"For neither good nor evil can last forever; and so it follows that as evil has lasted a long time, good must now be close at hand."

Humans are a race of resilience. We fall we get up we keep on going. 

Sometimes it takes longer to recover, but we do recover.

But what if you fall in slow motion, like a 5 yearlong fall? Do you need the same time to recover? 

We believe no, because as soon as you remove the pain the recovery has begun.

Why are we contemplating about this?

“Looks good from far, but far from good.”

Background

Some of our followers are aware of our 5 yearlong battle with the building industry. Many not. 

The recent video moderated by Zeher Khalil shone a light on our building dispute, our battle to survive injustice for the last 5 years.

We started out at the end of 2019 when we chose a builder who promised us to build our dream home. 

Fast forward 5 years and we do have an unfinished house but it is as far removed from being a dream and will need to be demolished and we are still looking at a total nightmare and destruction of our lives.

Does this sound over the top? Maybe but that is the reality we’re facing.

We could write a book of our journey through the swamp of bureaucracy, threats, deception, harassment, lies and misconduct. 

It would probably be a thriller; many would see it as fiction but let us tell you it is a real crime story. The builder, the surveyor and his building inspector are the main characters in this story. 

We, the owners are just supporting actors out of the movie “Are we done yet?”

The building process and discovery

When we finally started our build on our acreage in the Golden Plains Shire, we were excited about this process. We did our homework, so we thought, we put the trust into persons who told us to trust and we handed over a vast amount of money we worked very hard for (and still do).

I myself was very excited and able to visit the building site often. I took many photos from every aspect of the build exited to see it coming to life.  In doing so I could not have imagined that this would later serve as evidence.

It didn’t take long, asking ourselves why the builder had just a very disturbing way with the truth. The lies he told, and that we dismantled in a heartbeat were confusing to say the least. 

Moving forward we discovered during the building process that plans have been altered. Features that were not in the original plans appeared. We were asked to pay for changes but refused, obviously.

We fought with the building surveyor for modern technology inclusions to make the build efficient. It took us 12 months and the Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria to convince him.

Little knowledge, lies, ignorance and misinformation made the building process very painful. When we asked questions, they felt offended. When we asked the surveyor to explain we got harassment.

Much of our journey is shown in the video produced by Site Inspections. The established following of Zeher knows his approach to building practitioners and their non-compliant and disgraceful work.

Our build goes far beyond that, it is a demolition job and start anew.

We will not go into details because it is explained in the following video:

The Scandal That Forced the Government to Rewrite Building Laws - YouTube

The damage goes way beyond the build, the damage is done to two human beings who done nothing wrong but had the desire to build a home in the countryside and retire. 

This is far from happening and we are facing financial ruin brought about by dishonest practitioners and their legal representation.

The VBA

The wrong doings are not just limited to the builder and his close friends but there is a role the government played to enable these wrongdoers.

Failed in a big way by the VBA the building authority who supposedly “protect” consumers but chose to protect the worst in the industry, the builder, his trades and the building surveyor.

After we discovered serious defects and non-compliance with our build, we raised a case with the authorities. 

“Fast” forward 3 years the case was closed, not once but twice. We the owners of this build who put everything they have into this have no rights, whatsoever. We learned that the hard way.

Litigation Process

Many times, we were close to giving up especially when we entered into litigation. We are total novices. Lawyers are always making things more complicated than they need to be or are. Everything is from then on in a snail’s pace as you follow process after process. The costs are mounting the time is lengthy your progress is slow if you have any at all.

After the builder breached the contract and walked of the building site in December 2020, we the owners have no right to the building we paid for. The keys are with the builder, we’re asking for solutions but get harassed by lawyers in a most disturbing way. Even our previous lawyers failed us in a big way. Inexperienced or knowingly, they put us in the most dangerous position and leave us no option but looking for someone else. They take our money but they do not care. Business for them, heart break for us.

After 4 years our persistence “paid” off

The new CEO of the building authority VBA chose 7 “severe” cases to investigate their role in this. We as one of these cases put a light on the failures of the VBA. 

This was a year ago, result, no one yet for us. Still investigating practitioners involved. Result for the VBA, renaming (again) restructuring, retaining the same people in power positions, $63 million to do so and paid by the taxpayer.

Compensation for their wrongdoing, none, apology only.

It is painful, it is distressing, it is unbelievable if you have to go through these lengthy processes. You can’t sleep; you can’t eat. It rules your life, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, with no end in sight.

Is the tide turning?

All this takes a toll on a human being, it was explained as going through a trauma. And yes, this is not a case for the faint-hearted. 

Persistence, resilience and a forced calmness will get you there. Difficult times need to be overcome and time is ticking bye.

In short, help yourself through this nightmare because no one else will.

…unless you search and find the right people, people that are rare like precious gems, have the knowledge we so crave pointing out the truth.

They are out there and we found them in the swamp of injustice, they stood out like a beacon of hope, hope we so desperately needed.

5 years in and the tide is turning with the help of these good people. 

People who give us back the trust we lost.

A comment on the recent video stood out to me, it said: “You don’t mess with Germans who have time, some money and a bone to pick.”.

It made me smile, because it is spot on. We grew up to be humble, generous and just. We have values and we live by them. Our world came crushing down when we were treated differently to what we believe in.

The part of having time and money is sadly not currently available.

