Not happy with Off The Plan
There?s a car park where our apartment is supposed to be
There?s a car park where our apartment is supposed to be
ISN?T that a car park where our courtyard is meant to be?
That was the question Melanie and Andrew Bowring were left asking in January this year as they peered into the building site of the Lane Cove unit complex they had bought into off the plan more than 18 months earlier.
They were about to discover the developers, Landmark Group Australia Pty Limited and Mindarie Street Pty Limited, had deleted their ground-floor apartment from the project without telling them
The Bowrings? lifesavings had been tied up for nothing ? in June, 2012, the couple signed a contract and paid a 5 per cent deposit of $37,500 on the unit, priced at $750,000.
Then, in September last year, they paid nearly $30,000 in stamp duty.
?We feel like they have taken our dreams away from us, as well as any chance of getting into the Sydney property market,? Mrs Bowring told me.
When they asked what was going on, lawyers for the *developer Arash Tavakoli said that, due to ?poor amenity for the lot? such as ?south-facing windows? and ?no cross-ventilation? as well as ?health risks to occupants? ? defined as mould ? ?our client in discussion with our client?s consultants, considered that the area is best used for car *spaces and storage bays?.
?Our client considered it necessary to vary the development consent to omit the subject lot,? the lawyers added.
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Public Defender went to its listed office, Suite 2201 of Westfield Tower Two, Bondi Junction, seeking answers. But there were no answers ? and no office.
It was a ?virtual office? ? for as little as $232 per month Servcorp provides clients with a ?prestigious corporate address for your business cards? and a shared receptionist who answers the phone in the company name.
The receptionist called Landmark director Arash Tavakoli (pictured) and told him I was there. The receptionist asked for my card and said Mr Tavakoli wasn?t ?in the suburb today?.