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Subversiveness Behind of Connected Partition: A Neighbour Fateful Effect on Our Idyllic Home
In the heart of Alexandria, Melbourne we had renovated our gorgeous home of 30 years, a secret garden in the centre of the storm of its streets. For greater than 20 years, it was a beautiful home of solace, a oasis of beauty and asylum.
As an esteemed architect designer, my friend had donated to our community with numerous municipal creative proposals, but of these none were more personal and loved that the progressive design of the Lawrence Street, Alexandria, Sydney, Victorian style conversion. Conspicuously in the Sydney Morning Herald, it was hailed as a masterpiece, weaving old-world charm with modern-day elegance.
The Victorian conversion was a testament to architectural inventiveness—a two-story build and conversion to a Victorian style terrace, offering a house for a family and a home-office or studio. The premier feature was the light tower, soaring above the main structure with floating stairs, capturing the core of the south east and northwestern skies. French style sash windows dressed the main bedroom, while timber casement windows decorate in the bathroom frame the views and filter the light.
However, our idyllic lifestyle was destroyed when a new neighbour, a builder, moved in next door. Initially welcomed with open arms, his actions soon turned our lives upside down threatening the safety of everyone in the area. Without proper notification, he began demolishing our brick supporting wall, the major load supporting wall of our master bedroom. At one period of time he had setup pipes from his roof diverted water into our studio, causing several thousand dollars damage to our property and undermining its structural integrity.
To compound matters, we discovered that the intermediate wall lacked the required fire rating, a critical omission that threatened everyone's safety. In spite of our pressing efforts to rectify the problem with the neighbour's and contacting the council, the council said the builder's inspector had already signed off on the project, ignoring our concerns and leaving us open to fire.
Despite getting a legal judgement in their favour and compensation for the damages incurred, the emotional toll was immeasurable and created many unpleasant memories. They were forced to sell their cherished home, we mourned the loss of our award winning sanctuary, another victim of proper government oversight and unsafe construction practices. The lack of proper oversight and governance by government and local council allowed this tragedy to unfold, heightening the demand for more responsibilities and protection for homeowners.
As we wrestle with the aftermath of this trial, we are left to consider: What help do house owners have when their greatest financial investment are made vulnerable by the negligence of dodgy construction companies?
When to Commence - Vote the Capable and Unqualified Construction Companies in Commonwealth of Australia..?
The Failed, Fugitive, and the ending of Property CorporationToplace's Billion-Dollar Empire
from Aug 2023
A Bankrupt building consultant was extensively concerned with obtaining his insolvent registered company a very profitable building contract — supervising the disintegration of Suspect Jean Nassif's corporate empire, which drowned under debts surpassing $1.24 billion, including $88.5 million payable to suppliers and sub-contractors.
Fresh revelations about the downfall of Nassif's Toplace corporation have come out in documented evidence given to the Federal Court this week by bankruptcy managers from dVT Group. These documents uncover that secured creditors such as offshore lenders in tax havens, are owed one thousand million.
Additional Applicable Info:
Riad Tayeh, Jean Nassif, and Toplace's Skyview construction in Castle Hill.
Creditors without Security, have made claims totalling an est. $244 million.
Court filed claims also indicate that Riad Tayeh, founder of dVT Group, which played a key role in guaranteeing his companies appointment as administrators. Despite being declared bankrupt in May last year with several million in debt, Tayeh, now a business advisor, and partner Antony Resnick attended essential meetings with Toplace executives in the period leading up to the companies appointment as bankruptcy managers.
As well as those attending the meetings on July 2019 was Jean Nassif's 29-year-old daughter, Ashlyn, whose legal practicing certificate was suspended while she fights charges relating to fraud tied to Toplace's Skyview construction development in Castle Hill.
Riad Tayeh was legally financially bankrupt in May 2022.
