A worker’s dream to build a house he’d been saving for since he was 15 ends in disaster after a construction company demanded an extra $125,000
- Abishek Mahajan says A1A Homes agreed to build for $675,000
- Home dream turned nightmare when A1A asked for an extra $125,000
- He could not collect the money and canceled the contract
A young migrant who started saving for a house while working at Subway at age 15 saw his dream of owning his own house shattered when the builder demanded an additional $125,000.
Abishek Mahajan, 27, attended a site meeting with A1A Homes in Melbourne in August 2022, where he was told that “rising costs” meant the original $675,000 price tag on his property had risen to $800,000.
Mr. Mahajan, a planner at the National Disability Insurance Agency, did not have the money and could not take out an additional loan for that amount.
Personal loans were usually $5,000 or $10,000, he noted, while $125,000 was the amount of a down payment on a home.
“Mentally, I was so damn sick inside,” he shared News Corp.
“I had breathing problems when I spoke [the builder]. I had a mini heart attack because you lost everything in that split second.”
After a dispute with his contractor over extra costs, Abishek Mahajan has a concrete slab, land tax and council bills, but no house where his dream home should be
Mr. Mahajan started saving for his dream home with his first job at the age of 15, working part-time at Subway
Mr. Mahajan claimed that after the meeting he had no choice but to cancel the contract with the builder.
His parents emigrated to Australia from India when he was 15 and the industrious teenager began studying and working part-time.
His first job was at fast food Subway in Melbourne, where he put aside as much as possible with the dream of one day building his own house.
He recently married in his adopted homeland, an experience he describes as “a migrant’s dream.” Building his own house had to finish that with the Great Australian Dream – real estate ownership.
Instead, he has a concrete slab where his house should be and pays land taxes and municipal bills, describing the whole experience as “a disaster.”
Mr. Mahajan, a planner with the National Disability Insurance Agency, did not have the money to pay the additional $125,000 his contractor had requested and was unable to take out an additional loan for that amount.
“I’ve worked so damn hard to have my own house and they’ve ruined every year of hard work for us,” he told news.com.au.
He claimed he owed an $8,740 refund and had been chasing it for months, as well as certificates of compliance for the plumbing and termites.
Although he feels exhausted by the saga, he still hopes to buy another house or continue building on his site at some point.
In a statement, A1A Homes disputed the version of events told by Mr Mahajan, warning that some of the allegations were “not true at all” but did not answer any questions.
“As you know, publishing false defamatory statements will have consequences. We will seek damages if damage is done to the reputation of A1A Homes.”