Coast to Coast Homes

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Concerns have been raised about the future of a major South Australian building company which is undertaking a review of its accounts amid reports of mounting debt and outstanding payments.

Several industry sources and contractors have told The Advertiser that Coast to Coast Homes, which builds around 100 homes a year, is in financial difficulty and could be days from closing its doors.

Coast to Coast Homes’ started in Moonta in 2010 and has operations in Adelaide and Port Lincoln.

Company managing director Sean Craven said accountants were reviewing company accounts and invoices and that it would “see what happens” based upon a report expected within three to four days.

“We don’t know where it’s going to finish at this stage,” he said. “Everything should be okay, we have had a lot of people not paying and a few bad debts.”

“Hopefully we’ll get everything cleared up and we shouldn’t have any problems,” he said.

The company’s Facebook account has been deactivated. The Advertiser’s repeated calls to the Moonta office have been met with a recorded message stating that the office was unattended.

The director of a Yorke Peninsula-based cabinet-makers said Coast to Coast homes has owed him $63,000 since January.

“We were just starting legal proceedings this week (to recover money) but it looks like we got in too late,” he said.

“There are people with hundreds of thousands of dollars owing, it’s inevitable it’s going to fall over.”

Steven Haskell, ex-director of collapsed cabinet maker Yeomans & Haskell, said Coast to Coast had owed the company a “significant amount”.

He would not say how much but his father Robert told The Advertiser in February, on the day his company was placed into liquidation, that two builders had failed to pay more than $100,000.

Master Builders of SA chief executive Ian Markos said he was aware of “a number” of sub-contractors owed money by Coast to Coast homes.

“Seven residential home builders have gone under in less than seven months. That is a clear signal something isn’t right in the industry,” he said.

He said a lack of understanding of financial business matters had been a “major factor” in the collapse of the companies.

“We think the time has come to enforce a skill level – including financial - that allows a licence to be granted or renewed,” he said.

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Coast to Coast Homes build a never-ending nightmare for couple caught up in the company’s crash

When Mel and David Birt first encountered Coast to Coast Homes, they believed they had found the builder who could deliver the “forever” home they’d dreamt of.

The Tranmere couple travelled to Moonta three years ago when the company’s Adelaide sales manager Steven Craven showed them recently-completed homes. They were impressed with the quality.

Over a two-hour lunch at the Port Hughes Tavern, Mr Craven — whose father Sean founded the company — assured them of Coast to Coast Home’s experience, how they used quality tradesmen and that he would provide personalised service.

It was going to be a stress-free process and Mr Craven assured Ms Birt the house would be built within eight months, she told The Advertiser.

Positive online reviews gave her further confidence to entrust the company to build their dream and, a week after meeting with Mr Craven, they signed a $474,000 contract in June 2016.

But the Birts have delivered a scathing review, urging others to avoid the company that had “ruined what should have been a very exciting journey”.

Among faults with their house were the facade not matching their design, multiple water leaks, cracks in brickwork, airconditioning ducts installed incorrectly, shoddy kitchen cabinetry, wardrobes that were the wrong size and salt damp. Three months ago, a 4m strip of cornice fell from the kitchen ceiling, chipping a counter top and destroying an oven.

Ms Birt said her family was living illegally in the house for 21 months because Campbelltown Council was never advised of the build and had not undertaken inspections to ensure it was compliant.

A building inspector has compiled a 70-page list of visible defects that Ms Birt is now trying to claim through insurance since last week’s collapse of Coast to Coast Homes, which owes 245 creditors $3.7 million, leaving 90 customers with unfinished homes and 15 staff jobless. “I am so angry with him,” Ms Birt, 54, said of Mr Craven. “He has caused so many dramas.

“We were led to believe he was an experienced builder, that he had all these years of experience but it wasn’t until much later that we found out his father basically handballed the position for Steven to look after the business in Adelaide and he ran with it. He had no building experience, no project management experience, no finance experience, as far as we know, and no business management experience.”

