Man’s home ownership dream, which he began saving for in part-time Subway job, turns to disaster

Worker’s dream of building a home he’d saved up for since age 15 turns to disaster after building company demanded an extra $125,000

  • Abishek Mahajan says A1A Homes agreed to built for $675k 
  • Home dream became nightmare when A1A asked for $125k extra
  • He couldn’t raise the money and cancelled contract

A young migrant who started saving for a house while working at Subway at 15 saw his home ownership dream collapse when the builder demanded an extra $125,000. 

Abishek Mahajan, 27 attended a site meeting with A1A Homes, in Melbourne in August 2022 where he was told ‘rising costs’ meant the original $675,000 pricetag on his property had increased to $800,000.

Mr Mahajan, a planner with the National Disability Insurance Agency, did not have the money and could not raise an extra loan for that amount.

Personal loans were usually for $5,000 or $10,000, he noted, while $125,000 was the size of a deposit on a house.

‘Mentally I was so damn sick from the inside,’ he told News Corp. 

‘I was having breathing issues when I spoke to [the builder]. I was having a mini heart attack as you have lost everything in that split second,’ 

After a dispute with his builder over extra costs, Abishek Mahajan has a concrete slab, land tax and council bills but no house where his dream home was supposed to stand

Mr Mahajan began to save for his dream home with his first job at 15, working part-time at Subway

Mr Mahajan began to save for his dream home with his first job at 15, working part-time at Subway

Mr Mahajan claimed he was left with no option but to cancel the contract with the builder after the meeting.

His parents emigrated to Australia from India when he was 15 and the industrious teen set about studying and working part-time.

His first job was at fast food Subway in Melbourne, from which he put aside as much as he could with the dream of one day building his own home.

He recently got married in his adopted homeland, an experience he describes as ‘a migrant’s dream.’ Building his own house was supposed to top that off with the Great Australian Dream – property ownership.

Instead he has a concrete slab where his house should be and is paying land tax and council bills and describes the whole experience as ‘a disaster’.

Mr Mahajan, a planner with the National Disability Insurance Agency, did not have the money to pay the extra $125,000 his builder requested and could not raise an extra loan for that amount.

Mr Mahajan, a planner with the National Disability Insurance Agency, did not have the money to pay the extra $125,000 his builder requested and could not raise an extra loan for that amount.

‘I’ve been working so damn hard to have my own house and they have ruined every year of hard work for us,’ he told news.com.au.

He claimed he is owed a refund of $8740 and has been chasing it for months, as well as compliance certificates for the plumbing and termites.

While he feels exhausted by the saga, he still hopes to either buy another home or continue building on his site at some point. 

In a statement, A1A Homes disputed the version of events recounted by Mr Mahajan warning some accusations were ‘completely not true’ but failing to answer questions.

‘As you know publishing false defamatory statements will have consequences. We will seek compensation if there will be damages to A1A Homes reputation.’

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