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Melbourne construction company Blint Builders collapses owing $1m to 50 creditors

Melbourne construction company Blint Builders collapses owing $1m to 50 creditors

A Melbourne-based builder has collapsed with approximately $1 million in outstanding debt owed to 50 creditors, according to the liquidators.

The construction firm called Blint Builders went into voluntary liquidation after news.com.au revealed a number of homeowners were experiencing a “horrendous” amount of stress as they had poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into half finished homes that had sat untouched for months.

Cliff Sanderson from insolvency firm Dissolve has been appointed to handle Blint Builder’s liquidation.

He said Blint’s owner had told him that the company had “ceased to trade”.

“In our conversations with him, which are yet to be verified, he told us there are 50 creditors with approximately $1 million in debt and I expect that number to go up and the money will go up in excess of that,” he told news. com.au.

‘Horrifying strain’

Mr Sanderson said he was also told that “half a dozen” homeowners were impacted by Blint’s demise, but was waiting on more information to be supplied by the builder.

One family impacted are Dean and Nolle Fuller, who have five children between them, and have already shelled out $480,000 to Blint, since signing on in January.

The couple had demolished their existing home last November and had engaged Blint Builders to build two townhouses for $1.5 million, due to be delivered early next year.

No work has been done on the site since June and it has been broken into after construction stopped leaving it a “mess”, Mr Fuller said.

“In that time, we have had two lots of vandalizing and trespassing and damage caused to our property, which has been lodged with police,” Mr Fuller told news.com.au.

“We have had a truck back up and dump three to four square meters of rubble and waste material on the property and the truck also smashed the gates down.

“Recently someone turned up and stole the electrical meter box within the property.”

The project manager said the experience had caused an “unbelievable amount of stress and anxiety”.

Another family who are under “horrendous strain” are Tony and Jo Firman and their two children, who are building a home specially designed for her as she has multiple sclerosis.

The couple said they have paid $1.14 million so far to the builder and the house is at lock up stage but no work has happened since early June, according to Mr Firman.

“Even with the full insurance payout it might not be enough money. We skimped and saved and borrowed quite a substantial amount of money. We are worried we won’t make enough money to repay the loan and be able to live,” Mr Firman told news.com.au earlier this week.

Landlord owed $14k

Blint Builder’s office in the Melbourne suburb of Highett was also seized by the landlord.

Legal documents posted on the front door show the landlord has executed their right to re-entry, terminating the lease and demanding all property be removed and the keys be returned.

The legal notice also revealed that Blint Builders owe the landlord close to $14,000 in unpaid rent and rates.

Mr Sanderson said statistically it was rare for a dividend to be paid to unsecured creditors from a home builder as they “rarely have any assets”.

“Recently released ASIC corporate insolvency statistics reveal that the construction sector accounted for 28 per cent of all insolvencies for the June 2022 quarter,” he said.

“Construction is the largest sector in the statistics, second is accommodation and food with 16 per cent of the total, while 28 per cent is the highest ever percentage of total insolvencies for construction, equal with the December 2021 quarter.

“On average going back to 2013, construction makes up 19 per cent of total insolvencies.”

construction crisis

Overall, the construction industry has been plagued with a spate of collapses caused by a perfect storm of supply chain disruptions, skilled labor shortages, skyrocketing costs of materials and logistics, and extreme weather events.

Earlier this year, two major Australian construction companies, Gold Coast-based Condev and industry giant Probuild, went into liquidation.

Victorian construction companies have been particularly hard hit by the crisis.

Two building companies from Victoria were casualties of the crisis having gone into liquidation at the end of June, with one homeowner having forked out $300,000 for a now half-built house.

Then there have been smaller operators like Hotondo Homes Horsham, which was also based in Victoria and a franchisee of a national construction firm – which collapsed earlier this month affecting 11 homeowners with $1.2 million in outstanding debt.

It is the second Hotondo Homes franchisee to go under this year, with its Hobart branch collapsing in January owing $1.3 million to creditors, according to a report from liquidator Revive Financial.

Norris Construction Group, which was in Geelong, collapsed in March with $27 million in debt. It owes $3.2 million to around 140 staff that it is unlikely to be able to repay, according to the liquidator’s report.

Snowdon Developments was ordered into liquidation by the Supreme Court with 52 staff members, 550 homes and more than 250 creditors owed just under $18 million, although it was partially bought out less than 24 hours after going bust.

Others joined the list too including Inside Out Construction, Solido Builders, Waterford Homes, Affordable Modular Homes and Statement Builders.

