Pine Grove 3rd? Attempt at Enbloc Sale

Another ex-HUDC trying their luck yet again.

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Pine Grove residents keen to sell en bloc again

Straits Times - 25 Nov 2009

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Pine Grove owners make 3rd attempt to sell their property in a collective sale

Some homeowners at the Pine Grove estate along Ulu Pandan Road are making another attempt to sell their properties in a collective sale.

This will be their third bid since 2005.

MediaCorp understands that the minimum reserve price for the 660-unit unit estate is S$1.33 billion.
Depending on the size of the unit and the development charge that is payable, owners stand to pocket an average of S$2 million per unit.

The former HUDC estate has a land area of more than 893,000 square feet.

Farrer Court, another former HUDC estate along Farrer Road, was sold for a record S$1.34 billion in 2007.

Pine Grove’s reserve price is higher than the S$1.2 billion price tag that the Laguna Park estate in Marine Parade had expected in its first tender in September.

Even after the price was reduced later to S$967 million, the Laguna Park collective sale was called off last week.

At Pine Grove, there have already been three sessions to collect signatures for the possible enbloc sale since 15 November.

A fourth session is coming up next Thursday.

At the upcoming session, representatives from property consultancy Jones Lang Lasalle and law firm Lee & Lee will be present to answer homeowners’ questions.
ChannelNewsAsia - 24 Nov 2009

FYI

Pine Grove is a 99-years leasehold development located at Pine Grove in District 21. Completed in 1984, this privatised HUDC development comprises 660 units.

Facilities at Pine Grove include swimming pool, BBQ pits, gym, tennis courts, clubhouse, convenience store, and playground. 24 hr security

Development Name:	Pine Grove
Property Type:	Condominium
Developer:	HUDC Housing
Tenure:	99-year Leasehold
Construction Year:	1984
# of Floors:	16
# of Units:	660

Available Unit Types:

• 2-Bedrooms (1,297 - 1,389 sqft)
• 3-Bedrooms (1,829 - 1,922 sqft)
• Maisonette (1,853 - 1,946 sqft)

Collective Sale called off

Laguna Park - en bloc sale called off

Over at Meyer Place, owners to start inking deal soon to lower reserve price
The en bloc sale of Laguna Park has been called off for now as the sales committee found it a race against time to get the minimum consent level from owners at a proposed lower price – said to be $967 million or $704 psf per plot ratio, down from the original $1.2 billion or $844 psf ppr reserve price – before the Collective Sale Agreement (CSA) expires next month.

But over at Meyer Place, owners will soon begin signing a supplemental agreement to their original CSA at a lower price of $59 million, down from the original $65 million. BT understands the sales committee is expected to sign an agreement soon for the freehold property’s sale to a joint venture involving property and construction companies – subject to securing at least 80 per cent consent from owners at the lower price.

Meyer Place’s CSA expires around mid-March 2010.

‘The tender for Meyer Place closed on Oct 28 with four expressions of interest received and we are now negotiating with one of these parties,’ says Christina Sim, director, investment, capital markets at Cushman and Wakefield, the marketing agent for the property.

The lower proposed reserve price of $59 million works out to $1,048 psf ppr including an estimated $3 million development charge (DC), down about 9 per cent from the $1,150 psf ppr based on the original $65 million reserve price.

Based on the revised price, the breakeven cost for a new development on the site could be $1,550 to $1,600 psf.

Laguna Park’s sales committee decided to call off the estate’s en bloc sale last week. ‘While it did begin the process of getting owners to sign a supplemental agreement to lower the reserve price, the committee felt it was a race against time as the existing CSA expires next month,’ said Karamjit Singh, managing director of Credo Real Estate, the marketing agent for the property.
Laguna Park comprises 528 units.

‘It would probably be better if owners begin a fresh en bloc initiative next year and sign a fresh CSA which will give them a new 12-month period to find buyers,’ Mr Singh said.

Laguna Park, which has a land area of 677,463 sq ft, failed to find a buyer after its tender closed last month. Although two bids were submitted, no buyer made the downpayment to seal the $1.2 billion deal at the time. Mr Singh said yesterday that although signing of a supplemental agreement at the lower price had started last month, so far no conditional agreement had been inked with any potential buyer for a sale at the lower price.