Ms Birt said that, a year ago, Mr Craven told her that he was “so f … ing stressed, the last thing I want to do is lose my old man’s business”. She said he had various “sob stories” for the delays, such as the company computer had been hacked, that he was being blackmailed and that he had unreliable tradies.

Ms Birt said she was angry that Mr Craven and his father had also opened a joinery business, Regency Custom Cabinets, last June, while clients were waiting for their homes to be completed. The Advertiser attempted to contact Steven Craven for comment.

His father, Sean Craven, declined an interview when approached at his Port Hughes house, saying that the company’s receivers had instructed him not to speak.

He did say there had been problems with the company’s computer systems in recent months but would not elaborate. Former construction manager Matt Tucker, who was made redundant last June, blamed the company’s “poor management” for its financial woes.

“I think it was underpricing for jobs and I don’t think he (Steven) knew enough about the building game,” he said.

“From my understanding, his dad wanted out of it (the business), took a back seat and Steven stepped up and said he could do it, but he couldn’t … he didn’t have the skills or the knowledge.

“I just think it went too big too quickly and I reckon he underpriced jobs. There were so many things going wrong that money was just pouring out constantly.”

Mr Craven did not have a builder’s licence and previously worked as a team leader for Optus before taking on a major role in the company his father started in 2010. Nicole Ferguson, daughter of Mt Barker Mayor Ann Ferguson, is among seven clients with unfinished homes in a group of 10 that Coast to Coast Homes was building at Mt Barker.

Ms Ferguson’s unfinished home is an investment property. While she did not have ill-feeling towards the Cravens, she said others who were waiting to move into their homes had “every right” to be angry.

She said she felt particularly sorry for the tradies, whom she hoped would be able to finish the work on her house.

Coast to Coast Homes was the seventh building company to go under in the past seven months, prompting housing lobby groups and Consumer Business Services to review whether current licensing regimen must be strengthened, in particular whether the current level of financial training for directors is adequate.

The SA Master Builders Association wants mandatory professional training as part of licensing regimen.

But Housing Industry Association SA director Stephen Knight has cautioned against any knee-jerk reaction to the recent closures and said government and insurers should work together to make trade credit insurance for subcontractors more cost-effective.

For Justin Zwar, 51, Coast to Coast Homes is the fourth company in the past two years that has been placed into liquidation owing his Moonta firm Peninsula Plumbing a “significant” amount of money.

Among them was Mawson Lakes Unique Urban Built, which collapsed in April owing nearly $4 million to more than 300 creditors.

Mr Zwar said he knew of a tradie who would probably have to sell his house or “go broke” owing to the collapse of Coast to Coast Homes.

Mr Zwar and a handful of other Yorke Peninsula contractors left out of pocket will be meeting next week with Narungga MP Fraser Ellis, to lobby for building trust funds that would quarantine money for subcontractors. Once their work was completed, they would be paid out of the trust.

“There’s got to be something put into place to protect the suppliers and trades,” he said. “In every experience I’ve had (in liquidations), the best result through liquidators is 4c in the dollar.

“Everyone feels sorry for the (home) owners, they come out of it OK, they have indemnity insurance … but there’s nothing for the tradies.”

A creditors’ meeting will be held on June 18.

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Debtors lodge caveats on family house of Coast to Coast Homes director Sean Craven

He’s set to lose his company — but it might not stop there for the founder of failed builder Coast to Coast Homes.

Suppliers of failed builder Coast to Coast Homes have targeted the family home of the company’s director in a bid to recoup their money.

Camden Park-based Total Concrete Retaining and Piling and Tradelink Plumbing Centres, who claim to be owed $8399 and $123,123 respectively, have lodged caveats on the Port Hughes house of Coast to Coast Homes director and founder Sean Craven and his partner Margaret Nelson.

Total Concrete’s caveat has been lodged in respect of work completed on April 2 this year.

Coast to Coast Homes, which had operations in Moonta, Adelaide and Port Lincoln, was placed in liquidation on May 24 owing 245 creditors $3.7 million and leaving 90 housing contracts unfinished.

NSW company Borg Manufacturing also lodged a caveat on the property last Wednesday through Sydney-based debt recovery firm Force Legal.

