Tuesday 24th November '09
It's difficult to muster up excitement nowadays about the house ordeal. I feel like someone's sucking the air out of the room a little more each day.
I went to see my finance broker early last week to reaccess my financial position and to determine whether or not I would have to submit a new Keystart application. My broker had managed to get his hands on a letter from the developer's solicitors that paints a different picture to what I've been told.
The letter basically says that the developer had applied to purchase the part of the road that they intended to build upon. The Department of Planning and Infrastructure (DPI) had given them approval but there would be a cost involved. The developer would have to purchase the part of the road that they wanted to build on. This cost was yet to be determined and apparently can take anywhere between twelve to eighteen months to finalise. So...obviously the developer went ahead with their plans to subdivide the land and when the DPI got back to them with the price that they wanted for the purchase of the section of road, the developers refused the price and did not wish to continue with the purchase of the land.
To sum it all up, the solicitors said that since the developer at no point in time actually owned the land (the section of the road) nor were they ever entitled to own it, that the contracts for the land that they sold were void.
"What the frack?" you ask?
Yes. How in any reasonable world can the developer sell land that doesn't belong to them? Land that they're not entitled to own?
It would be like me agreeing to sell a car to you. Then a week later I tell you that I can't sell you the car because it belongs to my Mum and she's changed her mind and doesn't want to part with it. Then another week later you find out that my Mum wanted me to buy it off her for more than what you had agreed to pay me for it. So as to avoid making a loss, I told you we couldn't go ahead with the sale.
How is that fair to you?? Especially if the loan you applied for expired a week after I told you you could have the car? If you had known that
1) the car belonged to my Mum, and
2) I had to first negotiate a price with her to buy it from her before I could sell it to you,
you would have most likely gone elsewhere to buy a car if there were time constraints involved with getting the loan.
Right now my builder is waiting to hear back from the State Revenue Board after pleading my case (as well as another client of his) in an attempt to try to secure our full FHOG. He's arguing that we should not lose $7K of the grant because we did everything that was required of us and it was due to the developer's actions that we are now having to submit a new builders contract that falls outside the due date for the $21K grant.
I intend to seek legal advice as to what compensation I can get from the developer. Or even the real estate agents.
Three words...
DUTY OF DISCLOSURE.
and now we wait...again.
Sunday 15th November '09
I took Thursday off work because I needed some time to process what's happened and to try to figure out a solution. I met with my builder to have a look at an alternative block of land in the stage selling next to the one I was buying. The dimensions are slightly different but my house design will still fit on it. However, it needs to have rear garage access. My builder's already drafted up a new design to cater for this change, but there will be additional costs involved for the redesign and for materials.
Then there's the cost of this block of land. It's $6K more than the other block. I spoke to the developer on Thursday. He explained to me the situation, and he then listened to mine. He sounds like he's prepared to take a lower than usual offer on this block, but I need to wait until tomorrow to find out if he's going to accept the offer I made. $10K below asking price.
So you're all wondering what the frack happened?
Basically, there is a gazetted road passing through the strata block in the stage release that I was purchasing in. The developers have to go through various applications and obtain several clearances at different stages in order to finally get to a point where the relevant authorities (I believe the council) will release titles for each property. Well, they went and got all the clearances and proceeded until the last clearance they needed - and the council knocked back their proposed subdivision plans for the land. There is a gazetted road there, and so legally no houses can be built on that land. And the council refuses to 'ungazette' this road. I don't know what the correct terminologies are, but basically the developers have changed part of the road (that is supposed to be there) into a park and blocks of land for residential buildings, but the council won't accept these alterations.
Aargh!!
Anyways...there is nothing the developer can do and there is nothing the buyers can do. Not only did I lose my block, but fifteen other buyers who purchased the other strata blocks, and several green title blocks on the far end of the strata blocks will also lose their blocks of land.
And there is nothing we can do about it.
It's tempting to call up 'Today Tonight' or "A Current Affair" to see if we can mount some pressure on the council to change their minds.
One more night of restless sleep until I find out if my Plan B will work.
I took Thursday off work because I needed some time to process what's happened and to try to figure out a solution. I met with my builder to have a look at an alternative block of land in the stage selling next to the one I was buying. The dimensions are slightly different but my house design will still fit on it. However, it needs to have rear garage access. My builder's already drafted up a new design to cater for this change, but there will be additional costs involved for the redesign and for materials.
Then there's the cost of this block of land. It's $6K more than the other block. I spoke to the developer on Thursday. He explained to me the situation, and he then listened to mine. He sounds like he's prepared to take a lower than usual offer on this block, but I need to wait until tomorrow to find out if he's going to accept the offer I made. $10K below asking price.
So you're all wondering what the frack happened?