The most recent collapse was NSW building company Willoughby Homes, which went into voluntary administration last week, leaving at least 30 homes in limbo.

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Fears Melbourne building company Blint is on the brink of collapse

Fears Melbourne building company Blint is on the brink of collapse

A Melbourne builder has “disappeared” placing homeowners under a “horrendous” amount of stress as they are left with half finished homes they have poured hundreds of thousands into that they may struggle to complete.

One family impacted are Dean and Nolle Fuller, who have five children between them, and have already shelled out $480,000 to the builder called Blint, since signing on in January.

The couple had demolished their existing home last November and had engaged Blint Builders to build two townhouses for $1.5 million, due to be delivered early next year.

The slab for the two homes was laid and the first floor framing has been done on both but then work started to slow down in the middle of this year, according to Mr Fuller.

But the 54-year-old said alarm bells really started to sound when his wife drove past the site in the first week of June and discovered that the portaloo had been taken away and a tradition was on site collecting his materials.

She then went straight to the builder’s office only to discover it locked up, while her calls went unanswered.

Two days later on June 9, the owner of Blint told the Fullers he was going into voluntary administration but since then they have heard “nothing”, with emails and phone calls left unanswered and the office empty.

Building site targeted

Their building site has been broken into leaving it a “mess”, Mr Fuller said.

“In that time, we have had two lots of vandalizing and trespassing and damage caused to our property, which has been lodged with police,” Mr Fuller told news.com.au.

“We have had a truck back up and dump three to four square meters of rubble and waste material on the property and the truck also smashed the gates down.

“Recently someone turned up and stole the electrical meter box within the property.”

The project manager said the experience had caused an “unbelievable amount of stress and anxiety”.

“We have half a million dollars outlaid on something that is sitting still and… sitting on a block that is wasting away and not covered by insurance potentially,” he said.

“We are in a situation that we may be forced to compromise significantly on what was our dream home to build.

“We are financially impacted and may have sell off things to complete the build as there have been cost increases and delays. The property we have might have to be stripped right back to be rebuilt, notwithstanding that we have got to pay rent and that we have to be out of this rental by Christmas.”

left in limbo

Mr Fuller said his family would have to negotiate to stay in the rental meaning his, including three of their children, would be forced to be crammed into the small property for another 10 to 12 months.

I have added it’s been almost impossible to find out information when “all we want to do is build a house” and instead they are left in “limbo”.

“It takes a lot of time and hours with pursuing legal options and between the Housing Industry Association and banks and insurance companies it’s relentless,” I explained.

“We are all sitting on insurance policies but because the trigger is Blint going into voluntary administration, none of us can trigger the insurance policies. So we are sitting on property we can’t do anything with as we can’t engage new builders.”

Mr Fuller said it’s a “frustrating” experience and just wants answers from the builder.

Do you have a similar story? Contact [email protected]

Offices seized

Blint Builder’s office in the Melbourne suburb of Highett has also been seized by the landlord.

Legal documents posted on the front door show the landlord has executed their right to re-entry, terminating the lease and demanding all property be removed and the keys be returned.

The legal notice also revealed that Blint Builders owe the landlord close to $14,000 in unpaid rent and rates.

Emails to Blint are undeliverable, while news.com.au has called, left voicemails and sent text messages to the builder but has not heard back.

‘Horrifying strain’

Another family who are under “horrendous strain” are Tony and Jo Firman and their two children, who are building a home specially designed for her disability.

Mrs Firman has multiple sclerosis and the couple were building a home to meet her needs in the Melbourne suburb of Mordialloc, which included a swimming pool.

They had demolished the original home and signed up to build their $1.2 million house with Blint, which was scheduled to be finished in mid February.

The couple said they have paid $1.14 million so far to the builder and the house is at lock up stage but no work has happened since early June, according to Mr Firman.

“There is no carpet, it hasn’t been painted and there are serious defects that need to be rectified, so there’s still quite a bit of work,” he claimed.

The 54-year-old said he even went to Blint’s office twice in June to find out about the progress of the home.

But since then the builder has “disappeared off the face of the Earth” with Mr Firman’s calls and emails going unanswered, he claimed

“It went from talking to him every day to him never ringing me back and never hearing from him,” he said.

Being left in limbo has taken a toll on him with the online retailer saying he has “never felt more depressed in my life”.

“It’s a massive strain on us as a family, both financially as we are paying rent as well as paying off part of the house that we can’t even live in it as we have no occupancy certificate,” he added.

