A Canberra family's nightmare struggle for a home of their own

The kids ran with joy over the block which would be their own part of Australia.

Nearly four years later, the half finished house in Moncrieff is a burnt out wreck after it was torched on May 17 last year. Since then the gutted building has been fenced off with no further work done. They own the land but the dream of a home is no more than ashes.

Mr Vo bought a "house and land" package - $241,000 for the land and a further $294,000 for the house to be built on it. The house would be paid for in tranches as each stage was completed. Mr Vo said he had paid $200,000 of the $294,000.

But when the house was partly built, it caught fire. A car was seen in the area at the time but nobody could identify the driver.

According to emails sent by the police to Mr Vo and seen by The Canberra Times, he and the builder have been ruled out as the arsonist. "Police have come to the conclusion that the fire was deliberately lit however have not been able to identify a suspect in the matter," an officer said.

Neither Mr Vo nor the builder were in the area at the time. The police said they had "no reason to suspect either" of the men were responsible.

The builder and buyer remain in dispute with each other about how much work was done before the fire and who will pick up the bill.

Bills are piling up for the buyer, who is still paying the mortgage on the house and is yet to get on top of the rent for the place he and his family still live in. Mr Vo had already paid hundreds of thousands of dollars which he fears he may never get back.

As he sits in the kitchen of the house they still rent, he surrounds himself with paperwork as his eyes mist over. He can see nothing but grief ahead.

He came from Vietnam in 1994. His wife's background is Korean. Their seven-year-old son and five-year-old daughter go to the local school.

"My wife and I, we just sit there. It's just hopeless. We don't know what to do. We don't have the financial resources to employ a lawyer."

To try to keep his head above water, he's had to take a second job to supplement his pay as an engineer with the federal government. His wife has taken on casual work. They fear for the future.

At the heart of the trouble is the fire which destroyed the work which had already been done.

The builder, Tim Finn, told The Canberra Times he thought vandals caused the fire. Mr Finn said he had also given the police the names of people who might have been responsible but the police had ruled them out after tracing their movements.

Mr Finn and and Mr Vo are now in a financial and legal limbo. Mr Vo has paid for a house which he hasn't got. Mr Finn has signed a contract to provide a house which he hasn't provided.

Mr Vo said he certainly didn't have a motive to destroy the house for which he had paid - the fire meant his money went up in smoke.

The builder blamed delays by the insurance company in paying out for the fire.

Mr Vo remembers the day of the fire vividly. His wife was driving past when she saw it. She phoned him and "her voice was shaking. We will never forget that day."

He said the anguish had affected their children. Their excitement had turned to anguish, he said: "They just don't want to go there now."