carbuncle
19-05-12, 10:16
» Buyers of Paya Lebar condo
complain to watchdog
Straits Times: Fri, May 18
A GROUP of buyers has
claimed that marketing agents
misled them over the
completion date of a Paya
Lebar residential development
they invested in.
They allege the agents
assured them the 99-unit
Suites @ Paya Lebar in Upper
Paya Lebar Road would be
completed by as early as
October, making the
apartments that much more
appealing.
But this completion date is
unlikely given building
progress.
The sales and purchase
agreement (SPA) puts the
expected completion date at
before the end of 2014, which
is the legally binding deadline.
While developers often
complete projects earlier than
required, they are not obliged
to.
Four buyers of units at Suites
@ Paya Lebar told The Straits
Times that agents assured
them the project would be
completed by this year. Some
were told to expect
completion as early as
October. Their complaint,
which has been lodged with
the Council for Estate
Agencies (CEA), states that
they were later informed that
this date would not be met.
The buyers are angry as they
say agents had marketed the
early completion date very
confidently and sold it as a
key advantage of the
Fragrance Properties project.
Mr Alex Zhang, who in
February paid more than $
500,000 for a 409 sq ft unit for
his own use, said the October
completion date was the 'key
driver' that led him to buy.
But he said the agent told him
a month after he signed the
contract that the date had
been pushed back to the first
or second quarter of next
year.
'If you think the estimated
date is not guaranteed, then
(agents) shouldn't even
volunteer the info to buyers,'
said Mr Zhang. 'My
understanding is that any
unpredictable circumstances
would already have been
taken into account in the
estimated date given to us by
agents.
'If I knew that it wouldn't be
completed so early, I could
have considered more choices
in the market, some of which
offered more attractive
discounts, so there is a lost
opportunity there.'
A buyer - who wanted to be
known only as Mr Wong - who
bought a 398 sq ft unit for $
548,000, said he was told that
the development will now be
completed only in the third
quarter of next year - a full
year after he expected it to be
ready.
This will mean additional costs
as his rental lease runs out at
the end of this year, he said.
Fragrance Properties said it
did not instruct any of its
agents to market Suites @
Paya Lebar as having an
expected completion date of
the end of this year.
It said that while there have
been some site delays, they
are not major and the work is
ongoing, adding that buyers
will be able to collect their
keys by Dec 31, 2014, as
indicated in the option to
purchase and SPA.
Experts say the case highlights
the need for buyers to know
what is contractually binding
and what might be marketing
speak.
A lawyer who declined to be
named noted: 'Buyers should
look at the contractual
completion date in official
documents and not take any
oral or unsupported claims by
agents as a substitute.'
The CEA said it has received
two complaints about Suites @
Paya Lebar but declined to
give details as investigation is
ongoing.
However, it did note that
when agents and sales staff
are engaged by developers,
they are told of the project's
expected temporary
occupation period (TOP) date.
'Estate agents and
salespersons must ensure that
all materials that advertise or
promote a property
accurately describe (it),' said
Ms Purnima Shantilal, CEA's
director of licensing and
investigations. 'The
information in the
advertisements, which may
include the expected TOP,
must not be inaccurate, false
or misleading.'
Non-compliance of advertising
guidelines might lead to
disciplinary actions such as
warnings, fines, or a
revocation or suspension of
licence or registration.
[email protected]
Source: The Straits Times ©
Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.
complain to watchdog
Straits Times: Fri, May 18
A GROUP of buyers has
claimed that marketing agents
misled them over the
completion date of a Paya
Lebar residential development
they invested in.
They allege the agents
assured them the 99-unit
Suites @ Paya Lebar in Upper
Paya Lebar Road would be
completed by as early as
October, making the
apartments that much more
appealing.
But this completion date is
unlikely given building
progress.
The sales and purchase
agreement (SPA) puts the
expected completion date at
before the end of 2014, which
is the legally binding deadline.
While developers often
complete projects earlier than
required, they are not obliged
to.
Four buyers of units at Suites
@ Paya Lebar told The Straits
Times that agents assured
them the project would be
completed by this year. Some
were told to expect
completion as early as
October. Their complaint,
which has been lodged with
the Council for Estate
Agencies (CEA), states that
they were later informed that
this date would not be met.
The buyers are angry as they
say agents had marketed the
early completion date very
confidently and sold it as a
key advantage of the
Fragrance Properties project.
Mr Alex Zhang, who in
February paid more than $
500,000 for a 409 sq ft unit for
his own use, said the October
completion date was the 'key
driver' that led him to buy.
But he said the agent told him
a month after he signed the
contract that the date had
been pushed back to the first
or second quarter of next
year.
'If you think the estimated
date is not guaranteed, then
(agents) shouldn't even
volunteer the info to buyers,'
said Mr Zhang. 'My
understanding is that any
unpredictable circumstances
would already have been
taken into account in the
estimated date given to us by
agents.
'If I knew that it wouldn't be
completed so early, I could
have considered more choices
in the market, some of which
offered more attractive
discounts, so there is a lost
opportunity there.'
A buyer - who wanted to be
known only as Mr Wong - who
bought a 398 sq ft unit for $
548,000, said he was told that
the development will now be
completed only in the third
quarter of next year - a full
year after he expected it to be
ready.
This will mean additional costs
as his rental lease runs out at
the end of this year, he said.
Fragrance Properties said it
did not instruct any of its
agents to market Suites @
Paya Lebar as having an
expected completion date of
the end of this year.
It said that while there have
been some site delays, they
are not major and the work is
ongoing, adding that buyers
will be able to collect their
keys by Dec 31, 2014, as
indicated in the option to
purchase and SPA.
Experts say the case highlights
the need for buyers to know
what is contractually binding
and what might be marketing
speak.
A lawyer who declined to be
named noted: 'Buyers should
look at the contractual
completion date in official
documents and not take any
oral or unsupported claims by
agents as a substitute.'
The CEA said it has received
two complaints about Suites @
Paya Lebar but declined to
give details as investigation is
ongoing.
However, it did note that
when agents and sales staff
are engaged by developers,
they are told of the project's
expected temporary
occupation period (TOP) date.
'Estate agents and
salespersons must ensure that
all materials that advertise or
promote a property
accurately describe (it),' said
Ms Purnima Shantilal, CEA's
director of licensing and
investigations. 'The
information in the
advertisements, which may
include the expected TOP,
must not be inaccurate, false
or misleading.'
Non-compliance of advertising
guidelines might lead to
disciplinary actions such as
warnings, fines, or a
revocation or suspension of
licence or registration.
[email protected]
Source: The Straits Times ©
Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.