The time when frame houses were something unknown has passed. Over the twenty years that this technology has been developing in Belarus, a significant number of professionals have emerged on the market, building houses of any complexity. Even more medium-level specialists have appeared, who, having learned here and there, decided that construction was their calling, and, although not without mistakes, they bring their projects to completion. A separate and most dangerous category is made up of "talkers" - specialists who masterfully conduct presentations, collect prepayments from customers, and then disappear from the radar due to problems that have arisen. Our readers have had the opportunity to get acquainted with a representative of the latter "cohort". All of them planned to acquire modular homes, but instead, they are now calculating their losses.

"They didn't want to get bogged down in construction for years"

The idea of having their own small house occasionally occurs to every Belarusian. This idea did not pass by a resident of Brest, Sergei. After visiting his friends' country house, the man decided that "he needed something like that too". As it happened, a beautiful plot of land became available: seven hundred square meters were being sold in the "Rubuzh" garden community, located about a hundred meters from the border with Poland.

"You should see the places we have!" the man is still enthusiastic about his purchase. "A closed garden community, the Bug River with its own beach, no outsiders. It's a great place to live and enjoy life. But so far, we can't live or enjoy life because of one person."

In his thoughts, Sergei, along with his wife and child, had already moved to the garden community immediately after buying the land. However, in reality, it was still far from happening. At the very least, they needed to figure out the house, and at most, they had to fully equip the plot.

However, the family was not aiming to build a large house: they calculated that 75 square meters, including a terrace, would be enough for them.

"We decided to build a modular house, as we really didn't want to get bogged down in construction," Sergei continues. "We thought that in this area, everything was simple: you order, pay, and they deliver. We started looking for contractors, consulted with local manufacturers in Brest and Minsk. But the proposed options did not fit our budget. Either the house itself fit, but the delivery cost was too high, and we didn't have enough money. So, in addition to well-known companies, we had to look at simpler options as well."

The residents of Brest planned to spend 130,000 rubles. They were looking for a turnkey option. For a house consisting of a 20-meter kitchen-living room, two eight-meter bedrooms, a separate bathroom, auxiliary rooms, and a 25-square-meter terrace, the amount seemed quite logical.

— At some point, my wife stumbled upon the Instagram page of a Grodno-based company, OOO "Vood Izba", — the man recalls. — It was only later that we realized they were probably posting other people's projects. But at the time, everything seemed decent and beautiful.

His wife got in touch with the company's director, Andrey N. He was very pleasant in communication, asked questions related to the project, and gave sensible advice. It was clear that he was not a newcomer to this field. After listening to our wishes, he made some adjustments to the project and, in general, agreed to take on the order.

He quoted a price slightly lower than the market rate — 91,200 rubles. The foundation, laying of utilities, and connection of electricity and plumbing were our responsibility. His task was to deliver a ready-made house.

In May 2025, the happy customers and the contractor signed agreements. The documents were drawn up in the names of both Sergey and his spouse, since the financing was coming partly through bank loans.

— According to the terms of the contract, we were supposed to make an advance payment of 80% — which is 75,000 rubles. It sounds suspicious, but that's how all the companies that build frame houses work. They also insure themselves. So we didn't worry — that's just how the market works.

Within 90 working days, i.e., by October 2025, the house was supposed to arrive at the site. When signing the papers, we agreed that Andrey would periodically send us videos: how the workers were laying the membrane, insulation — all the important stages. However, we never received any reports. In July, we started calling Andrey, but he assured us that there was no need to worry: he was just moving.

He said he was expanding production, and for now, it wasn't our turn, but everything was under control.

Not suspecting anything, we called the workers he had recommended earlier to drive in the piles. We paid them 4,000 rubles, — says Sergey.

The whole of August, the family did not bother the contractor: let him sort out his affairs. Meanwhile, the Brest residents were looking at reviews, but there were still no negative ones.

