How buying a tiny home turned into a nightmare for this Aussie couple: ‘It makes me feel sick’
A retired couple has lost tens of thousands of dollars in an alleged tiny house scam, leaving about 170 creditors owed an estimated $6 million.
Valerie Shannon and Garth Woodcock paid nearly $55,000 to Spencer Porter-owned My Tiny Home Kit in late 2022, expecting the building to arrive in April 2023.
But by last August only part of the frame and roof had been delivered, and the couple, who live in Coffs Harbor on the NSW north coast, feared they would never get back the $43,000 they said they were owed.
“It makes me sick because all I want is my little house,” Ms. Shannon said ABC’s 7:30 show.
“If I don’t get my tiny house, I want my money back.”
Valerie Shannon (right) and Garth Woodcock (left) are among those who shelled out tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket for a house they paid for but was never built
The retired couple paid nearly $55,000 to My Tiny Home Kit, owned by Spencer Porter (pictured), in late 2022, expecting the home to be ready in April 2023.
Mr Porter founded My Tiny Home Kit in 2022 after previously owning failed app companies.
He launched the company in a flurry of publicity, saying that tiny houses had become extremely popular and everyone wanted one.
“So we decided that we want to change the world one step at a time.”
The businessman also said he wanted to “spread awareness of the devastating extreme poverty happening right on our doorstep and around the world right now.”
Mr Porter pledged that for “every tiny house we sell, we will build a tiny house in a country in need, so that those who don’t have a roof over their heads can have a home, because everyone deserves to have a place to live’. call home.”
He later revised that to a pledge to sponsor children through World Vision instead.
“By sponsoring a child for every Tiny Home Kit order, we now have a consistent, positive impact on the lives of children in need,” according to the My Tiny Home Kit website.
Melbourne woman Lyndy U’Ren and her brother spent about $28,000 on a small house for their family’s rural vacation pad in 2022.
As a cancer survivor, she was impressed by a 2019 news report in which Mr Porter said he would donate proceeds from a self-published book based on his late mother’s voice recordings to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation.
The house Ms. U’ren and her brother paid for was expected to arrive within three months, but like Ms. Shannon and Mr. Woodcock, she received only a partial listing.
Ms U’Ren has tracked down around 90 customers and suppliers who claim they are owed money or have been let down by My Tiny Home Kit and Mr Porter.
“Even though there are people who have gotten their money back, the ongoing impact it has had on these people is quite significant,” she told ABC’s Emily Baker.
A promotional photo of My Tiny Home Kit is shown. The company has gone into liquidation
Ms Shannon said the experience affected her health.
“I wake up thinking about Spencer Porter, I go to sleep thinking about Spencer Porter,” she said.
“I had to go to the doctor to get some medicine to help me sleep… He ripped us off and there are no consequences.”
Western Sydney father-of-five David Urquhart also wanted to build a small house for his daughter, paying $32,000.
Two weeks after paying his last installment, My Tiny Home Kit went bankrupt.
“It’s almost unbelievable that you lose so much money for nothing,” Urquhart said.
Mr Porter is said to have stopped sponsoring children through World Vision last November, and the Peter MacCallum Foundation said it never received donations from him.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Mr Porter for comment but he did not respond. He has previously dismissed claims that My Tiny Home Kit is a scam.