How to Begin - Pick the Competent and Unqualified Building Companies in Australia..? from Emely Laurenti's blog

How to Start - Voting the Competent and Unqualified Construction Companies in Commonwealth of Australia..?

The Bankrupt, Fugitive, and the end of Building CompanyToplace's Billion-Dollar Empire

from June 2023

A Fugitive building consultant played a important part in securing — supervising the dissolution of Accused Jean Nassif's corporate empire, which went under debts in excess of $1.24 billion, inclusive $88.5 million due to suppliers and onsite builders.

Fresh revelations about the failure of Nassif's Toplace group have surfaced in documents given to the Australian Commonwealth Federal Court this recently by administrators from dVT Group of Companies. These documents unveiled that secured creditors such as banks with mortgages, are owed $1 billion.

More Applicable Info:

Jean Nassif, and Toplace's Skyview building development in Castle Hill.

Creditors without Security, have made claims with a total estimated $244 million.

Australian Federal Court filings also show that Riad Tayeh, business founder of dVT Group, played a key responsibility in assuring his businesses designation as administrators. Even though being declared financially bankrupt in June 2022 with $5.4 million in debt, Tayeh, now a business advisor, and partner Antony Resnick attended crucial meetings with Toplace top managers in the period before the firm's appointment as bankruptcy managers.

As well as those involved at the meetings on Aug 2019 was Jean Nassif's 29-year-old daughter, Ashlyn, whose legal practicing certificate was suspended while she fights charges relating to fraud bound to Toplace's Skyview development in Castle Hill.

Riad Tayeh was legally insolvent in May 2022.

Just before these meetings, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Jean Nassif, 55, who fled Sydney for Dubai in November 2022. Jean and Ashlyn Nassif are accused of falsifying contracts to secure a $150 million loan from Westpac.

In July, Resnick and fellow dVT partner Suelen McCallum were appointed voluntary bankruptcy administrators for Toplace, following a resolution passed by Jean Nassif, Toplace's sole director, via email just hours prior. The administrators now face the task of handling one of Australia's biggest corporate collapses.

Resnick filed an affidavit in the Federal Court indicating that while Toplace's assets are valued at approximately $1.47 billion, its debts are nearly the same amount. Despite this, several owners' corporations have filed claims amounting to nearly $124 million to address serious defects in Toplace's buildings.

Further complicating the administrators' task a staff member suggested there may be another $400 million in loans involving Nassif entities that are not yet under administration. adding that Toplace's financial books had not been properly updated since 2021.

In the CBD of Alexandria Melbourne, Australia stood our beautiful home of some 30 years, a secret special architecturally designed house and garden in the middle of the chaos of its streets. For greater than 20 years, it was a beautiful place of comfort, a haven of beauty and asylum.

As an honoured architect designer, my friend had donated to our community with numerous urban design proposals, but of these none were more beloved that the innovative design of the Lawrence Street, Sydney, Australia, Victorian style conversion. Conspicuously in the Sydney Morning Herald, it was acclaimed as a creative masterpiece, weaving Victorian magic with modern-day elegance.

The Victorian conversion was a creed to architectural inventiveness—a two-story build and conversion to a Victorian terrace, providing a house for a family and a home-office or studio. The premier feature was the light tower, high above the main structure with floating stairs, capturing the essence of the southeastern and northwestern skies. French sash windows dressed the master bedroom, while timber casement windows decorate in the bathroom welcomed views and filtered light.

However, this pleasant existence was destroyed when a new neighbour, a fencing contractor, entered the scene next door. Initially welcomed, his illegal actions soon created absolute chaos threatening the safety of everyone in the area. Without proper notification, he began demolishing a major supporting wall on our property, the major load supporting wall of our bedroom. At one period of time he had setup a hose from his roof diverting water into our upstairs studio, causing several thousand dollars damage to our property and undermining its structural integrity.

Further to outline the absolute lack of construction experience, we discovered that the intermediate wall lacked the required fire rating, a critical oversight that endangered everyone's well-being. Despite our urgent attempts to rectify the problem with the builder and contacting the council, the council said the builder's inspector had already approved on the construction, ignoring our concerns and leaving us open to harm.

In spite of receiving a legal judgement in their favour and recompense for the damages incurred, the emotional toll was abysmal and created many unpleasant memories. They were forced to sell their cherished home, we mourned the loss of our award winning sanctuary, another victim of government negligence and dicey building practices. The lack of oversight and governance by government and local council allowed this tragedy to unfold, highlighting the demand for more responsibilities and legal protection for owners.

As we grapple with the consequence of this experience, we are left to ponder: What recourse do owners have when their greatest financial investment are made vulnerable by the neglect of dodgy construction companies? {https://www.facebook.com/groups/1240633520160302, Construction


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By Emely Laurenti
Added Oct 20

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