— In September, Andrey, no matter how many times I called, didn't pick up the phone once, — the man claims. — Then at some point, I dialed his number from someone else's phone — and immediately managed to get through. But instead of discussing business, he started telling me about some problems at the production site, ungrateful workers, and endless complexities. At the end of the conversation, he promised that he would give a discount, since they had let us down so badly.

It's not hard to guess what happened next. The module didn't arrive at the site not only in October — but there were no developments even after the New Year. In February 2026, the spouses sent a pre-trial claim to the company's legal address. It remained unanswered. Then there was a court case, during which the parties seemingly managed to come to an agreement: the contractor promised to give a 20% discount and deliver the house to the site within 45 days.

— Andrey even sent a video of "our" frame. As it later turned out, he sent the same footage to many clients. Apparently, to lull them into a false sense of security. No matter how much we hoped for the best, the contractor stopped responding again. There was another court case, which we, of course, won. But what's the point: the money was never returned to us.

And here's the situation: there's no house and none is expected, we're paying off the loans, there are already almost a dozen victims, and Andrey is living it up without a care.

According to our estimates, he collected prepayments equivalent to $100,000, since contracts were signed not only with "Vud Izba" but also with his individual entrepreneurship and his wife's individual entrepreneurship, — Sergey reasons.

Another Sergey, also a resident of Brest, was planning to start a tourist business with the help of OOO "Vud Izba": on 12 hectares bordering the forest, the young man planned to build an agro-tourism complex. All he needed was a nice house with a bath.

— When I started communicating with the manufacturers, I realized that many of them had a six-month waiting list. That is, they were ready to take on the order, but it would take a while to get to you... I wanted to start working in 2026, — Sergey explains his choice. — As for "Vud Izba", their Instagram was almost dead, but I, on the contrary, thought it was a good sign: they were busy with work and didn't have time to maintain their content.

I got in touch with Andrei, described the situation to him. He was still "checking the calendar," saying we'd make it in time for the season, don't worry. In early January 2026, he came to my plot to assess everything on site. At the same time, he told me a lot about his production, about how he was currently building ten houses for a recreation base near Minsk. He even showed me some videos. What can I say, he made a good impression, spoke fluently.

The photo is for illustration purposes only

Sergei clarifies that he had heard about various scammers, so he "checked out" the contractor. He evaluated the transition from an individual entrepreneur to an LLC as a positive phenomenon: the business is thriving.

— Until January 14, 2026, "Vud Izba" had an promotion — a free foundation. I admit, this tempted me. In general, I signed a contract for the construction of a 45-meter house with an attached bathhouse. A terrace, panoramic windows — everything is modern.

The turnkey module cost 63,800 rubles. I transferred the entire amount in full. Didn't it seem too cheap to me? Competitors asked for roughly the same amount, maybe a couple of thousand dollars cheaper.

But what really puzzled me was the contract: the document was drawn up entirely in favor of the contractor. Andrei explained that he was protecting himself from consumer extremism. But for my sake, he would redo it a bit, — the young man recalls.

After the money was transferred from one pocket to another, the contractor began to communicate less and less with the customer. If there were any phone conversations, the topics were quite dramatic: the death of a brother, hospital treatment, visits to the military commissariat. All this, naturally, were reasons to postpone the assembly of the house.

— In the end, he just stopped answering calls, — Sergei shares. — By sheer coincidence, I found out that one of my friends, Igor, had gotten into exactly the same situation. And also with "Vud Izba."

It was already clear that there were no problems or coincidences — this was the person's style of work.

Together with Igor, the second victim, Sergei decided to visit Andrei N. First, the friends and comrades in misfortune went to the production facility near Grodno. They were met by an empty hangar, next to which several unfinished modules were standing in the rain. Local residents told them that there had been no activity at the production facility for a long time, only the "director's wife" occasionally came and took something away.

We then went to the legal address, where we also found nothing - just some office where nearly a hundred companies were supposedly registered. Fortunately, Igor had a letter from Andrei with him, which included his home address. We rushed there and, miraculously, found both Andrei and his wife in the courtyard of the apartment building. Of course, he didn't admit to anything. He started telling us that he was being pressured by the KGB and that's why everything was being postponed. He swore to finish the projects, return the money, and pay the penalties. That's where we parted ways.

