A young Haddon family say their dream home has become just a house on a block they would be “embarrassed” to sell on.
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Steve Bridgman and his partner Brooke Harmes signed on with a Ballarat builder in 2015 with money left to them by Mr Bridgman’s parents.
The couple hoped to raise four-year-old Ethan and his little brothers and sisters to come in the same area Mr Bridgman and his brother grew up.
But 10 months since moving in they are yet to see any repairs to the multitude of defects which riddle their home.
The house has cracks throughout and irregularities including mismatched built-in doors, a leaking shower and bath and unsealed tiles.
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External brickwork and doors were only partially sealed when they moved in.
The Haddon family are among dozens who say their properties have been left unfinished or with significant defects by a Ballarat builder. The Courier has chosen not to name the builder for legal reasons.
Mr Bridgman’s calls to the builder, and those of multiple complainants, have gone unanswered since mid-June.
The build is covered by warranty but Mr Bridgman was routinely told by the builder that they were unable to get tradespeople to return to site.
The Courier has also spoken to multiple tradespeople who say they have been left tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket by the same business.
Other complainants The Courier spoke to were told they could only recoup their losses was if the builder went bankrupt.
“The finance for this house came from a pretty dark area, I lost my parents and their money is what built this house,” Mr Bridgman said.
“It gets me angry and upset seeing the missus angry and upset. It’s both of our dream home.
“To see them (Brooke and Ethan) happy would be great but until the stress is gone they’re probably not going to get that fulfilled just yet.”
Ms Harmes said she would be embarrassed to sell the property as a new home.
“Steve’s family lived out this way and after they passed we thought this would be a great area to bring Ethan up but it’s just a house on a block now,” she said.
“We wanted to bring more kids into this house. We still may but it’s a house, it’s not a home.”
Dispute resolution agency inundated
The state government’s new building dispute agency has been forced to bring on new staff to work through a backlog of applications.
Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria was set up by the Andrews government in April this year about a month after Geelong-based builder Watersun Homes went into administration.
The service’s website currently says initial assessments will be delayed due to “high demand”.
The independent agency was designed to resolve disputes which would previously have wound up at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
A spokesperson for Planning Minister Richard Wynne said the agency was increasing the number of dispute resolution officers, currently at 30. Since the service launched on April 26, it has received 1938 applications.
A spokesperson for Mr Wynne defended current consumer safeguards and said the government had changed building regulations to “crackdown” on building malpractice.