Couple's heartbreak as new home not ready for third Christmas in a row

An exasperated father who claims his family have been forced to wait over two years for their dream home to be built says the ongoing ordeal has been "the single most frustrating, and difficult experience" of his life to date.

Travis McElroy and his wife Noeleen said they signed a contract with Burbank Homes in August of 2021, which he said stated their home would be built within 230 days. Now, over two years down the line, the property — being built in Smythesdale, near Ballarat — is still unfinished, with no clear timeline on when it's going to be completed.

Family forced to wait more than 850 days for dream home

Though it's been some 850 days since signing their contract, and while the family claim they have been promised they'll be in their home "by Christmas" a total of three times, the couple say they're still living in a cramped rental, which has been described as small and lacking air-conditioning.

McElroy said their living situation has been made even tighter by the fact their daughter, who is 30 weeks pregnant, has just moved back in with them.

"It keeps me awake at night," McElroy told the ABC. "You almost want to get it finished and sell it to move on and try again, but financially we can't even do that."

Pointing to the amount of times that he'd heard the same promise, McElroy said he's doubtful this Christmas would be any different to the others.

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'Hot summer' adding to Victorian family's concerns

"We're about to go into a hot summer where they reckon it's going to be hot and dry, and we've got no idea when it's going to be done," he said.

While delays in the construction industry have been well-documented, which Burbank Homes has pointed to when questioned over the hold-up, tensions have now risen between the family and the construction company, to the point of legal threats.

One exchange between the two parties even reportedly resulted in a lawyer from Burbank Homes threatening legal action should anything defamatory be published online by the family.

McElroy said he had been posting "frustrated blogs" on social media about the ordeal, once even writing an open letter to executives at the company.

Burbank Homes blames rain, industry delays for hold-up

A spokesperson for Burbank Homes blamed constant rainfall around the Ballarat area as the main reason for the heavy delay. "In the past three months we will have handed over the keys to 140 customers in Victoria and we expect to settle a further 50 homes by Christmas," the spokesperson told the ABC.

"The construction delay has been due mainly to record rainfall in Ballarat last year as well as delays accessing timber frames from suppliers, which has been an issue for the entire national construction industry since the COVID-19 pandemic and national building boom."

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