And then... he disappeared, as usual. Igor went to court, and I went to the police. The police sent me to court, saying it was a matter of civil law. But what kind of civil law relationships can we talk about when there's not just one or two victims? This is a consistent scheme of operation, in which one can clearly see fraud, - believes Sergei.

Igor agrees with this opinion. The young man lost not only money - 35,000 in credit - but also his land plot. Because the house wasn't ready on time, he had to sell the plot, as the construction deadlines were expiring.

I bought a great plot of land in a village near the Bialowieza Forest, planning to spend my summers and winter holidays there. And the result...

It's very upsetting that it turned out this way. And I didn't even order anything grand or complex: just a one-and-a-half-story house on 30 square meters. Moreover, Andrei himself recommended the project, supposedly so that we could fit within our budget. Yes, the contractor named a price slightly lower than other potential contractors. But it wasn't a huge difference that could have raised suspicions. He wasn't undercutting the competition.

This is what Igor found at the construction site

As with many others, he showed me some building, allegedly my house. But what it is and who it's for - still unclear. Some kind of demonstration of an unfinished sample, - Igor is convinced that everything was planned in advance.

Touring the country

Despite the fact that the company "Vood Izba", like its manager, is based in Grodno, the contractor accepted orders from quite distant locations. For example, Andrey N. promised to build a "two-in-one" structure for Anton, who lives in the Logoyshchinsky district - a car canopy combined with a utility block. This option cost the customer more than $10,000 in 2025, according to the exchange rate.

— I refused to pay an advance of 80%, — says Anton. — We agreed on 60%, which was 19,260 rubles. This amount of money was supposed to be enough for the necessary building materials. By the beginning of October 2025, as Andrey orally assured, everything was supposed to be ready. In reality, however, nothing was moving forward, there was only talk: they discussed the shade of paint, then something else.

When I started pressing him, Andrey finally came to the site. And personally screwed metal rods into the ground - poured the foundation, as it's called.

He said that the foundation needed to stand for two weeks, and then they would continue. As you understand, after that, he disappeared. When I started demanding my money back, I heard a thousand excuses: problems at another facility, a sudden call to gather, and other reasons. And then he completely stopped answering his phone. Then I went to the RUVD, which Andrey did not like at all - oh, the holy innocence.

Like other clients, Anton won the court case, applied to the OPI. But his wallet did not become "warmer" because of this. "He has no property, no account movements either. There's nothing to take from him. However, I won't be surprised if he opens a new legal entity with a 'clean' history and continues to work in his style," Anton muses.

Saved $500

Nikolay from Grodno is the most fortunate of the customers who contacted us. His story began in 2023, when the young man wanted to add a porch and a glazed terrace to his townhouse.

— A miser pays twice, I've been convinced of this by my own experience, — Nikolay says, not trying to soften the situation. — In "Vood Izba", my order was $500 cheaper than in other companies. That's why I was tempted. I got a lesson, and I won't do this in my life again. You should contact proven companies, not some unknown ones.

The "upgrade" of the townhouse cost Nikolay 31,000 rubles, of which he managed to transfer 19,175 to the contractor's account.

— To be honest, I didn't particularly like Andrei, although we did reach an agreement and sign a contract, but something was bothering me, and I felt uneasy for a week, — recalls Nikolai. — Maybe it also played a role that initially we had agreed to formalize the documents in the name of his wife's individual entrepreneurship, but at the last moment he pushed through papers with his own name on them…

Andrei was supposed to complete the task within a month. But instead, he "disappeared into thin air". It was only when I started actively searching for him and calling him that some kind of vagabonds appeared on the site, and they began to weld metal structures. As a result, the facade, windows, and pavement tiles were damaged by scale. They welded something and disappeared, and the frame soon began to rust. In my estimate, the work that was done was worth no more than 6,000 rubles.