Dream homes dashed: Clients of bankrupt builder speak out

A bankrupt builder has said “nobody is perfect” after allegedly leaving land owners out of pocket for hefty deposits with little or no work done on their homes.

Builder Nikola Jandreoski.

A bankrupt builder is being probed by authorities after homeowners across Victoria complained of being ripped off or left with uninhabitable properties.

A Sunday Herald Suninvestigation has uncovered a trail of wreckage allegedly left by 3 Point Homes and its director Nikola Jandreoski, who only this month had his domestic building registration suspended.

Land owners who allege they paid hefty deposits for no or little work done have spoken out about their ordeal, with some saying it has taken a toll on their health and lives. Others say substandard work will have to be rectified, with one man saying he faced $430,000 in costs to get his home up to scratch.

Benson Fong had paid 90 per cent of his contract price by the time he discovered early works hadn’t been signed off by surveyors and authorities. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Mr Jandreoski has refuted accusations made by a growing list of alleged victims, saying “nobody is perfect” and he was the victim of a malicious campaign to destroy his business.

More than half a dozen 3 Point Homes clients have spoken to the Sunday Herald Sun, some on condition of anonymity, and have provided detailed evidence of their experiences.

Benson Fong, who started the process to build a home in Melbourne’s northeast in early 2018, said he had paid 90 per cent of his contract price by the time he discovered early works hadn’t been signed off by surveyors and authorities.

After having the property inspected, he was told there would be $135,000 worth of rectification works needed, while the cost to finish the house would still be about $295,000.

“It was pretty much the worst experience of my life and I’m still paying for it,” he said.

Mr Fong said he is now taking the matter through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, where several other cases against 3 Point Homes will be heard.

Builder Nikola Jandreoski says he has been the victim of a malicious campaign.

In one recent case, senior member Margaret Lothian ordered Mr Jandreoski to refund a deposit and site inspection fee for two clients — worth $20,000 — but also flagged that the deposit may not have been lawfully taken.

Several 3 Point Homes clients said they had been unable to get deposits returned, with some now going to the Magistrates’ Court.

Geoff Long, who was building three townhouses in Melbourne’s southeast as part of a retirement plan, said his family were out of pocket $42,000 and were left “shattered”. His fight is now before the Magistrates’ Court.

When contacted, Mr Jandreoski said he had been the victim of a malicious campaign by a group of ­“w--kers” who wanted to destroy him and the business.

He said a VCAT case he lost had been biased, and that the building industry was a tough one in which to operate.

He initially said he had done nothing wrong, before saying there might have been some minor wrongdoing — likening it to when people break the speed limit.

“If 20 people get together and lodge cases against you, there’s only so much you can do to defend yourself. It’s all bulls---,” he said.

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