Thanks Jon,

I've PM'd you.

Sorry to highjack your thread, I hope you get some info on Markcon soon.

Hi there

Have been looking at Markcon Homes to build our house (had plans drawn up and were just negotiating on changes and price) however have been advised today that the company has gone bust!!

Can anyone confirm whether this is true?

Ali

OMG, That's awful to hear of that possibility. I haven't heard about it but I did go to them almost 5weeks ago now with my detailed wish list and they said they'd be back to me in two weeks with plans..............and I haven't heard from them since.

Hi Eltoro

Afraid it's been confirmed by their architect/designer. Apparently the owners never told the staff. Lots of people have paid deposits and the only way they can get their money back is to make a claim through the company's insurers which apparently could take months So pleased I hadn't paid my deposit. Their HO closed and staff only found out when they went to the office and found it locked up and empty. Their website has closed down too.

This is very sad news and a lot of people will suffer through this as Markcon have got a lot of signs on blocks around here. I did say to hubby the other day that I noticed one house in particular seemed to come to a standstill.
We were advised two weeks ago though, from a smaller builder that one of the salesmen in Markcon's office had gone bust a few years back with his own building company and left a lot of people in the s**t then
We should consider ourselves one of the lucky few.

markcon have gone under for sure i know this cause they owe me a small fortune. yes they design nice homes but are a very disorganized bunch. lots of people would have been taken by them already its over 1 million in suppliers alone.In recent weeks whey have been taking all the deposits they can get their hands on and sending out work orders.I think the staff know more than their letting on

I'm sorry to hear that your are one of the ones that will loose out on this. The sad thing is that they will just walk away and start up again under another name:curse::curse:.
Is there any way that you will be able to recup some of your money back through builders association or insurance.
I really feel for you.

no chance !!!! gone gone gone. Slept like a baby last night (yea cried myself to sleep) Brisbane is a small place. they can't start up again I hope. although the last time i took a hit they started up 2 days later same building same phone number same fax slightly different name. I guess its just part of the game .

Hi everyone

I am new to the forum but felt I had to post for a couple of reasons

1) Yes I am a salesperson for a rival company to Markcon - in fact I represent 3 separate builders depending upon what budgets you have and type of house investment property you are looking to build

but more importantly

2) Whilst I cannot assist with any of the legal technicalities of what has happened with Markcon Homes I am more than happy to help anyone re their plans to build and any questions they may have re the costs, the traps that are easy to fall into and the hidden costs that can make building a nightmare if you get caught

I am happy to help with advice how & where I can WITHOUT always expecting a sale - as mentioned in 1) above though - it is how I earn my living

It's a great place to live but the Aussies do seem to have different values to the rest of us which can be frustrating at times :curse:

Cheers

We have just bought a block of land and are now looking around for a builder after reading this thread we will definalty be asking them what insurance they have to protect us in case they go bust.

But if you click on it, it comes up with a "website cannot be displayed" message...

Gina

They've probably closed it down.......

Hi Simba

All builders must provide full insurance through the QBSA or equivalent and there is also a pre-set progress payment system in place to ensure there are sufficient funds held in reserve with the Bank to complete the project (ie you only pay a deposit of 5% of the price as agreed & signed in the Builders Contract (some builders split the deposit into 2 - 3 smaller payments to help get things moving and confirm costs before asking you to commit to signing the actual contract), 10% of Contract Price after floor slab is complete, 15% when frame is complete, 35% when fully enclosed etc, etc, etc) but all of this can still be a slow and beurocratic nightmare to work through when a problem has to resolved or claim made.

Having said this the building industry in Qld is still quite bouyant at present so a builder going bust shouldn't become too much of a common occurence.

You prob need to be more careful with sales people under estimating the preliminary sum allowances for things like site costs etc instead. I had friend's who signed up to build a house with a builder and when I checked their contract I warned them that it would cost around $100k more than they had signed up for because everything was under estimated. Unfortunately for them my comments were fairly accurate....

We had an interview with the building services authority yesterday about getting our money back. Cutting a long story short as we had only just signed the contract and no work was completed then the process should take in the region of 6 weeks (we’ll see J). If work has commenced then this is where the time span gets a ‘little’ longer.

From what we were told it appears that Markcon were hard up for cash, and they were stitching people up, saying things along the lines of whilst laying your slab and preparing the footings we noticed XXXXX, which to rectify will cost an additional $XXXXXX.

I hope everyone else out there who got caught manages to get their money back/their house finished.

Hi folks,

I'm not a British Expat, but came across your thread while searching for Markcon's website to confirm their phone number, and well, NOW I know why they aren't returning my emails!

We are now living in a Markcon home. Signed our contract Jun 2006 and began construction Dec 2006 ... moved in 2 months ago on 17th July. Lovely house with a fabulous floorplan that we designed with the Salesperson. But, BOY were as disorganised as anything! No communication. very little documentation other than a string of emails that I've kept (thankfully!). Ultimately, I project Managed this house more than they did! But this post wasn't mean to be a builder bash so I will stop. (Unless I'm asked to continue, of course he he)

I think the main issue with Markcon is, that possibly lead to them being cash-strapped, is that they didn't charge enough for thier homes and therefore weren't covering the costs associated with building. We built a 300sqm house and compared to others on the market, we should have paid LOADS more than we did. Also, because they were so disorganised, they had to get tradies back 2, 3 and even 4 times at our house, so I imagine they were paying through the services that should have been right in the first place.

Anyway, I will be ringing QBSA tomorrow morning as we are in the 6 Month Defects Period and have been chasing Markcon to complete and fix the list of defects with have the place since Practical Completion. Nothing major, though a few little things that need doing!

Good luck to those who have money in Markcon> I hope you get it back with the help of the QSBA.

Regards
Kylie