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A building company has collapsed two months after one of its prospective homeowners was left in the lurch when he was charged an extra $150,000.
A1A Homes and its company A1A Commercial Builders, based in Point Cook in Melbourne’s southwest, went into administration on May 2.
The company built residential and commercial builds around Australia and New Zealand, with its website and social media pages filled with photos of finished homes or houses under construction.
But the company has been bombarded with a series of one-star reviews online – and one customer recently revealed how the company had started building his dream home, but then asked for an additional six-figure sum.
A1A Homes and its company A1A Commercial Builders, based in Point Cook in Melbourne’s southwest, went into administration on May 2 (pictured is a build from the company)
Abishek Mahajan, 27, is one A1A Homes client who was forced to end his contract with the company after they wanted to charge him an extra $125,000
Abishek Mahajan, 27, attended a site meeting with the company in Melbourne in August, 2022, about his property which he’d bought a year earlier.
But Mr Mahajan was told ‘rising costs’ meant the original $675,000 price tag on his home had increased to $800,000.
Mr Mahajan, a planner with the National Disability Insurance Agency, did not have the money and could not raise an extra loan for that amount.
Personal loans were usually for $5,000 or $10,000, he said, while $125,000 was the size of a deposit on a house.
‘Mentally I was so damn sick from the inside,’ he told News Corp in March before A1A Homes collapsed.
‘I was having breathing issues when I spoke to [the builder]. I was having a mini heart attack as you have lost everything in that split second.’
A1A Homes offered residential and commercial builds around Australia and New Zealand
Mr Mahajan claimed he was left with no option but to cancel the contract with the builder after the meeting.
His parents emigrated to Australia from India when he was 15 and the industrious teen set about studying and working part-time.
His first job was at fast food chain Subway in Melbourne, from which he put aside as much as he could with the dream of one day building his own home.
He recently got married in his adopted homeland, an experience he describes as ‘a migrant’s dream.’
Building his own house was supposed to top that off with the Great Australian Dream – property ownership.
Instead he has just a concrete slab where his house should be and is paying land tax and council bills and describes the whole experience as ‘a disaster’.
In a statement, A1A Homes disputed the version of events recounted by Mr Mahajan warning some accusations were ‘completely not true’ but failed to answer questions.
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The company’s website and social media pages are filled with photos of finished homes or houses under construction
‘As you know publishing false defamatory statements will have consequences. We will seek compensation if there will be damages to A1A Homes reputation.’
A1A Homes has a string of one-star reviews online, with many clients expressing their frustration at their incomplete builds.
‘Just be aware of this builder. I’ve signed my house contract with this builder 2 years ago, still my house is at incomplete lock up stage, they have taken upfront money from us for plastering work more than 6 months ago, since then there is not even single day work done on my site, no response for any of our emails, calls whatsoever, now they’ve removed temporary fencing as well,’ one person said.
Another said working with A1A Homes was ‘one of the worst experiences’ they’d had and blamed poor communication, supervisors and maintenance teams.
‘They pour slab 1 year ago and did nothing after that. Their office address which is given on internet is not there anymore. They also took out their sign in front of the temporary fence of the property which has builder’s information,’ said another client.
Other clients said they’d had a positive experience with the company.
On the company’s latest post on Facebook, comments have been limited.
The most recent notice from the corporate watchdog, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) says creditors will meet for a second time to discuss the future of A1A Homes on June 6.
The company’s website is filled with glowing descriptions promising to deliver customers quality homes.
‘Our Commitment to Quality, Value and Integrity is the foundation upon which A1A Homes Group was built, and these three fundamental principles still guide us in caring for our customers, tradesmen, shareholders and the community,’ its website says.
But Mr Mahajan was told ‘rising costs’ meant the original $675,000 price tag on his home had increased to $800,000
The company said it offered ‘exceptional quality’ on its builds and ‘assures that the homes will be built with love from day one’.
‘A1A Homes is committed to doing the right thing for the exact right reason,’ they said.
‘We are dedicated to being up to date with the building trends and to continually innovate in the industry, constantly focused on improving the quality of all our homes and approaching each day with the highest level of integrity for our customers and the community.’
A1A Commercial Builders looked after projects for education, aged care, hospitality, residential and retail sectors.
‘We receive awards not only because of our technical ability but also for our flexibility and compassion,’ the website says.
Both A1A Homes and A1A Commercial Builders have the same office address and contact details online.
Calls from Daily Mail Australia to the company have gone straight to voicemail. Exhaustive attempts to seek comments went unreturned.
