Oct 19, 2009

Face-Off over lowering of Sale Price after failed tender

Laguna Park owners mull lower sale price
Business Times: 19 Oct 2009

These were some of the numbers discussed at a meeting of about 200 Laguna Park residents yesterday afternoon, called to consider the results of the failed tender and discuss possible options.
.
Laguna Park owners consider selling at lower price
Channel NewsAsia: 19 Oct 2009
.
Will Laguna park owners settle for less?
Today: 19 Oct 2009
.
One woman who declined to be named told MediaCorp: "It was obvious there were two camps at the meeting. One camp was a group of people who were pretty desperate to sell, and another camp felt we should just wait as we're sitting on a very nice property here, and it should not go for less than what we've decided on."

One male resident felt the sale committee was trying to "get people worked up since there are only six to eight weeks left, to lower their price, get 80 per cent, then go for a closed tender. To me that's totally wrong. I don't want a closed tender, especially at this amount".
.

The desperadoes v's the cool-headers. That so few owners turned up at the meeting is quite surprising, seeing as their very homes are at stake. This either means they are nonchalant as to the outcome or that they have already made up their minds one way or the other.
.
Will the property agent/sale committee trot out the usual scare tactics over the next few weeks?
.
Will the mystery developer decide to play hardball and put down a take-it-or-leave it type offer; confident that the owners will cave in eventually, as they always do?
.
Will some money grease a few palms in order to ease the signing along? Remember Regent Garden whereby the developer paid an extra sum to the dissenters to secure the 100% with the withdrawal of their objections from the STB and the High Court deemed that to be kosher. But that was after the 80% had been reached.
.
There was one case whereby the last 3 signatories to the 80% were paid sums differing from the rest of the majority, and that sale was thrown out by the STB on grounds of bad faith.

The estate? Finland Gardens

The property agents? Same boy-os

Will they try this trick again?
.
Can the majority sign a supplemental CSA extending the life of the original CSA and tenure of sale committee by another 6 months - (though not necessarily reducing the reserve price)? Would this be a circumvention of the rules?
.
Honestly, I rule nothing out anymore.

They have until the 19th December to find consensus on lowering the reserve price. Failing which the CSA expires and the whole shebang falls apart.

No comments:

Post a Comment