There’s a growing list of disgruntled customers who aren’t seeing the turnaround on their investment after a Calgary based tiny home builder was forced to shut its doors.
Customers from Calgary, Ontario and B.C. are among the homebuyers who have paid in full and still do not have a complete house.
Amanda Webb says she started the building process with ZeroSquared over a year ago and was promised a finished house within 60 days. Now she and several others across the country are out between $160,000 and $200,000 — with only a partial home to show for.
“Started kind of seeing things that were a little bit fishy around November,” she says. “I wasn’t really hearing from the company, no updates were being given.”
Webb wasn’t the only one who had issues reaching the company. Angus MacNeil lives in Greenwood B.C. and started taking measures into his own hands when he wasn’t getting a response.
“Twice this summer we got into our vehicle and drove to Calgary,” he says. “They did not know we were coming.”
He says he camped outside of the warehouse is home was being constructed for an entire month.
“I’m 66-years-old and I don’t have a lot of summers left, and I just lost one,” says MacNeil. “I would wake up in the morning to my wife crying.”
Both Webb and MacNeil moved their incomplete homes offsite on Wednesday, taking on extra transport costs, on top of the $30,000 to $50,000 in incomplete costs.
Webb says she put her half-built tiny home on wheels and parked it outside of her parents house.
“I did financing for my tiny home, it is considered an RV, so I did get a recreation vehicle loan,” she says. “That entire loan was paid out directly to them back in October of last year.”
In a statement to CityNews, ZeroSquared says they are facing “unprecedented economic challenges” but are trying to work with customers on a case-by case basis and work towards a best possible outcome.
“Like many small businesses in Canada, we are grappling with a harsh economic environment that has created insurmountable obstacles,” reads the statement.
The company says its financial state stems from the loss of a banking partner and the cancellation of a sales agreement.
“This experience has made it clear that businesses focused on social impact, particularly in affordable housing, face unique challenges in attracting investment compared to more traditional or trending industries,” reads the statement.