It’s Wait-And-See For Pender Court, Tulip Garden Home Owners

Source : The Straits Times, Apr 4, 2008

Several have bought new homes and await sealing of deals as sales are delayed

THEIR collective sale deals may be in doubt - and the huge cheques due to come their way - but some owners at Pender Court and Tulip Garden are taking a wait-and-see attitude for now.

Several told The Straits Times that they would not be fazed should the deals fall through.

Some have already received their share of the deposit. And those who have already bought new homes in anticipation of the collective sales going through say they will be open to renting out either of their two properties.

Both condos were bought by Bravo Building Construction last year. It agreed to pay $80 million for Pender Court and $516 million for Tulip Garden.

The Pender Court sale was due to be completed in late February and Tulip Garden in late May, but Bravo has postponed the settlement dates of both sales.

The firm, which works with partners on such large purchases, said it was working on a shareholders’ agreement for Tulip Garden.

Many owners at Pender Court have proceeded on the basis that their deal will go through.

A resident at the 48-unit Pender Court, off West Coast Highway, said his parents had placed a deposit on a property near the Chinese Gardens MRT station.

‘If the deal falls through, our immediate plans would be to take up a loan, buy that Chinese Gardens flat and rent out the Pender Court apartment.’

A man renting a Pender Court unit at $2,000 a month, and who gave his name only as William, told The Straits Times: ‘For tenants, the en bloc sale is a good thing, since most owners are quite desperate to rent out their flats to help pay for their new houses. So as tenants, we have a better bargaining power.’

Another Pender Court owner, who wants to be identified only as Mrs Lim, said her family had bought a West Bay condo, which cost less than their collective sale proceeds.

One owner, who declined to be named, said most Pender Court owners had already bought new homes and were waiting for the money from the sale.

Her family bought an HDB flat. ‘So if the deal falls through, we might consider moving to the new flat then renting out the Pender Court residence,’ she said.

She also said the owners had already received a 10 per cent deposit from Bravo, which they would retain should the deal fail, so that was giving some consolation amid the uncertainty.

Some residents at the 164-unit Tulip Garden near Holland Road seem untroubled by the prospect of not collecting their windfalls, which will range from $1.1 million to $4.2 million.

Trainer Sangita Khera, 40, said she liked the estate and did not wish to move.

But she acknowledged that other residents did not share her opinion. They are now in limbo as they have bought new properties in the hope of collecting a tidy amount from the sale.

‘It’s sad for some of my friends who have bought property and had moved out already,’ she said.

Bravo has paid a 5 per cent deposit of $25.8 million for Tulip Garden. It has cancelled its $162.8 million collective deal for Makeway View after finding out that it had to pay a higher-than-expected development charge.