It was lauded as a solution to the housing crisis, but those involved say plans to build an affordable housing "eco village" in northern New South Wales have gone nowhere.The Vue Eco Village in Lismore was supposed to be a development of more than 200 two-bedroom, environmentally friendly modular units.With communal features such as shared electric vehicles and veggie patches, plans for the 40-hectare site by Green Vision Developments, promising to slash normal electricity costs by as much as 75 per cent, kicked off soon after the Lismore Housing Strategy was released in 2012.A rendered image of what the development was supposed to look like. (Supplied: Pacifico Property)Green Vision Developments had said the project would be finished by 2022, but when the ABC visited the site this month, there was a single faded "Sold" sign in long grass on the otherwise barren hillside.Former local Serge Killingbeck said the site, in Goonellabah, still appeared the same as when he put down a $36,000 deposit five years ago."[The development] was a good idea and it still is, which is why it's so disappointing that it's fallen over," Mr Killingbeck said.A collapsed sign from the Vue Eco Village project. (ABC News: Joanne Shoebridge)The former Lismore resident engaged lawyers to try to recover his money.The developer told him his attempt to rescind the contract was "invalid and ineffective".It said, as a result, it was terminating the contract and it would retain the deposit and take action to recover damages for breach of contract.Mr Killingbeck's contract, seen by the ABC, states that if it is terminated by the purchaser, "normally, the vendor must give the purchaser the deposit bond".But it also says the vendor can dispute the right of the purchaser to terminate the contract.Green Vision Developments did not respond to the ABC's detailed list of questions.The developer sent a short message to say the property had been sold and "related creditors have been paid".The ABC has been unable to verify either claim.They did not say if Mr Killingbeck's deposit would be returned and Mr Killingbeck said he had not heard anything from Green Vision.The Vue Eco Village had grand plans, but does not appear to have gotten very far with them. (ABC News: Joanne Shoebridge)A spokesperson for Pacifico Property, which had marketed the project in its early stages, said he was surprised to hear a buyer had not had their deposit returned.The spokesperson said he had understood that all clients had got their deposits back, but that Pacifico had lost a potential $1million-plus in commission as a result of the cancelled sales.He said Pacifico was no longer associated with the project."[The working relationship] went sour by the time we'd sold the first 110 [units]," he said.Project delaysMr Killingbeck signed a $360,000 contract for a two-bedroom unit in 2021.Alarm bells first rang for the 61-year-old when the developer said the building was delayed because of the pandemic and the devastating Lismore floods of 2022.He raised concerns when, years later, there had still been minimal work on the site."You can't just vary that reasonable time process of getting the building done without coming up with a bloody good explanation," Mr Killingbeck said."And they were not coming up with bloody good explanations."Serge Killingbeck is calling for answers about The Vue Eco Village development. (ABC News: Owen Jacques)Pacifico Property described what was happening in 2022 as a "holding pattern"."Obviously, there are a lot of factors outside of our control, but be assured that we are doing all that we can to make sure the fantastic concept of The Vue Eco Village comes to life and is ready for occupation as soon as possible," it wrote in an email to customers.Deposit disputeFed up with the delay, Mr Killingbeck hired a lawyer to fight for an end to his contract in 2023.He disputed the developer's ability to keep extending the sunset date on the project — a deadline for when certain conditions, such as construction and settlement, need to be met — and demanded his money back and the termination of the agreement."We give you notice that the contract is terminated and is entirely at an end," Green Vision's lawyer wrote to Mr Killingbeck in August 2023."The vendor will retain the deposit and take action for recovery of damages resulting from your default."Mr Killingbeck has since moved to Queensland and given up hope that the project will ever be completed, or that he will see his $36,000.Since Mr Killingbeck signed his contract, Lismore's housing crisis has worsened.Figures from property data firm Cotality show Lismore's rental vacancy rate is currently 0.6 per cent, even worse than its 1 per cent rate in 2021.The average cost of a unit in Lismore has gone up by 36 per cent, or $136,000.The site is overgrown and still undeveloped more than five years after lots were sold to aspiring home owners. (ABC News: Joanne Shoebridge)'Get good advice'Richard Harvey, a solicitor and accredited specialist in property law with no connection to this case, said losing a deposit or being priced out of the market were some of the "dangers" of signing up for off-the-plan building developments."The problem with off-the-plan is that the thing is not built. It's just a concept," he said."Many things can happen in the intervening period. So you just don't know what you're going to get and you have to wait and see."Mr Harvey said doing thorough due diligence was key when buying off the plan."You really need to get good advice," he said, adding "people just need to be aware of the risk [and] go into it with their eyes open".The Vue Eco Village was pitched as a solution to the area's housing crisis. (ABC News: Joanne Shoebridge)Originally called Altitude 2480, the Vue Eco Village was advertised as a $20 million project for 60 buildings in 2015.Developer Green Vision Developments was previously called James Penny Properties, according to Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) records.In 2013, ASIC began a strike-off action against Green Vision Developments, which is the usual procedure if annual registration fees are overdue.Business records also show that a creditor began winding up proceedings against Green Vision Developments in 2019 over a $69,000 debt.The winding-up action was ultimately dropped as the company paid back this debt.Mr Killingbeck said he had made a complaint to ASIC.The ABC understands no action has been taken against Green Vision Developments by ASIC or any other regulatory bodies.Green Vision Developments provided a short statement, but did not respond directly to the ABC's questions. (ABC News: Joanne Shoebridge)One advertiser of the Vue Eco Village listed the project as having a value of $80 million, though the ABC could not independently verify that.An email Green Vision sent to customers in 2019 claimed it held more than $8 million in exchanged sales as well as more than 80 registered locals ready to buy "once construction begins".In 2021, Green Vision Developments claimed more than 300 people had attended its "launch day", while the following year it said it received 170 expressions of interest for the 58 units it had available.