Collapsed builder’s trail of heartbreak
VALARIE Kargar considers herself one of the lucky ones in the collapse of Queensland One Homes – at least she has a house.
But getting to the point where she could move her young family into it has been a stressful and drawn-out saga.
She was told her dream family home at Upper Coomera would be finished within six months – it ended up being 15 months before she could get the keys, and she’s still waiting for numerous flaws on the property to be fixed.
Queensland One Homes went into liquidation last month, leaving 133 tradies and staff more than $3.4 million out of pocket and 35 homes incomplete.
As creditors chase their money, a related company, Empire Constructions Pty Ltd, remains under investigation from the Queensland Building and Construction Commission for suspected illegal phoenix activity.
When Queensland One Homes staff told Ms Kargar her home would be finished, she took them at their word.
“We took that as a sign we could focus on having a baby,” she said.
“We didn’t end up getting to enjoy the experience as much due to not having a nursery to put together at the time and then having to deal with all the issues until getting the keys when our son was just over two months old.
“We are fortunate to be in our home now but there are still outstanding issues that have yet to be rectified by them since we had handover in April.”
The issues include a poorly-drained outdoor area, an unsealed shower screen, halfdead turf and a gas cooktop installed too close to the splashback – causing it to be scorched from the first use.
Ms Kargar said Queensland One Homes used part of the family’s provisional budget under the contract to redo earthworks they’d cut wrong the first time – a mistake that added eight weeks to the delay.
“The customer service and administration was appalling. I regularly had to follow things up due to lack of communication and there was always another party to blame for delays,” she said.
“In the end I just wanted the keys to be done with them.”
The QBCC yesterday briefed staff at their contact centres on the case after receiving calls from sub contractors asking about Empire Constructions Pty Ltd.
“We are definitely investigating Empire Constructions Pty Ltd,” a QBCC spokesman said late yesterday.
“QBCC staff are unable to comment on the potential future outcome of such investigations or their possible future effects on a licence.”
A meeting of some of Queensland One Home’s creditors heard allegations money had been transferred from Queensland One Homes to Empire Constructions Pty Ltd shortly before the company failed.