Basically, there is a gazetted road passing through the strata block in the stage release that I was purchasing in. The developers have to go through various applications and obtain several clearances at different stages in order to finally get to a point where the relevant authorities (I believe the council) will release titles for each property. Well, they went and got all the clearances and proceeded until the last clearance they needed - and the council knocked back their proposed subdivision plans for the land. There is a gazetted road there, and so legally no houses can be built on that land. And the council refuses to 'ungazette' this road. I don't know what the correct terminologies are, but basically the developers have changed part of the road (that is supposed to be there) into a park and blocks of land for residential buildings, but the council won't accept these alterations.
Aargh!!
Anyways...there is nothing the developer can do and there is nothing the buyers can do. Not only did I lose my block, but fifteen other buyers who purchased the other strata blocks, and several green title blocks on the far end of the strata blocks will also lose their blocks of land.
And there is nothing we can do about it.
It's tempting to call up 'Today Tonight' or "A Current Affair" to see if we can mount some pressure on the council to change their minds.
One more night of restless sleep until I find out if my Plan B will work.
FRACK
Wednesday 11th November '09
Hey all,
Thanks for all your best wishes with the house.
Unfortunately, I’ve had some terrible news. I received a call from my real estate agent yesterday, informing me that the developer has announced to them that titles will not be issued on the properties in the strata that my block is in. They had no other information than that and I am to wait for a written correspondence from the developer, which will hopefully include the reason for this situation.
I have no land to put my house on.
I was stunned. I felt like I had just walked into a dark room and didn’t know what was in the room with me. I was on my way to my car after work, so I drove home in a daze. It didn’t really hit me until I got home and saw a large white envelope protruding from my mailbox. It was the contracts from Keystart for me to sign. How cruelly ironic.
Just as I was about to hit the bottle, my builder rang me. I thought he was going to hit me with more bad news but he actually offered me a possible solution. I tried not to get too excited because there was every chance that this was a hopeless cause.
I have no doubt that I’m going to lose the 21K First Home Owners Grant.
I could still try for the 14K that’s available before the end of the December…but I don’t know whether I have the energy. I think I know how you feel Meng…I could do it. I could rush to find another place, maybe even an existing house. But after the last three months of ups and downs with getting contracts signed within tight timeframes…I don’t know if I want to go through all that again. Maybe this is a bullet dodged. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. Maybe I should take the money and go to Europe. Splurge on a big holiday.
Or maybe I should keep saving until I have a deposit for a house later in the future.
Frackin' Frack me.
Hey all,
Thanks for all your best wishes with the house.
Unfortunately, I’ve had some terrible news. I received a call from my real estate agent yesterday, informing me that the developer has announced to them that titles will not be issued on the properties in the strata that my block is in. They had no other information than that and I am to wait for a written correspondence from the developer, which will hopefully include the reason for this situation.
I have no land to put my house on.
I was stunned. I felt like I had just walked into a dark room and didn’t know what was in the room with me. I was on my way to my car after work, so I drove home in a daze. It didn’t really hit me until I got home and saw a large white envelope protruding from my mailbox. It was the contracts from Keystart for me to sign. How cruelly ironic.
Just as I was about to hit the bottle, my builder rang me. I thought he was going to hit me with more bad news but he actually offered me a possible solution. I tried not to get too excited because there was every chance that this was a hopeless cause.
I have no doubt that I’m going to lose the 21K First Home Owners Grant.
I could still try for the 14K that’s available before the end of the December…but I don’t know whether I have the energy. I think I know how you feel Meng…I could do it. I could rush to find another place, maybe even an existing house. But after the last three months of ups and downs with getting contracts signed within tight timeframes…I don’t know if I want to go through all that again. Maybe this is a bullet dodged. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. Maybe I should take the money and go to Europe. Splurge on a big holiday.
Or maybe I should keep saving until I have a deposit for a house later in the future.
Frackin' Frack me.
THIS IS IT!
Monday 9th November '09
My finance broker left a message for me to call him today. I thought it could go either way. Either the loan has been approved, or there was something else that Keystart wanted from me.
The loan's been approved!
My finance broker left a message for me to call him today. I thought it could go either way. Either the loan has been approved, or there was something else that Keystart wanted from me.
The loan's been approved!
...and Waiting Some More
Sunday 1st November '09
Yeah...I'm still waiting for Keystart. They've reassured my broker that there will no problem in getting it all finalised before the end of my extension period - that's less than two weeks away. I would not be the least bit surprised if there is yet another delay though.
So...I have waited almost three months now.
Yeah...I'm still waiting for Keystart. They've reassured my broker that there will no problem in getting it all finalised before the end of my extension period - that's less than two weeks away. I would not be the least bit surprised if there is yet another delay though.So...I have waited almost three months now.
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