‘Sending us broke’

Mr Firman said they can’t get a payout from the insurance company until Blint goes into liquidation and it could “cost a lot of money to force that to happen” through the courts.

“Even with the full insurance payout it might not be enough money. We skimped and saved and borrowed quite a substantial amount of money. We are worried we won’t make enough money to repay the loan and be able to live,” he said.

“I fear that this will send us broke.

“It’s very touch and go for us at the moment … My daughter turns 21 next month and her only wish was to have the party at the new house and that won’t happen.”

‘Derelict sites’

Dad-of-three Jamie* had also signed up with Blint in March 2021 to renovate and extend their two bedroom house in the Melbourne suburb of Murrumbeena for $730,000.

The family had planned a double storey addition out the back with a new kitchen, living area and kids’ bedrooms and are currently living in a rental.

Jamie said the work was “slow going” and the family had forked out $600,000 so far.

Now they’ve been left with a half built home, even though it was due to be complete in April, and he describes the site as “quite derelict”.

Jamie confronted the builder at his home in June and was told Rodger Reidy had been appointed to handle the voluntary administrators.

But when he contacted the insolvency specialist firm he was told that it was not the case and Rodger Reidy also confirmed with news.com.au they had not been appointed.

Now, he can’t get in touch with Blint with the phone turned off and emails unanswered.

The 43-year-old said he just wants to be able to finish the home, even if it costs the family an extra $50,000, but he has been left in limbo, adding he is “exhausted and frustrated”.

News.com.au understands a number of suppliers are also owed money from Blint.

*Name changed for privacy reasons

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Qld Hutchinson building boss warns more construction companies will fold

Qld Hutchinson building boss warns more construction companies will fold

One of Australia’s biggest building bosses has issued a sober warning about the state of the construction industry with expectations many more businesses will collapse in coming months.

The chairman of Queensland construction company Hutchinson Builders, Scott Hutchinson, put it bluntly.

“I bet more builders go broke in Australia,” he told Australian Financial Review.

Mr Hutchinson blamed the way Australia’s construction system worked, with most of the onus placed on the builders themselves rather than developers.

He explained how developers tried to attract customers to their projects with competitive deals with little understanding of the very tight margins that builders had to fulfill to turn a profit.

Construction companies mostly have to oblige these developers as there is no shortage of builders but there are limited projects out there, Mr Hutchinson said.

Developers also can take on clients with very little financial stake while builders bore the brunt of the risk.

They [builders] will roll the dice with their fingers crossed every day of the week,” he said.

There’s no denying it, Australia’s building industry is in crisis; many companies have gone into liquidation so far this year amid rising costs for construction materials but also being stuck in fixed contracts, driving them out of business.

Two months ago, news.com.au spoke to Russ Stephens, co-founder of the Association of Professional Builders (APB), who warned that the industry was in dire straits with as much as 80 per cent of building firms haemorrhaging money.

More than half of the estimated 12,000 construction companies in the country are reportedly trading at a loss, with many on the brink of collapse.

And those who work in the industry are having regular mental breakdowns and crying to colleagues and family members as the pressure to survive mounts.

“[Building firms are] losing huge amounts of money,” Mr Stephens said.

“Eighty per cent of builders in Australia have lost money in the last 12 months. That’s horrific,” he said.

He said around 50 per cent of building companies wouldn’t be able to pay back all their debts at once if creditors asked for their money back at the same time.

“About 25 to 30 per cent [of these companies] can’t pay their bills on time,” he said.

An industry insider told news.com.au earlier this year that half of Australia’s building companies are on the brink of collapse as they trade insolvent.

Overall, the construction industry has been plagued with a spate of collapses caused by a perfect storm of supply chain disruptions, skilled labor shortages, skyrocketing costs of materials and logistics, and extreme weather events.

Earlier this year, two major Australian construction companies, Gold Coast-based Condev and industry giant Probuild, went into liquidation.

Victorian construction companies in particular have been hit hard.

Two building companies from Victoria were casualties of the crisis having gone into liquidation at the end of June, with one homeowner having forked out $300,000 for a now half-built house.

Then there have been smaller operators like Hotondo Homes Horsham, which was also based in Victoria and a franchisee of a national construction firm – which collapsed earlier this month affecting 11 homeowners with $1.2 million in outstanding debt.

It is the second Hotondo Homes franchisee to go under this year, with its Hobart branch collapsing in January owing $1.3 million to creditors, according to a report from liquidator Revive Financial.