The firm, which manufactures panels and components for joinery industry, was not included on a creditors’ list lodged by Coast to Coast Homes liquidators with ASIC last week.

Mr Craven and his son Steven are directors of Regency Custom Cabinets, which they opened last June at the Croydon Park offices of Coast to Coast Homes.

A first creditors’ meeting for Coast to Coast Homes is scheduled for June 18.

One homeowner told The Advertiser of their horror build with the company, which has left their house littered with defects.

Consumer Business Services Commissioner Dini Soulio urged those concerned about the conduct of any building companies to ask for help.

He said Coast to Coast Homes had “not been on our radar” until “more recently”, when it emerged the company was in financial strife.

“If someone has concerns (about a builder) we encourage them to come forward to us, we can then assess whether directors are fit and proper to hold a licence and we can write to them and their accountants and request information as to their financial viability,” he said.

“Often when it (problems) come to our attention they are already on the verge (of closure).”

Mr Soulio met with the Housing Industry Association and Master Builders Association last week to investigate potential strengthening of builder’s licences.

The MBA has raised concerns that many of recent builder collapses have been due to companies’ lack of financial management.

“We will get back together in a week or so and look at the courses and qualifications to ensure the bar to entry is not too low,” Mr Soulio said.

HIA of SA director Stephen Knight said there needed to be detailed research on why builders were going broke.

“We are building the same number of homes that we did 30 years ago (there is) almost no opportunity for a business to grow other than increasing the share of the market, which means that somewhere another builder is missing out,” he said.

“Margins are inevitably driven lower as builders compete in a shrinking market.”

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Coast to Coast Homes customers lose average $5562 in deposits owing to company’s collapse
A third of the customers affected by Coast to Coast Homes’ closure have lost their home deposits averaging $5562 each – because they did not have insurance cover.

Customers of Coast to Coast Homes have likely lost almost $180,000 in deposits as they were not insured against losses triggered by the firm’s closure.

Liquidator Clifton Hall has told The Advertiser that of the 98 customers impacted by the company’s collapse, 32 had paid deposits but did “not appear” to have insurance cover.

“The majority of these homeowners are clients who had paid the company an initial deposit but no physical works had been commenced,” Clifton Hall supervisor Josh Brown said.

“In these circumstances they are precluded from accessing the homeowners warranty scheme.” He said Coast to Coast Homes director Sean Craven had estimated the affected homeowners — who are listed as unsecured creditors — were out of pocket a collective $178,000, or an average $5562 each. In South Australia a builder can legally take a customers’ deposit without building indemnity insurance in place.

But prior to construction on domestic projects costing more than $12,000, and which require council approval, the builder must obtain insurance cover on behalf of the owner.

Underwritten by the State Government and issued through QBE, the insurance protects current and future owners if building work is finished, faulty or if the licensed builder “dies, disappears or is declared bankrupt”.

A builder who breaks the law is liable to a maximum $20,000 fine.

Mr Brown said that his firm was unable to locate insurance certificates for two houses that should have insurance cover.

“We understand that one home has been completed and the other home is only partially completed. We are attempting to locate insurance documentation relating to these properties to assist the homeowners,” he said.

“We are not aware if QBE has subsequently been able to locate these policies.”

A former Coast to Coast Homes employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said she knew of one homeowner whose new house was not insured.

A spokesman for QBE said he was unable to answer if homeowners were without insurance cover and referred the paper to state Treasurer Rob Lucas’ media adviser Belinda Heggen.

Treasurer Rob Lucas said 16 people had lodged formal insurance claims.

“Our understanding is a number of companies have put their hands up to finish the (homes) that were partly completed,” he said.

Coast to Coast Homes, which had offices in Moonta, Adelaide and Port Lincoln, was placed in liquidation on May 24.

The Advertiser revealed yesterday that two companies, owed collectively $131,500, had placed caveats on Mr Craven’s Port Hughes house.

Mr Craven reported the failed company owed $53,128.25 to staff including $4500 in wages, $31,628.25 in holiday pay and 17,000 in superannuation.

