reporter2
06-05-19, 13:51
Singapore Dream ends in rude awakening for home buyers
Wed, May 01, 2019
FOR Ashok, a delivery man in his 40s, the Singapore dream - work hard to own a private property - came true in 2011.
But it ended in a rude awakening when the developer went bust before completing the project.
Ashok and his family sold their public housing flat in Woodlands and put the down payment for two units at Sycamore Tree, a freehold residential property located in East Coast.
"One was for my family, the other was an investment property for my mother,'' he told The Business Times.
But that dream came crashing down when he received a notice that the developer of the 96-residential units and 17 shops in Joo Chiat has gone belly up. The project was supposed to obtain its temporary occupation permit by Dec 29, 2016, but remains under construction.
"I am still at a loss. We have been incurring rent for the last seven years since we sold the HDB flat to buy the project. On top of that, we have been making prompt payments for the house and interest for the bank loans," said a distressed Ashok. To make matters worse, his mother has been unwell and has not been working, leaving him to bear the brunt of the rents and bank interest payments, which come up to a hefty sum of several thousands of dollars a month. He said he has to pull in more than 17 hours a day doing dual delivery jobs just to make ends meet.
"How long more can I take this before I crash too?'' he asked.
Like Ashok, some other buyers of the project are also HDB upgraders with dreams of owning a freehold property.
An elderly couple invested most of their life savings in a condo unit in the same project measuring nearly 350 sq ft and priced at almost S$500,000 in May 2012. The couple, who reportedly operate a drinks stall at Old Airport Road Food Centre, had planned to rent the unit out after it was built.
"My parents are very anxious. This is their investment. It was going to be their source of income," their daughter told the media.
Last June, the developer, Astoria Development, managed to get United Overseas Bank (UOB) to agree to further the TOP issuance date from March 31, 2018 to Dec 31, 2018 in an amended and restated facility agreement originally dated Dec 29, 2009.
UOB also agreed to further extend the repayment date from June 30, 2018 or the date of completion of the redemption of property, whichever is earlier, to Dec 31, 2018. But these were subject to the bank's receipt of the extension fee and satisfactory completion of all required documentation.
In Sept 25, 2018, the High Court ordered Astoria to be placed under judicial management, but progress proposal was hindered by the lack of access to information and financial documents by parties involved.
As of June 30, 2014, Astoria's accounts showed a loss of S$446,000, compared to a net profit of S$5.5 million in FY2013. Total liabilities stood at S$38.5 million and net assets at S$5.3 million. Cash and cash equivalents, comprising bank balances, stood at S$4.6 million versus S$1.3 million a year earlier.
Over at Laurel Tree, buyers of the 70-unit condo in Hillview Terrace are also facing an uncertain future over their property purchase which was supposed to be due for TOP by end December 2016 as well. The construction too is incomplete.
Laurel Tree's developer is Lerida. Its main contractor of the project, Bravo Building Construction, faced a winding-up application by a creditor in October 2018. Lerida repeatedly defaulted on the payments of instalments due to The Bank of East Asia. On May 12, 2017, the bank terminated the settlement agreement and demanded that Lerida surrender the mortgaged property within seven days, but to no avail. The court eventually ruled in favour of the bank following Lerida's breach of terms.
While both Astoria and Lerida are managed and operated by Jenny Pang, the companies are solely owned by Tan Hock Keng.
Wed, May 01, 2019
FOR Ashok, a delivery man in his 40s, the Singapore dream - work hard to own a private property - came true in 2011.
But it ended in a rude awakening when the developer went bust before completing the project.
Ashok and his family sold their public housing flat in Woodlands and put the down payment for two units at Sycamore Tree, a freehold residential property located in East Coast.
"One was for my family, the other was an investment property for my mother,'' he told The Business Times.
But that dream came crashing down when he received a notice that the developer of the 96-residential units and 17 shops in Joo Chiat has gone belly up. The project was supposed to obtain its temporary occupation permit by Dec 29, 2016, but remains under construction.
"I am still at a loss. We have been incurring rent for the last seven years since we sold the HDB flat to buy the project. On top of that, we have been making prompt payments for the house and interest for the bank loans," said a distressed Ashok. To make matters worse, his mother has been unwell and has not been working, leaving him to bear the brunt of the rents and bank interest payments, which come up to a hefty sum of several thousands of dollars a month. He said he has to pull in more than 17 hours a day doing dual delivery jobs just to make ends meet.
"How long more can I take this before I crash too?'' he asked.
Like Ashok, some other buyers of the project are also HDB upgraders with dreams of owning a freehold property.
An elderly couple invested most of their life savings in a condo unit in the same project measuring nearly 350 sq ft and priced at almost S$500,000 in May 2012. The couple, who reportedly operate a drinks stall at Old Airport Road Food Centre, had planned to rent the unit out after it was built.
"My parents are very anxious. This is their investment. It was going to be their source of income," their daughter told the media.
Last June, the developer, Astoria Development, managed to get United Overseas Bank (UOB) to agree to further the TOP issuance date from March 31, 2018 to Dec 31, 2018 in an amended and restated facility agreement originally dated Dec 29, 2009.
UOB also agreed to further extend the repayment date from June 30, 2018 or the date of completion of the redemption of property, whichever is earlier, to Dec 31, 2018. But these were subject to the bank's receipt of the extension fee and satisfactory completion of all required documentation.
In Sept 25, 2018, the High Court ordered Astoria to be placed under judicial management, but progress proposal was hindered by the lack of access to information and financial documents by parties involved.
As of June 30, 2014, Astoria's accounts showed a loss of S$446,000, compared to a net profit of S$5.5 million in FY2013. Total liabilities stood at S$38.5 million and net assets at S$5.3 million. Cash and cash equivalents, comprising bank balances, stood at S$4.6 million versus S$1.3 million a year earlier.
Over at Laurel Tree, buyers of the 70-unit condo in Hillview Terrace are also facing an uncertain future over their property purchase which was supposed to be due for TOP by end December 2016 as well. The construction too is incomplete.
Laurel Tree's developer is Lerida. Its main contractor of the project, Bravo Building Construction, faced a winding-up application by a creditor in October 2018. Lerida repeatedly defaulted on the payments of instalments due to The Bank of East Asia. On May 12, 2017, the bank terminated the settlement agreement and demanded that Lerida surrender the mortgaged property within seven days, but to no avail. The court eventually ruled in favour of the bank following Lerida's breach of terms.
While both Astoria and Lerida are managed and operated by Jenny Pang, the companies are solely owned by Tan Hock Keng.