Snowdon Developments was ordered into liquidation by the Supreme Court with 52 staff members, 550 homes and more than 250 creditors owed just under $18 million, although it was partially bought out less than 24 hours after going bust.

Others joined the list too including Inside Out Construction, Solido Builders, Waterford Homes, Affordable Modular Homes and Statement Builders.

The most recent collapse was NSW building company Willoughby Homes, which went into voluntary administration last week, leaving 44 homes in limbo.

News.com.au also raised questions about Sydney-based Ajit Constructions on Thursday after the builder hadn’t commenced construction for months, cleared up its offices without telling customers where it was going and disconnected its phone line.

There are between 10,000 to 12,000 residential building companies in Australia undertaking new homes or large renovation projects, a figure estimated by the APB.

A healthy construction industry is vital to a strong economy and ongoing growth, with the sector accounting for the employment of almost 9 per cent of Australian workers and 7.5 per cent of Australia’s GDP, according to CreditorWatch.

– with Sarah Sharples

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Sneakerboy collapse: Company owes $17.2 million to creditors, customers

Sneakerboy collapse: Company owes $17.2 million to creditors, customers

Several employees of a collapsed footwear company suspected the retailer was on its last legs for some time as they were accosted by angry creditors and customers on a daily basis, endured pay runs that were weeks late and never received their final entitlements.

Controversial luxury shoe retailer Sneakerboy went into voluntary administration in early July but two former staff members told news.com.au this was not surprising.

Five companies were included in the administration notice, Sneakerboy Pty Ltd and two related companies under the Sneakerboy name, and Luxury Retail Treasury Pty Ltd and Luxury Retail Group Pty Ltd (Sneakerboy’s parent company).

ASIC documents seen by news.com.au show the embattled company and its related companies owe $17.2 million to more than 100 creditors, including $200,000 to Nike.

A whopping $500,000 is also owed to 120 past and current staff members through unpaid wages and entitlements.

Elliot* worked for Sneakerboy since 2017 and is owed $15,000 from 220 hours of annual leave and roughly 12 months of superannuation that he never received after quitting in January this year.

“Since 2018 there were a few warning signs (at Sneakerboy), pay was occasionally a tiny bit late, like a day late,” he recalled to news.com.au.

“Then over the years it started to get out of control, in the last year it would be one to two weeks late. It was insane.”

The Melbourne worker, 34, was struggling to pay rent and groceries from the late payments and now works elsewhere, adding: “You get paid on time (at this new place), it’s crazy, it feels like such a treat.”

Elliot said from the beginning of his stint at the company he had doubts about the way Sneakerboy made money

“I felt like it wasn’t a sustainable business model, it was predicated on taking money from customers and using that as a loan to buy the shoes which is insane,” he said.

Customers would fork out cash for a pair of shoes, which was usually thousands of dollars as Sneakerboy sells sneakers by brands like Balenciaga and Canada Goose for well north of $1000. This money would then be used to actually buy the shoes — but the products would usually arrive weeks or months later as it was a pre-purchase order.

Wait times for sneakers usually blew out to weeks or months, causing angry customers to ring stores multiple times a day requesting for refunds.

Elliot said his store got “a lot of refund calls.”

“You would try to delay it as long as possible,” he added.

Things reached a head when one customer spent between $40,000 to $50,000 on sneakers — with plans to sell it on at a higher price at her home country of China. However, the shoes didn’t arrive for months.

“She put her own lock in front of the store, she put a bike lock on the front door,” Elliot said with a laugh.

“They had to get a locksmith. Some people were mad about it, but she spent tens of thousands of dollars and had n’t received her product from her so it was fair enough”.

It’s understood from creditors there are in excess of 1000 customers who prepaid for products which may now never arrive.

News.com.au has contacted Sneakerboy and its two co-owners for comment.

Do you know more or have a similar story? Continue the conversation | [email protected]

Struggling to pay rent

There were times when Elliot couldn’t afford rent because his pay arrived so late and he had to sell some of his own stuff.

“You’d have weeks where it’s like ‘cool, gotta sell a bunch of my own sneakers to pay rent’, it’s pretty cooked,” he said.

Although it looked like superannuation was being deposited into his account according to his pay slip, he knew this wasn’t the case.

“We’d all known for a couple of years our super wasn’t being paid properly, when you got the pay slips it said you were getting super but obviously they weren’t,” he added.