Running Naturally Berry and running a litigation is very time consuming and stressful. We have to juggle to fit both in and most likely one falls short of the attention it deserves.

Moving on into uncharted waters 

Why are we writing about this? Because we need your help. 

The parties who brought us into this situation are continuing to fight us. Delaying proceedings at VCAT and dragging this case out until…. Yes, until we’re financially ruined. This would give them the only opportunity to win this case and walk away and leave us behind with nothing.

No house, worthless land and a whole lot of debt.

As explained above we’re not the people asking for handouts easily but this will explain why we have no choices left.

Finding solutions

We asked the builder and Surveyor/company to activate their liability insurance to pay for the damage caused. No response. 

We asked the government for compensation for failing to protect consumers. No response.

If we go into mediation and an agreement is reached the government will not be responsible for compensation anymore and walks away from its obligations. Lost opportunity for us and negotiating means we lose a lot of money.

We asked the VBA to help us through this situation financially. No response.

We went to the media to put pressure on the government. No response. 

Recently a ABC Online article  highlighted our story.

We engaged Site Inspections to compile a defects report for our build. His response was on that day (January 2024) a 4-minute video that went off with a bang. I don’t go into details but it woke up the other party’s big time. Threatening us with defamation and else.

Zeher Khalil and Ed Waldman (Senior Director at Site Inspections)

​

He warned them that there may be a full investigation coming up and it went silent with the builder and surveyor, because of the VBA all of a sudden waking up for an investigation after 4 years asking them for doing so.

Results - Are we done, yet?

The ”VBA - The Case of Transformation” was launched and knowingly not solved yet.

We were waiting, and waiting to get results but it was clear to us by release of the investigation reports something was off. After our own research we found a huge Conflict of Interest with the investigator and asked for a truly independent investigation. 

This was granted to us in a meeting with the CEO and State Building Surveyor, and we chose the best surveyor, a person living by our values and we could trust. This report is being finalised now and we are sure, it will be a revelation to everyone involved.

As the VBA has not taken any disciplinary actions after one year against the practitioners involved, Zeher started his own investigation and uncovered publicly what we went through in the last 5 years. The result was the video on YouTube on Sunday 27 April 2025, and released on Facebook and TikTok.

The YouTube video brought immediate attention and results. The well-deserved backlash to the builder and surveyor, who for the first time were named and who took our money and treated us in the most disturbing and disgraceful way, cannot be unseen. 

Recent developments show their true faces and it is not pretty.

The tide is finally turning but we aren’t out of the woods, yet.

Our costs are mounting and our funds are being drained. To bring the guilty parties to justice we have no choice but go to trial and set things right. We have the strongest evidence and the best in the building industry as witnesses. We have a strong legal team who are on our site to put things right.

This came at a great cost to us.

After spending already $240,000 in reports, lawyers and barristers fees an estimate for trial was set at minimum $158,000. This is a sum no one has lying around anymore after a 5-year battle. But it shows that justice is only for the once who can afford it. Even so that our Go Fund Me Page is asking for an extraordinary sum, we do not expect to ever reach the funding goal.

I know that our current lawyers are doing the very best they can, after discovering failings in their own industry that cost us a lot of additional funds over the years.

After 5 years fighting a mortgage, rent, legal expenses every month but nothing to move into, we are exhausted, mentally, physically and financially.

Paying it forward 

The only way for us in our situation is “Paying it forward”.

That’s why we ask in a very humble way for your help if you can.

We established a GoFundMe page Home Construction Disaster - Support Our Fight for Justice, we sadly now need.

This can be in any way you see fair.

A purchase, a donation or simply a note of encouragement. 

We are grateful for everyone who thinks of us, and we are thanking everyone who has supported us already.

We have to get back on our feet, find strength to fight on and still don’t know what comes next.

The unfortunate results

We know what we have to do when a ruling took place and we have two options.

Option 1 Rectification

We know that it is impossible to rectify a highly defective build like ours but still we have to wait it out at VCAT. Do they have the knowledge? This needs to be seen. 

So far $672.000 in rectification costs, which is way exceeding our original construction cost, and climbing as recent found sewage defects showed.

500mm too deep foundation, slab , and veranda footings, un-compacted clay soil, soil/slab heave, steel non-compliance, non-compliant frame, non-compliant roof, inability to collect our rainwater in rural area, failure to manage the site, 3 bathrooms and laundry need total demolition, the roof needs to come off and the build stripped of the frame. Not much left if the slab is defective too.

All non-compliant works need to be rectified. This would only be a work around but not making the build totally compliant. 

Many defects that could have been avoided if the VBA would have intervened in time for a Stop Works Order when we needed them.

It would also trigger a Section 32 caveat for the life time of the build. Not a desired prospect.

Option 2 Total demolition 

Our property is made worthless through to the defective build on it. It can never be brought back into compliance unless you start anew. This is what we’re asking for and be fair to us, the consumer. 

This can only be achieved going to trial and hold the builder, building surveyor, inspector and guilty trades to account. 

They all have indemnity insurance but do not activate it because of higher premiums or loosing insurance all together. 

And that is our life, every day, week, month and year. There is no reprieve, there is no relieve.

Help if you can in a way you choose and encourage us to not give in to this criminal behaviour.

If you choose to place an order you can apply the following optional discount code “NB-0525” for the next 4 weeks.

Thank you it means so much to us.

Andrea & Gerold

NATURALLY BERRY

www.NaturallyBerry.com.au

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