A Victorian family is distraught after the plot of land they bought remains empty more than 18 months since signing their contract to build a new home.
Hami Niroumand and his wife Afrooz, aged 41 and 40, signed a building contract in August 2021 while they were expecting twins.
“The twins are 14 months now,” Mr Niroumand told news.com.au. “When we started the whole process they weren’t actually born, it took that long.”
The pair planned to move into a two-storey, four-bedroom house in the western Melbourne suburb of Rockbank to accommodate their growing family.
Instead, they’ve been left forking out mortgage and land fees, as well as rent, amid the cost of living crisis, with nothing but a vacant lot to show for it.
The land is “untouched completely” Mr Niroumand said, explaining that since he signed the paperwork he has had to take his case to the Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria (DBDRV) twice.
“Obviously we would have taken a slight delay into account, but not for two years,” Mr Niroumand added.
“We have nothing. We have been left in a precarious financial situation and are under excruciating stress.”
Mr Niroumand says he has been shelling out $2700 a month in rent to keep a roof over the heads of his wife and children.
On top of that, he’s paying $500 a month in interest-only repayments for the mortgage on the unused block of land, prompting him to describe his financial situation as “not good”.
“I do have full-time employment but it’s only me, my wife isn’t working because of the twins,” he explained.
“We are making ends meet somehow.
“Our ownership of the land has incurred us additional costs without any money coming in.”
Council rates, water rates and body corporate costs have added strain, requiring him to afford an extra $600 to $1000 a quarter, which is money he just doesn’t have.
Mr Niroumand added that none of these payments are tax deductible, a further drain on his savings.
What’s happened since the couple signed the building contract in August 2021 has left them outraged.
The couple bought a home and land package from a developer called VestBuild who recommended they sign with a building company called Snowdon Developments.
They agreed to pay $277,000 for their custom build.
News.com.au reported mid last year that Snowdon Developments collapsed, leaving 550 homeowners like the Niroumand family in limbo.
Many projects had stalled for months and because no building works had commenced, Mr Niroumand was not entitled to any insurance.
At last count, the failed builder owed $28.6 million to hundreds of creditors.
Having already given a $13,000 deposit to start the project, the Niroumands were left with a difficult decision.
The price of residential builds had increased drastically as supply chain delays and rising costs of materials hit the industry hard.
It was going to require them paying roughly between an extra $40,000 and $50,000 to complete the exact same build.
So they decided to go with Evo Homes, a builder recommended by Vestbuild.
As a result, in August last year, the family signed a new contract with Evo Homes. The contract was only an extra $18,000 more than the original one, and Mr Niroumand said he was even able to negotiate it down to just $14,000 more.
All up, they signed new contracts with a price of $290,000 for their dream home.
However, since then, the project has continued to stall.
Although it’s been more than six months since bringing on the new builder, Mr Niroumand says his site still remains empty.
Evo Homes has struggled to obtain a building permit, which is causing more financial headaches for the young family.
“Other properties around (us) all have almost been completed,” Mr Niroumand said.
VestBuild did not respond to news.com.au’s requests for comment.
After news.com.au contacted Evo Homes, the family were sent an unusual email that said their build “has been approved for escalation by management”.
An Evo Homes spokesperson told news.com.au that the project’s developer approval was finally received on January 31, five months later.
“All additional fees incurred due to the extended approval process were paid by Evo Homes,” the spokesperson said, insisting that “no costs were passed on to the client”.
Originally, the building approval was forecast to have been obtained by late October. Building is now expected to commence in mid-March.
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However, Mr Niramound says he will believe it when he sees it.
His case is going to the DBDRV later this month.
alex.turner-cohen@news.om.au
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