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A Tucson company that styled itself as a luxury homebuilder is no longer allowed to build houses because the state has suspended its contractor's license.

Sonoran Insights Construction LLC built custom and semi-custom homes in Tucson and Sierra Vista, and business partner and real estate broker Carl Pepper promoted the homes through his real estate company.

"Whether you are looking for a multimillion-dollar mini-mansion or a $300,000 dependable home, you can't go wrong with choosing Sonoran Insights," Pepper says on his Web site.

Phone calls to the company, Pepper and business partner Paul Sheridan were not returned Friday.

The builder's license with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors is suspended for failing to answer a complaint lodged by a home buyer. The company has 14 open complaints filed against it — a red flag, according to agency spokesman Brian Livingston. Two additional complaints were resolved.

"The ROC has acted to stop this company from doing further business," Livingston said. In the registrar's process, the company may resolve all of the complaints to try to get its license back, or it may face revocation, he said.

After the home buyer filed a complaint, an inspector looked at the house and issued a corrective work order, requiring the company to perform repair on deficiencies including cracked stucco and doors that wouldn't close correctly. Sonoran Insights made some repairs but violated a rule that requires builders to "perform work in a professional and workmanlike manner," according to an administrative law judge's decision.

In addition, the company's qualifying party — the person who must pass tests to obtain the contractor's license — resigned from the company, the record shows.

A subcontractor claims Sonoran Insights owes hundred of thousands of dollars to around 20 subcontractors.

Danny Butler, controller at Stan Greer Millworks, said Sonoran Insights has stopped returning his phone calls and hasn't paid him. He said he is owed close to $40,000 and other subcontractors he has spoken to are owed as much as $130,000.

Sonoran Insights is about 3 1/2 years old, according to records on file with the Arizona Corporation Commission.

The officers of Sonoran Insights, Pepper and Sheridan, founded a new LLC, called Corona Homes, about 12 days ago.

Also listed as an officer in the new company is Mitch Kring, the construction manager of Sonoran Insights and owner of Acacia Construction LLC, which also was formed about 12 days ago.

As of Friday, neither Corona or Acacia appeared in the registrar's license database.

"It's just sad that subcontractors are dealing with a general contractor like this, and they can pick up and start a business under a different name," Butler said.

Small subcontractors can be put out of business by nonpayment of bills that size, he said.