The Fair Work Ombudsman confirmed to news.com.au that it was investigating Sneakerboy over concerns from workers regarding their wages and entitlements.

A spokesperson told news.com.au the government department “has ongoing investigations in relation to Sneakerboy”.

“As these matters are ongoing, it is not appropriate for us to comment further at this time.”

Elliot said he could “tell Sneakerboy was going badly” because it was doing 40 per cent off sales even when they didn’t have stock available.

“It was fully desperate,” he said. “They were struggling for cash flow all the time.”

‘Blocked the exit’

Adam* worked at Sneakerboy’s Sydney store for four years and he claims the run-ins with angry customers and creditors made him develop depression.

“The constant pressure from management to keep selling on my day off and angry creditors have affected me mentally,” he told news.com.au.

“I had to visit a psychologist and psychiatrist to combat my depression.”

The 26-year-old resigned three months before Sneakerboy collapsed and said his mental health has improved since then as he has “moved on to better things”.

He alleges one of the worst interactions he had was with the landlord of his store who had not been paid rent for months.

“They were shouting at me and acting aggressively,” he said. “They blocked the exits, spoke very rudely and kicked me and other staff members out of the shop.”

He also said they got angry calls from contractors, including third party cleaning companies and delivery partners over unpaid bills.

“Customers were the most frequent and the worst,” Adam continued.

“They would abuse the staff members by shouting, swearing, acting aggressively, throwing fits, and threatening the staff member.

“Imagine you are getting this at least seven to nine times a day through phone calls or coming to the store.”

He added: “From my observation, every time Sneakerboy desperately needed money, they always start massive sales by offering high discounts for branded products.

“If you recall, last year, they did four or five massive warehouse sales, which is unusual for a business.”

Stephen Dixon from insolvency firm Hamilton Murphy Advisory was appointed as administrator at the beginning of July.

There are 36 potential buyers circling to try to acquire Sneakerboy, according to Mr Dixon.

“This interest has come from a range of international and Australian parties across a broad industry spectrum,” a statement from the company read.

“We appreciate and understand the concerns that all stakeholders to the Sneakerboy Group have, especially employees and customers,” Mr Dixon said.

“We continue to urgently work towards a sale of the business, as we believe that this will be the best outcome for creditors. Employee obligations are a critical part of the negotiations we are having with potential buyers.”

*Names withheld over privacy concerns

[email protected]

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Willoughby Homes building company collapses, goes into voluntary administration

Willoughby Homes building company collapses, goes into voluntary administration

A NSW building company has gone into voluntary administration, leaving at least 30 homes in limbo.

On Friday night, Sydney-based Willoughby Homes appointed external administrators.

The company collapsed just over 24 hours after NSW Fair Trading suspended its building license for failing to pay back debts ordered by a court.

Homeowners were informed via email late on Friday that David Mansfield and Jason Tracy of Deloitte’s turnaround and restructuring department had been appointed as joint administrators.

A sister company of Willoughby Homes, Project 360 Degrees, which was run by the same leadership team, is also part of the administration proceedings.

It comes after an extensive news.com.au investigation found the company has been non-functional for some time, with build sites stalling for as long as a year, the company’s home building insurance not being reinstated and finally, all its offices being cleared out and phone lines going straight to voicemail.

News.com.au understands around 30 homes were in the pipeline to be built and that at least 10 creditors are owed money. There are also around eight staff members who will be impacted, although it’s understood they had all ceased working at the company in the last several weeks. Staff had not been paid their superannuation in the months leading up to the collapse and one staff member is owed $53,000 in wages.

One creditor, Regno Trades, is owed $184,000 and has a court date hearing this Wednesday calling for Willoughby Homes to “be wound up in insolvency”.

At least 10 contractors are chasing Willoughby Homes over unpaid debts and more than a dozen customers have taken them to NCAT demanding their deposits or progress payments be returned as works have stalled.

Although Regno Trades has applied for Willoughby Homes to be placed into liquidation over a $184,310 payment, several other creditors have also taken legal action.

Five companies have applied for a default judgment over payments they claim is owed to them: H & R Interiors ($73,925), Prospa Advance Millers ($60,913), Scaffolding Australia ($22,794), ATF Services ($5,658) and Green Resources Material Australia ($6,503). ).

Elba Kitchens claimed to news.com.au that they were owed around $80,000 from Willoughby Homes.

Trueform Frames and Trusses claim they are waiting on an outstanding payment from Willoughby Homes of $24,684 from an invoice issued more than seven months ago while Finese Electrical and Air Conditioning claims it is owed $4531 from jobs done in February.

