450k for a three bed flat-madness ! Now these people face ruin.

bluey890

Can the buyers simply forfeit the deposit? Does the contract state they must complete?

In my experience contracts usually allow the purchaser to back out of completion/exchange at the cost of the deposit.

shakerbaby

chewmylegoff wrote: »

i expect many of them thought they'd just flip their off plan flats and make a mint without ever having any intention to actually live in them. loads of people were doing it during the boom and bragging about how clever they were - i used to sit next to one of them at work.

What happened to them?

chucky

Graham_Devon wrote: »

I think I got carried away with my personal experience so dragged it off course a bit. Just when chucky said "their own fault" it got me started. Certainly on second viewing am starting to realise these were just after the "shiny new things" as so many were over the past decade and are now paying the high price for their own greed.

easy there Graham - my comments maybe did come across harsh but look into the people that were buying these apartments they did have a choice but they unfortunately decided on the wrong option for whatever reason - for taking the wrong advice or maybe even not taking the advice given.

with all these things life experiences and also luck are important.

going through the current recession will give many people many life experiences... this is a good thing hopefully without too much pain...

baileysbattlebus

bluey890 wrote: »

Can't the buyers simply forfeit the deposit? Is there something in the contract which states they must complete?

In my experience contracts usually allow the purchaser to back out of completion at the cost of the deposit.

If you read Pobby's post and the links - it looks as if that's not the case. They signed a contract to say they would buy the property. And it looks as if the developer is holding them to the contract they signed and is willing to take them to court.

I must admit to being a complete numpty when it comes to anything like this - but I would imagine a court would uphold the contract otherwise what would be point in having a contract in the first place.

I think it's caveat emptor here.

chucky

chewmylegoff wrote: »

i expect many of them thought they'd just flip their off plan flats and make a mint without ever having any intention to actually live in them. loads of people were doing it during the boom and bragging about how clever they were - i used to sit next to one of them at work.

anyone with excess cash could do this.

i know of a few with varied success.

two of them flipped and got near enough £100k profit out of doing this. one picked up the best apartments in the complex early and re-sold them. he did it at one of the mentioned apartments in Chelsea next to the old Battersea Power Station

another guy that i know did this and has ended up with two apartments - one in Nottingham and one in Cardiff that he can't sell and can't remortgage due to the drop in value.

chucky

bluey890 wrote: »

Can the buyers simply forfeit the deposit? Does the contract state they must complete?

In my experience contracts usually allow the purchaser to back out of completion/exchange at the cost of the deposit.

it depends - some allow you too and others basically make you sign virtually an exchange document.

in saying that you can insist on a clause where if the apartment isn't built by a certain date you can pull out. some developers allowed this to get the business.

Sapphire

Turnbull2000 wrote: »

That's a mindset that the older generations ingrained in the young so they'd be more willing to pay over the odds. They've been practically brainwashed so those born before them can celebrate their unearned gains.

Well, I'm afraid I don't understand your reasoning at all - don't know of any parents who have brainwashed their children in order to 'celebrate their unearned gains'. I thought it was basically propaganda by big companies and profiteering by such outfits and the millionaires that run them (as well as members of the 'government') that had encouraged extreme greed in people and brought about today's dire situation.

We'll have to agree to differ, then.

chewmylegoff

shakerbaby wrote: »

What happened to them?

got moved sideways into the department where my employer sends the people it wants to leave, but can't find a way of sacking. thank god.

kriss_boy

I dont have any sympathy for these people for a couple of reasons.

1) They chose to get caught up in the boom. Simple fact is no-one held a gun to their heads and forced them to buy. Other people like myself who bought last year made damn sure they didnt pay over the odds and walked away.

2) Thats business. Why should the house builder take a loss on the properties? His margins were based on the market back then, so why should he take a loss on them just because house prices dropped.

fc123

Cleaver wrote: »

But Graham, the article (as someone else has pointed out) did not portray people with no other option. It showed people buying luxury flats that were priced higher than local, more traditional housing stock, with purchase prices of between a third and half a million pounds. They all had far higher than average deposits of £30k, £40k, £50k+. These people all had the option of buying cheaper, more secure, traditional homes that other people had been buying and selling and living in for decades. They wanted the new build, they made the choice.

You're quite right, it's always very easy to get suckered in by hyperbole, sales people and enthusiastic rubbish from companies. But so what? That's not new and will be apparant in every culture the world over.

Just to butt in here...The Woolwich Arsenal devt is not the same as local older housing stock.
It was priced at a premium because it is a seperate, gated off area on the river that is very disconnected to the rest of the town/area.
Many that bought were ex pats in Hong Kong (apparently .....heard this from local EA) who looked at A-Z and saw Canary Wharf at one point on the river, looked a little further along and there was Woolwich; The next up and coming riverside location.

It is a gritty place. OH and DD + teen matey have just been up there for a few days. DD and mate had a sticky incident with a scrote and a dog.......he though it was funny ha ha to get the dog to growl and lear up at 2 X 15 yr olds. He then threatened them and used the dog to intimidate them.

Son had a few nasty incidents in area too....one very serious that nearly ended up in him being killed @ age 18. He wasn't out looking for trouble..but was in wrong place at wrong time.

Graham...you got to let these things lie....don't get so wound about it. Your generation will benefit from other things.

Incentives for newbuilds aren't a totally bad thing it depends on the timing. That is why I have little sympathy for the 'victims of Berkely'.

BIL bought flat in 1994 on a £99 deposit whatever deal...ironically to get out of a flat share in Woolwich on a grim estate...and he had no deposit.

Worked out really well for him at the the time. Sold a few years later and bought house in better area.