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Coast to Coast Homes closes kitchen company Regency Custom Cabinets
The father-and-son team behind Coast to Coast Homes has closed their joinery business less than a year after it opened.

The father-and-son team behind Coast to Coast Homes has closed an associated joinery business less than a year after opening its doors on the Croydon Park site of their failed house building company.

Auction house Mason Gray Strange will on Wednesday hold a public auction of machinery, tools, cabinetry and equipment of Regency Custom Cabinets, whose directors are Coast to Coast Homes duo Sean Craven and his son Steven.

The MGS website says the auction is under instructions from “beneficiaries of Regency Kitchens (sic) due to closure”.`

MGS auctioneer Andrew Maros said the beneficiary was a relative who provided funds to establish the business.

ASIC searches show that Sean and Steven Craven registered Regency Custom Cabinets on July 19 last year.

Their partners Margaret Nelson and Amanda Craven are joint shareholders.

The Advertiser attempted to contact Sean and Steven Craven for comment.

Coast to Coast Homes had 98 projects on its books when it collapsed in May, owing at least $3.7 million to nearly 300 creditors.

Steven Craven cancelled an interview with The Advertiser that was scheduled for last Friday.

A week earlier Ms Craven, said via a text message that her husband would “like to not only speak about Coast to Coast but the construction industry as a whole”.

The Advertiser’s interview offer stands.

The Advertiser revealed this month that Coast to Coast Homes had built houses in a Mt Barker subdivision without telling the council or providing proof of building insurance.

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There's 8 housing companies that have collapsed/closed now.
There's got to be a reason..what's the root cause? You seem to be in the game.

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I've never heard of most of those that have collapsed

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Coast to Coast Homes director Sean Craven ‘ignoring’ request to stop drinking at Port Hughes Tavern
Coast to Coast Homes’ Sean Craven — who owes tradies millions of dollars — has been told to stop dropping by his local for a drink, because people are “getting grumpy”. He’s not listening.

Bad blood towards a builder who owes tradies millions of dollars has spilt over into a local pub, which is facing pressure to ban the businessman from the venue.

Port Hughes Tavern owner Justin Zwar said tradies, stung by the multimillion-dollar collapse of Moonta builder Coast to Coast Homes, are angry that the firm’s ex-director Sean Craven is frequenting their popular watering hole.

Mr Zwar, whose separate plumbing company lost a “significant” amount of money in Coast to Coast’s liquidation, said Mr Craven had ignored a request from his bar manager this week to no longer visit the pub.

“He (Mr Craven) didn’t take that very well,” he said. “He told my bar manager, it’s a public place and he will continue to do what he wants.

“It’s becoming a problem, people up here are starting get grumpier. I’ve had a couple (of tradies) threatening they will do something to him.”

He said Mr Craven, who lives in Port Hughes, was drinking at the pub most afternoons and that tradies had refused to visit when he was on the premises.

“It’s becoming quite an issue (for business),” Mr Zwar said, adding he had no legal right to refuse service to Mr Craven.

Mr Craven had owned the pub for 15 years and sold it to Mr Zwar in 2017.

He said that Mr Craven had shown no remorse for the failure of his building business, which a creditors’ meeting heard this month owed at least $5 million to hundreds of suppliers and subcontractors.

Liquidators advised the June 18 meeting that they would undertake a “detailed review” of payments to determine if any funds were misappropriated.

Coast to Coast Homes started in Moonta and was one of three major builders in the Yorke Peninsula region. It had 98 contracts on its books when it closed.

An associated company Regency Custom Cabinets, owned by Mr Craven and his son Steven, also closed its doors costing six staff their jobs.

Steven Craven, who managed Coast to Coast Homes Adelaide operations, has moved out of a rental property at Largs Bay.

Former employees have told The Advertiser that he and his family were moving to Queensland and that Mr Craven had a job interview in Brisbane this week.

Andrew Maros of MGS Auctions, who ran a fire sale of Regency Custom Cabinet assets, said Mr Craven had told him he was going to Brisbane for an interview but that it was for a job in Adelaide.

The Advertiser has sought comment from Sean and Steven Craven.