My sister Karen and her husband Frank had Ash Mosely Homes (AHM) build their dream
house/B&B in Clifton Beach on the Coral Sea in NE Australia. They named it Warrawong Lodge which is aboriginal for “side of a hill”. They have a spectacular hilltop view of the
Coral Sea.
For years, AHM had a great reputation for high-end quality homes. That reputation is now in the crapper. They went from averaging one Request to
Rectify per year to 6 in 2012 while at the same time going from building 7
homes/year to 2. As a long-term member
of 12-step programs, I have a simple explanation that fits the facts…
AHM did mostly good job on building the home. It is level and square. Unfortunately, mostly good left room for plenty
of problems such as leaving the deck lumber out in the rain for months before
installing and painting it. Bear in
mind that while Australia is the driest inhabited continent the Daintree Rain
Forest is their backyard.
My sister is a recent resident of Clifton Beach. Before that, they lived in Sydney for years. She is not new to Australia and is an
assertive advocate for her rights. AHM
violated building codes, standards and their contract. At her request and substantial document, the Queensland Building
Services Authority (BSA) has already sent a Direction to Rectify to Ash Moseley
Homes for their deck among other items to be fixed. Karen has blogged her experience at http://ourcairnshouse.wordpress.com.
A deck problem might sound trivial.
Their deck is 150 feet long and up to 15 feet wide above a steep
slope. It is not a cheap simple fix.
I regret that my sister has had so many problems with AHM. I am proud of her for advocating for her
consumer rights. It is good that
Australia is strongly pro-consumer rights compared with the USA. Here it would be lawyer vs. lawyer. Down under, the BSA is taking steps to ensure
that the problems are paid for by the contractor’s insurance/bond.
I am grateful to have a wonderful smart creative sister that is a good
advocate for herself. I have learned a
lot from her in my life.
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