Key points
- 1700 new home builds are left in limbo as Porter Davis collapses.
- Customers Amber-lea and Dion Drinnan have had a slab poured on their block, but now face uncertainty.
- Sigdel and Deependra Sharma have paid $160,000 but their builders have gone silent.
Property listings
Last week, Amber-lea and Dion Drinnan sat on the concrete slab that was the start of their new home build in Clyde North’s Orana estate, in Melbourne’s south-east.
The couple, who have three children, were dreaming of the future they would have once their double storey home was complete.
Amber-lea Drinnan and husband Dion Drinnan, standing on the concrete slab of their new home.Credit:Penny Stephens
But now, their dream has turned to a nightmare after their home builder, Porter Davis Homes, was placed into liquidation.
“This was meant to be our happy ending,” Amber-lea Drinnan told The Age on Friday. “I just can’t believe it. It seems like everything in my life is bad luck.”
It’s left 1700 new home builds in limbo and clients scrambling for information.
The Drinnans have attempted calling the home builder a number of times, only to reach the company’s voicemail. They received an email about the liquidators’ appointment late on Friday morning.
Amber-lea, who experienced homelessness and abuse as a young woman, said she and her husband had worked hard to achieve their first home purchase.
Dion, a panel beater, had been working extra shifts while Amber-lea, who owns at-home toy business Children of the Wild, had been working around the clock to save for a deposit.
A new home would have helped her to heal from her past traumas, she said, and give her children a stable life.
“For me, it’s not just a home, it’s a lifeline,” she said.
Workers leave the Porter Davis’ office in Melbourne on Friday morning.Credit:Paul Jeffers
The couple signed on with Porter Davis in June 2021, and their land was titled in November last year. A concrete slab was poured on their block of land in March, but no other work had been done since.
Porter Davis drew down $48,000 for the slab just two weeks ago, and the couple have paid other money in deposits for the block. They’re now scared that money could be lost.
Rising interest rates have hit the couple hard, Drinnan said, and if any extra cash was needed to complete the build they could go broke.
“We’ve really struggled to get what we have now – we’ve both barely slept in two years because we’ve been working so hard. This has literally ruined my life,” she said.
In the outer northern suburb of Kalkallo, Sigdel and Deependra Sharma, who have a two-year-old daughter, paid $160,000 towards their first home with Porter Davis this year and have also been left facing uncertainty over the build.
“I’m very, very stressed,” Sigdel said. “We chose Porter Davis because of their good reputation, it’s not fair we heard about the insolvency in the news.”
1700 new home builds have been left in limbo after Porter Davis Homes collapsed.Credit:Penny Stephens
Building on their home started just three weeks ago, but soon after the slab was poured, Sigdel said the builders went silent.
“Once we bought our slab there was no communication before the insolvency,” Sigdel said. “They put a lot of pressure on us to sort our finances before the purchase.”
The Sharmas held a religious ceremony before their slab was poured, such was the importance of the moment for them.
“This house means so much in our culture, and we did a religious ceremony on the land before slab pour and this is really upsetting us.”
Liquidators Grant Thornton advised that customers with contracts could register their claims by directly contacting the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority. The liquidators are trying to find other firms to take over Porter Davis’ contracts.
In Brighton East, Peter and his wife Celeste, who asked for their surnames to be withheld, had paid a $2000 deposit to Porter Davis to knock down and rebuild their property.
Though the couple had not gotten far into their project, they were left shocked by the demise of the large home builder.
“In terms of things, it’s not a huge amount, but it’s really upsetting,” Peter, who is 76, said. “There was no indication that anything was wrong.
“We deliberately chose a big builder because of the stability concerns [with smaller builders].”
Peter says he and his wife will have to choose between finding another builder, or selling up their block.
“I don’t know what we’ll do, we’re just hoping we’ll get our deposit back.”
Most Viewed in Property
Source: Read Full Article