Just before these meetings, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Jean Nassif, 55, who fled Sydney for Dubai in December 2022. Jean and Ashlyn Nassif are accused of creating false documentation to secure a $150 million loan from Westpac.
In June, Resnick and fellow dVT partner Suelen McCallum were appointed voluntary administrators for Toplace, following a resolution passed by Jean Nassif, its sole director The administrators now face the task of handling one of NSW's largest corporate collapses.
According to Toplace's website, Jean Nassif's company has delivered around 30,000 residential units, shopping centers, and commercial properties throughout Sydney. Administrators are also investigating more than 3,000 residential apartments still under development.
Further complicating the administrators' task The administrators noted difficulty in unravelling the debt due to "intermingling of financial records," adding that Toplace's financial books had not been properly updated since 2021.
Sydney Buildings Falling Down... Nightmare on Builders Street?!
Continuing from my opinion piece "Holding the Line" (https://shorturl.at/4xbiF), the following stories outline a persistent sickness within the Sydney housing and property market. Despite recently updated NSW Building Property legislation, many investors are forced to buy homes that do not guarantee the safety of their money and investment.
These stories often go unnoticed and become the burden of socially righteous politicians in search of votes. The diminishing hope that government and local councils will provide a safe pair of hands for Australians striving to live the Aussie homeowner dream is disheartening.
Failures of Governance
- New Tower Block Evacuated Amid Cracks Concern: (https://t.ly/8b5Xd)
- Opal Tower Evacuation Amid Structural Concerns: (https://t.ly/vy_eG)
Betrayal Behind the Walls: A Neighbor's Ordeal
In the heart of Alexandria stood my friends David and Anne's sanctuary—a walled garden amidst the chaos of city streets. For 30 years, it was a place of solace and safety. David, an esteemed architect, had graced our community with numerous urban projects, none as beloved as the Lawrence Street Victorian conversion. Hailed as a masterpiece, it blended old-world charm with modern elegance.
The Victorian conversion featured a two-storey addition and renovations to a late Victorian terrace, highlighted by a light tower soaring above the main structure with suspended stairs. French windows adorned the bedroom, while timber casement windows in the bathroom welcomed views and filtered light.
As the design set a precedent, builders and designers began poaching the concept. Continuing a builder, purchased the single-storey terrace adjoining my friends' and sought to incorporate David's design concept into his new renovation.
Life was reasonable until Meek began demolishing the upper walls and roof of his terrace, causing horrendous noise and damage to David and Anne's wall. When confronted, Meek revealed large cracks on their wall but refused entry for inspection.
Eventually, David hired an unbiased engineer to inspect the wall at his and Anne's expense, as the City of Sydney had failed to include a Dilapidation Report in Meek's Development Consent.
The wall damage was just the beginning. David and Anne experienced flat car tires from builders' screws, water damage in their home, and other disruptive issues. Despite legal advice, they struggled to hold Meek accountable. Offers from Meek to repair the damage were refused, and my friends settled for a small sum for walls and ceiling damage.
Meek's negligence continued with a faulty stormwater system, causing further damage and concerns about termite risks. Complaints to the Council and Building Certifier were dismissed, leading to a futile letter of demand from David's solicitor.
After repeated flooding incidents and confrontations, David and Anne sought conciliation through the NSW Community Justice Centre, but the Meeks refused. Left with no choice, David and Anne sold their house and retired to the NSW far south coast. The legitimacy of private certifiers approving building works remains under scrutiny by State and Local Government and Royal Commission investigations.
Conclusion
"We did everything we could to resolve these issues; however, although we received minor compensation, it was nothing compared to the stress we endured trying to get our neighbor to build responsibly, and a state government and local council who could do nothing to protect us due to a lack of proper governance."
Australian homeowners are left to ponder: What other disasters are waiting to destroy their dreams? What recourse do house, apartment, and property owners have when their sanctuaries are threatened by greed, incompetence, and negligence? Even with recent legislation in NSW, it fails to provide complete protection for homeowners.
The Wall