$25m dream house nightmare - Overseas-based nurse feels cheated by contractor

For more than a year, Marcia* poured every penny of her nurse aide salary in the United States of America into building her dream home in Jamaica.

More than $25 million later, all she has to show is a cold, unfinished concrete shell, and the contractor is now demanding $10 million more to finish the job.

The 43-year-old, whose name is being withheld, told THE STAR that what was supposed to be her retirement paradise has instead become a financial nightmare.

"I borrowed, I worked, I begged family and friends. Every cent went into this house," Marcia said.

Marcia said she first met the contractor in 2022 through a recommendation linked to a housing development company. At first, he was only supposed to draw plans for her two-storey extension -- four bedrooms on the ground floor, and three more upstairs. But soon, he offered to take on the construction himself.

Trusting the recommendation, and after confirming that other contractors quoted similar prices, she gave him the job. But there was no signed contract -- just WhatsApp messages and video updates.

By late 2022, she started sending money. Even when she lost her job and later fell ill, she kept making payments, borrowing from family and friends to keep the project alive.

By January 2023, the work began. But progress stalled, she said, as the contractor allegedly abandoned her site for other jobs.

"He stopped and did another job, then started again, then stopped. By October, I only found out through the tenants that no work was happening," she recalled.

To date, Marcia says she has sent over $25.3 million -- yet her house is still incomplete and without basic fixtures. Now, the contractor wants another $10 million to finish the job.

"This house means a lot to me. It's what I want for my retirement, and I planned for the downstairs to be rental income. But my house should have [been] done a long time [ago]. Do you think this is fair to me?" she asked.

Construction adviser Pervice Rodgers, of the Incorporated Master Builders Association, said Marcia's experience is far too common, especially among overseas Jamaicans.

"Construction has to be supervised. Concrete must be poured properly, walls must be roughcast and rendered. Some workers don't know the proper engineering standards," Rodgers warned, noting that without oversight, clients can be overcharged.

"You might need only 20 bags of cement, and they buy 40. That's a problem in construction."

He also urged against hefty upfront payments.

"Don't pay people money in advance. Suppose him dead? Building a house is not easy, unless you have some sort of connection, and you must ensure you have someone who knows how concrete works."

Rogers says, too, that rising labour and materials costs are real issues that drive up the price of construction projects on the island.

For Marcia, though, those industry woes mean very little at this time. She just wants her house complete, and she is not prepared to spend much more.

"I only want to know if all the $25 million I sent was really spent on my house," she said.

* Name changed to protect identity.