By Chris Otts –
3611 Glenview Avenue (from 2014 real estate listing, used with permission of listing agent Kenneth Jones
In 2016 Kindred Healthcare built an expensive driveway leading to the home.
Kindred Healthcare’s corporate headquarters in downtown Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A year and a half after Louisville-based Kindred Healthcare bought the home of one of its top executives, the company sold the home at a $250,000 loss, Jefferson County property records show.
Kindred sold the 4-bedroom, 5-bathroom house in Louisville’s upscale Glenview neighborhood for $1.9 million on May 31, according to a deed filed with the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office.
The company bought the home in 2015 from Stephen Farber, its chief financial officer, and his wife for $2.15 million — an unusual transaction that one corporate governance expert called “very troubling.”
Kindred’s purchase represented a $450,000 gain for the Farbers compared to the $1.7 million they had paid in 2014.
But the company said in a regulatory filing last year that an independent appraiser had valued the home at $2.4 million just before Kindred bought it. Despite that, a real estate listing showed Kindred’s agent had the home on the market for $1.95 million this spring.
Kindred spokeswoman Susan Moss did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
Kindred told investors last year that it bought the home to allow Farber and his family to quickly relocate out of fear for their “personal safety.”
In the fall of 2015 Farber became embroiled in an acrimonious dispute with his next-door neighbor, real estate investor David Fenley, over use of a shared driveway between their homes. The dispute was in litigation until late last year when the parties settled under confidential terms.
Kindred’s loss on the property was likely significantly more than the $250,000 difference in sale prices.
After buying the home, Kindred solved the driveway problem by building a separate drive at a cost of up to $360,000, according to a deposition filed in the lawsuit.
Last year, court records also revealed that despite Kindred’s stated rationale for the sale – that the Farbers needed to move for their safety – the family had actually moved out months before Kindred decided to buy the residence.
Kindred, which provides home health and operates long-term care and rehab hospitals, is one of three Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Louisville, with $7.2 billion in revenue last year.
Farber, who joined Kindred in 2014, was the company’s third-highest paid executive in 2016, earning $2.3 million, according to Kindred’s annual proxy statement.
Reach reporter Chris Otts at 502-585-0822, [email protected], on Twitter or on Facebook. Copyright 2017 WDRB News. All rights reserved.
