Aug 22, 2007

Pros and Cons to signing now

For those minority owners who are thinking that "it's a done deal, I might as well sign now" - perhaps you should consider the pros and cons to signing first:

Diadvantages of being a majority owner at this point in time:

  1. You surrender all rights to your home.
  2. You cannot sell your home as a caveat has been served on your property.
  3. You do not know what the outcome of Tampines Court STB appeals will be. Look at the mess the majority at Horizon Towers is in!
  4. Only majority owners can be sued for breach of contract.
  5. Find out for yourselves what the costs are if STB does NOT AGREE to the sale.
  6. You may also have to pay the minority lawyer's fee (STB decision).
  7. You may pay the minority share of the costs if the STB does NOT AGREE to the sale.

Advantages of being a minority owner:

  1. You pay nothing unless the STB AGREES to the sale
  2. You can still sell your home, as the caveat served is premature and can be removed (old rules).
  3. No one can sue you as you have not signed any legal document.
  4. You retain all the rights to your home.
  5. You get the same sale price as everyone else if the STB allows the sale.

7 comments:

  1. when is your 1st or 2nd mediation ?

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  2. Are you from Tampines Court?

    We haven't come to the point of mediation yet.
    The SC are in the process of collecting the money for the disbursements. After that they have to advertise in the newspapers in 4 languages (check the Notices in the Classifieds section). Then we have 3 weeks to post our appeal to the STB. The STB will give us a date sometime after that.

    I recken October, possibly even November depending on the backlog of cases at the STB. According to the newspapers, more minority appeals have been lodged this year than the whole of the past 10 years combined! Such is the state of enbloc and the cowboy attitudes of sale committees and property agents. More genuine home owners are fighting back.

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  3. thks . no i am not from tc. i am also a minority from another estate.

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  4. omg this post just shows the exact reason why you are not signing on anything. you want to gain the profits if the sale goes through and yet esscape any responsibilities when it doesnt.. well done dude.. fyi, i am not a resident from your estate and i am just providing my point of view as a neutral party.

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  5. Well, dude, you obviously have no experience of self appointed sale committees, enbloc lawyers and property agents! I suppose just reading my blog is not enough to get the whole picture, and I don't blame you for thinking that it is about the price, and/or not taking on responsibility, but that is an all too simplistic point of view.
    A very well known public figure told me recently "If 80% want to jump off a cliff, then the other 20% must follow". How sad that this has become public policy, but so be it. I do not follow mass hysteria, I look to the facts, assess the characters of the main players and draw my own conclusions.

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  6. Will minority owner have to pay the expenses incurred as the result of enbloc just like the majority owners

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  7. Yes, if the STB APPROVES the sale after hearing the appeals by the objecting minority.

    If the STB does NOT APPROVE the sale then the majority will pay whatever costs and expenses that have to be paid, but not the minority. Don't forget, it is not a collective sale until such time as the STB says it is. Until then, it is just a private agreement between 82.14% of the owners and a developer. They cannot force you to sell. Only the STB has the power to take away the remaining minority's property rights and force them to sell.

    ReplyDelete