, and we are currently reviewing similar options in the Silverwood community. While the builders currently have active building permits for the homes in the Silverwood community, we are continuing to look for ways within our authority to aid our residents."
Much to Oleksy's relief, in recent days, construction workers returned to his neighborhood and cut through the silence. Their actions send a message loud and clear: this saga is almost finished.
"They are moving fast," he said. "Best case scenario will be to finish these homes and hand over the HOA."