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Perth Building Shelter acts as an independent and unbiased body for homeowners during the construction of their homes.
We understand the challenges between builders and homeowners, and we constantly work at maintaining a good relationship between both parties.
Dear Future Homeowner,
My name is Deb Camilleri. I am the heart of Perth Building Shelter, but the backbone is the dedicated team of building experts and people that have helped build and shape Perth Building Shelter into what it is today.
My experience comes from building the same house twice. The first time was with ignorance and blind trust. Fortunate for me I got to do it a second time with knowledge and a supportive team.
Over a 4-year period from 2017-2020 my first house was built to completion, handed over, disputed over a faulty slab, demolished, and rebuilt again to Australian Standards.
I experienced firsthand the negative impact something going wrong can have on finances, relationships, mental health, and family.
My story was aired on the nightly news, with further devastating effects not only to myself but also to my builder.
After the story aired, I met hundreds of men and woman who were either suffering in silence with building issues or had, experienced major issues building and said they would never build again. My story going public revealed that my building nightmare was not an isolated case.
I discovered during this time there were very little resources and help available to the average homeowner, especially to the ones that were needing help in disputes with their building companies.
After 12 months of discussions, meetings, confrontation, and collaboration between myself and my builder the house was demolished and rebuilt.
I spent most of 2019 rebuilding trust and my relationship with my builder. I watched and learnt. I formed strong friendships with the men that watched over and protected the construction on my second house. In many ways Perth Building Shelter is a monument to their patience, dedication sympathetic ear and teachings of everyone involved during this time, including my builder.
In March 2020, “The house that Built Me “was finally completed, and we moved in a few months later.
Over the 4 years something greater was being built. Problems were being analysed and identified. I had conversations with my trusted people. We looked at possible solutions and how to create a healthy, independent resource while at the same time provide a safe place for homeowners to access.
Our mission was looking at how we could serve the homeowner, and by doing so could we impact the building industry in a healthy and positive way.
For me though the cause was much deeper. For me, the true mission was creating and providing a service so that homeowner never feels alone, never feels trapped and never experiences the heartache as I did.
Many people have difficulty navigating the building process effectively and one of the major obstacles is there is little independent, comprehensive resource on building for the average person. Google provides a lot of informative information but defining what is important and what is not can present its own challenges.
Social media is beginning to shed light on the problems of building but learning from this requires a lot of patience and time, things that not everybody has.
There is a lot of mis information unrealistic expectations and mis placed trust in the building process that makes it very difficult to navigate and which makes you the homeowner very vulnerable.
One of our greatest obstacles over the years we identified is often homeowners do not know they need held and support until it is too late.
For many of us, a house is our biggest asset in life. For this kind of investment, you want to have a quality home: a home that is built to the standard that your builder represented to you; a home that is safe to live in and a home that is finished nicely.
In building, like in many things, prevention is often the best cure. I once had a very wise person remind me that building a home is a brick by brick, stick by stick process. Being a manmade product thing often will go wrong; we just want to ensure they are caught early, communicated effectively, and avoid any unnecessary disappointment.
It is my personal guarantee that every homeowner that walk through our doors will never feel unsupported and that we will teach everyone how to turn obstacles into opportunities.
I look forward to meeting you on your journey.
Deb Camilleri.