Melbourne building company Construct Homes goes into receivership as customers left in limbo

For the past few weeks customers have been unable to get in touch, with the website briefly shutting down and all phone lines going to an automated voice bank.

EXCLUSIVE

Yet another building company has collapsed, making it the fifth building company this week revealed to have gone under amid an industry-wide crisis.

News.com.au can reveal that on July 11, Melbourne-based residential builder Construct Homes Pty Ltd went into receivership.

Oak Capital Mortgage Fund appointed Sam Kaso of insolvency firm Cor Cordis as the receiver.

It’s understood Mr Kaso has used his powers as receiver to take over a property asset of Construct Homes to recoup funds for the creditor he is representing.

In the weeks leading up to his appointment, one customer was unable to get in touch with anyone from the company, with the website briefly shut down and all phone lines going to an automated voice bank.

Construct Homes, registered to an address in Cranbourne West, has left customers in limbo.

One customer, Jason*, told news.com.au it was “a bit of a shock” to learn the company had gone into receivership, after he checked its status on ASIC following multiple emails and calls going unanswered.

“It’s a lot of disappointment,” the dad-of-one said.

“It was going to be our family home for us, we did a lot of research into finding the right builder and making the right decisions.

“We thought we were in a position where this wasn’t going to happen to us.”

A receiver has taken over some of the assets of Construct Homes.

Jason engaged Construct Homes earlier this year and paid a five per cent deposit to get things under way.

“For several months (we were) waiting for them to make a start,” he said.

“They said they were delaying the start of ours, we can now connect the dots.”

But there is little in the way of recourse for the young family, based in Melbourne’s south east.

As the company is in receivership, and not liquidation or administration, that means customers are not entitled to an insurance payout and their interests are not being represented.

“There’s not much out there to sort of guide me,” Jason said.

“I’m still learning the whole process of this myself and seeking legal advice.”

Construct Homes has been a registered company since 2002.

On its website, the company claims to be the place to build with to “live your dreams”.

News.com.au has contacted Sam Kaso and Construct Homes for comment but neither had responded to the requests by the time of publication.

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A Construct Homes project posted on their Instagram in 2020.

It comes as the entire building industry is in crisis because of supply chain disruptions, skilled labour shortages, skyrocketing costs of materials and logistics, locked-in price contracts and extreme weather events.

So far this year, more than a dozen builders have collapsed.

This week alone, a number of construction firms have liquidated, including two more in Melbourne – Kleev Homes which owes $3.29 million to 162 unsecured creditors and Avra Group, leaving one man with an unfinished home.

On Monday, Sydney building company Allura Homes Pty Ltd went into liquidation, plunging 39 homes into jeopardy, leading to 11 people losing their jobs and with debts of $3.3 million to 102 creditors.

Earlier that same day, a prominent Western Australian builder Modco Residential went into voluntary administration.

Earlier this month, news.com.au also revealed that two building companies collapsed just days apart, NSW-based luxury builder Millbrook Homes and Victorian residential construction firm Bentley Homes.

Also in July, Perth-based building company Flexible Homes bit the dust.

Last month, news.com.au also reported that Melbourne construction firm Red Bluff Homes had gone into liquidation amid a dispute with a customer over suddenly cancelling the contract while Western Australian firm, the Slatter Group, also went into liquidation in June.

Australia’s 13th biggest builder, Porter Davis, also collapsed earlier this year, placing 1700 projects and another 779 empty blocks of land in jeopardy across Victoria and Queensland, while more than 1000 unsecured creditors owed a whopping $71 million.

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