News.com.au knows of two other suppliers owed money.

It’s understood these creditors have not yet been contacted about the company’s voluntary administration.

News.com.au has contacted the administrators for comment.

Do you know more or have a similar story? Continue the conversation | [email protected]

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) ordered Willoughby Homes to pay back $76,837 to a customer on June 8 and then last week, on July 21, another homeowner was also awarded $38,456, payable immediately.

Both debts were never paid, prompting the building license of Willoughby Homes to be suspended on Thursday.

Two employees who quit several months are also owed thousands in unpaid superannuation in what they said was a sign that the company was on the brink of collapse.

Xavier* worked in the sales department of Willoughby Homes for more than a year before he was made redundant in February 2021. The father-of-three claims he is still yet to be paid $53,000 from his commission fees. To recover the money, he’s spent around $5,000 on lawyers although his latest legal letter from him has gone ignored for months.

He also learned he was owed about $7000 in unpaid superannuation from Willoughby Homes.

Another staff member, Eric*, was owed about $5000 in super and had to get tax authorities to intercede on his behalf to recover his cash.

In June, news.com.au flagged that Willoughby Homes was on its last legs as some customers watched their dream home languish for months in the final stages of the project.

Several other aspiring homeowners forked out tens of thousands in a deposit as long ago as 2020 and to date, nothing has been done on their empty site.

News.com.au also knows of at least two customers who signed a contract with Willoughby Homes when the company was not able to enter into any new contracts.

NSW insurer iCare had not reinstated Willoughby Homes’ Home Builders Compensation Fund (HBCF) since April 2021, with the state body rejecting multiple applications, it confirmed to news.com.au.

That means the construction firm could not begin any new projects that required HBCF — so any project costing more than $20,000.

A NSW Fair Trading spokesperson told news.com.au that “It is a breach of the Home Building Act for a builder to enter into a contract to complete residential building work above $20,000 without HBCF insurance”.

Mum-of-three Marice Hartono and her husband, from North Ryde, gave out $38,000 to the builder as a deposit while Greg Denton and his wife paid $22,000 for a Central Coast home.

Both customers are not insured as they signed after Willoughby Homes’ HBCF had not been renewed and are not entitled to any compensation from the fund.

Ms Hartono told news.com.au she was “devastated” to hear the news that the company had gone bust as it’s left so many “unanswered questions” about what this means for her deposit and her plans of a dream home.

Since June, NSW Fair Trading has been actively investigating Willoughby Homes, with the government department telling news.com.au “The investigation into Willoughby Homes Pty Ltd is ongoing and no comment can be made at this time.

“NSW Fair Trading encourages anyone who has contracted with this trader to call 13 32 20.”

On Thursday, the entity used its powers against Willoughby Homes to suspend its license, effectively stopping the company’s ability to trade at all.

NSW Fair Trading took the drastic action of using Section 42A of the Home Building Act 1989, which allowed them to “automatically suspend a contractor license where the holder fails to comply with an order by a court or the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) to pay money for a building claim by the due date”.

Not long after, administrators were appointed to the struggling company.

Customers have been left reeling over the long months of waiting as the company floundered.

Cherry Cobrador-Wong, 33, and her husband Logan Wong, 35, from Sydney’s west, who recently had a baby, are behind in mortgage and rent because they claim their house has been left untouched since November when it was nearing its final stages.

“I’m crying all the time. I’m emotionally saddened and destroyed,” she previously told news.com.au.

Saif Nabi and his wife Hanniya as well as their two-year-old son have also been left in the lurch.

“One and a half years into it and we’re not closer, it’s just an empty lot of land,” Mr Nabi lamented.

At first the Nabi family were ecstatic about building their dream home in Box Hill, forking out $18,000 in an initial deposit.

But as the months passed by, Mr Nabi said the situation turned “into a nightmare” and he called to mutually end the contract.

“Since then it’s just been complete radio silence,” he said.

Sarah Little and Nikki Young are two more impacted homeowners who forked out $29,000 as a deposit but have yet to see a single worker set foot on their vacant lot.

The pair of paramedics signed with Willoughby Homes in March last year for a $291,000 four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Menangle Park, in Sydney’s south west.

“It’s taken a pretty big toll on our mental health and we’ve gone from being pretty financially stable to now having to really consider if we can even afford the home we dreamed of.”

*Names withheld over privacy concerns

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