The unit land price of $704 psf ppr based on the revised $967 million price tag includes payment to the state to intensify the site’s use and top up its lease to a fresh 99-year term.

Meyer Place has a freehold land area of 28,167 sq ft and was completed in the early 1990s, comprising 28 apartments – 24 units in a 13-storey block and four in a conservation house.
The property is zoned for residential use with a 2.1 plot ratio – the ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area.

Although Meyer Place is a relatively new development, it has redevelopment potential as its plot ratio in the 2008 Master Plan has not been fully utilised. ‘The apartment block could be torn down and rebuilt into smaller units,’ said Cushman’s Ms Sim.

Market watchers point out that the buyer of Meyer Place could also seek to enlarge the plot by purchasing surrounding properties. Just in front of Meyer Place, at No. 40 Meyer Road, is a small apartment block with a site area of about 6,000 sq ft. There is also another plot behind Meyer Place housing two old bungalows at 18D and 18E Fort Road – adding up to more than 20,000 sq ft of land – that could potentially be purchased and amalgamated.

Last month, Roxy-Pacific signed an agreement to buy Dragon Mansion for $100.8 million or $863 psf ppr including DC – lower than the owners’ previous asking price of $120 million or $1,020 psf ppr. Signing by owners of a supplemental agreement to the original CSA at the revised price is still in progress. The majority owners have up to January next year to make an application for a collective sale to the Strata Titles Board.
Business Times - 19 November 2009

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Laguna Park not for sale - at least for now

Straits Times- 19 November 2009

Condo Mischief-maker Fine Quadrupled

Laguna Park man's fine quadrupled

By Selina Lum


Lee Kok Leong, who was fined $1,200 in April for glueing his neighbours' locks, had laughed off the penalty and made disparaging remarks.

HE HAD laughed off his $1,200 fine for mischief, telling reporters that he spends much more money on karaoke a night.

Lee Kok Leong's words came back to bite him yesterday, when a judge quadrupled the fine to $4,800.

Justice Chao Hick Tin told him: 'I hope you are truly sorry this time round and not leaving this court and muttering something else after I give my sentence.'

The former chairman of the Laguna Park management committee told reporters in April, after he was fined for putting glue in his neighbours' locks, that he was not at all sorry for what he had done.

After his disparaging remarks made the news, the prosecution dragged him back to court to appeal for a stiffer sentence because he had mocked the criminal justice system.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Jwee Nguan asked for a 'sentence of sufficient gravity' to deter Lee and like-minded individuals, although he stopped short of pressing for a jail term.

For his acts of mischief, Lee could have been fined up to $10,000 and jailed for up to a year on each charge.

His lawyer, Mr Ramesh Tiwary, countered: 'Everything said and done, does he really deserve to go to prison because he told some reporters, 'I can afford it'?'

The judge said those remarks were 'wholly deplorable'. 'This is not conduct which the court condones,' he added.

Justice Chao asked Lee, 63, if he was a grandfather. When Lee said yes, the judge continued: 'We are supposed to act more responsibly.

'I would expect things like this to be said by a youngster trying to 'act hero'...but I don't expect such things to be said by you, especially after serious proceedings in court.'

Justice Chao said he decided against sending Lee to jail on account of his age and medical condition. Lee suffers from depression and obstructive sleep apnoea, for which he needs a machine to sleep.

He also has a lesion in his brain; doctors have yet to determine if it is benign or malignant.

Said Justice Chao: 'I hope this will be the last lesson you learn from the court and do not act in a manner as foolish as this.' Lee said: 'I promise I won't do it again.'

In August last year, Lee had glued the locks of two neighbours - against the backdrop of disputes over whether the condominium should be sold en bloc.

He was caught in the act by a surveillance camera installed by a neighbour.

Yesterday, Mr Tiwary said his client's acts of mischief were 'exceedingly silly' because he knew the cameras were there. The judge agreed, saying: 'This whole thing is silly. It's absurd.'

Lee kept mum when reporters approached him after his sentence. Staring blankly ahead, he drew a circle with his forefinger around his mouth.

selinal@sph.com.sg
Straits Times 19 Nov 2009