And there is a similar query on boards.ie
I’d wager that quite a lot of the properties that have been/will be ‘bought’ this year were in fact bought in '06.
I wonder if “Forced purchases” will give an upward blip in new property prices as people are forced to pay 2006 prices for their new homes in 2007?
That would be back when properties were going up in value, and the builder was probably delighted to have a chance to sell it to someone else for more.
Don’t know if there’s legal grounds from walking away now, but I do know that no builder is going to make it easy for you.
-Rd
No need to make it easy for him either.
He can’t get blood out of a stone
1 Make it clear to your bank you can no longer afford the mortgage
2 Dispute the finish
3 Offer him what you think it’s now worth
Suing is expensive and if you have bugger all money then yoyur fine… FTB no huge risk except to deposit…
However if you have more than one property and have equity in a family home and this is an investment …
Gulp!!!
You could be worth suing…
I always wondered about these contracts.
Are they not subject to finance being approved at the time of completion?
I Don’t think so…
as far as I am aware Finance is your problem not the builders.
I believe from discussions with someone in this position that You also have to sign to say you have the resources and show proof that you have approval…
If that falls through the builders contract will almost certainly place him in a position where he can sue you for the price agreed at the time.
the question here is, is a court going to make a big award to a massive builder against a lonely impoverished first time buyer?
How desperate does a builder have to be to want to pursue people with very little assetts who really really don’t want to buy for more than the deposit…
The builder if he’s really desperate may do a deal and you might get a discount on your shiny new gaff…
On the otherhand any other assetts such as a other property, Bonds stocks etc would be fair game.
Quite. BUt presumably these people took legal advice on what they were signing. And surely ( 
) that legal advice included a warning that to sign a commitment to cough up, maybe €300,000 which you don’t actually have in two years time is a fairley significant risk.
And said advisor should request on client’s behalf a clause be entered that mitigated that risk for situations that were outside their control (i.e. withdrawal/change lender’s willing to advance money).
If you can come up with a decent argument, then Id say disputing the finish is definitely the way to go. If you can establish that the builder has in some way not upheld his obligations under the terms of the contract then consideration has not been provided on his part and the contract is therefore null and void. You could possibly establish this by having a professional examine the apartment and compare it to the plans from which you had bought. I think there have been examples provided on the Pin of completed apartments not turning out to be exact replicas of the original plans so this would seem to me to offer the best hope of an out.
You have to remember that this was at the height of the Hysteria…
prices were flying up…
If you didn’t get this apartment you would have to sign for the next one up at an even higher price…
You had to get on the ladder… Developers had people on waiting lists if you got sniffy. if you don’t like the contract then there are 10 people behind you who’ll sign no problem . many solicitors were as bought in as anyone else!!..
SIGN SIGN SIGN!!!
I mean even if you couldn’t afford it you could flip at a profit … what could possibly go wrong!!!
uh… eh…
oh yeah…
The point is now these people have made a balls and are in the muck how do they get out??
Answer : wheel, deal, procrastinate, evade, negotiate and welsh…
If you only have the money the bank will lend you then it’s not worth suing you…
Adios deposit … but hey!!! …
If on the other hand you are worth suing… you may be in some trouble…
At the end of the day commercial contracts are often re-negotiated if circumstances change.
The hysteria at the time drove rational people to do irrational things.
Anyway, all very glengarry glenross. “GET THEM TO SIGN ON THE LINE WHICH IS DOTTED!”
Maybe we can have our own hit movie - Glenageary Glenroe!
Great Film…
In the sales world it’s treated as a training film rather than a satire…
Does anyone really think that a developer will do themselves or indeed their development any favours by suing people in order to force them to buy the property?
‘…you can check in any time you want, but you can never leave…’
I think it’s time to redesign contract law if one party can dawdle and delay delivery of the product for immense amounts of time, yet force the counterparty to pay promptly and in full when they finally do deliver.
I fail to see how society would suffer in any way if such contracts were to be made no longer enforceable in future. They act to the overall detriment of the business and real worlds alike.
Everybody is ultimately hurt if the guy selling the widget has huge swathes of delaying time, but can enforce immediate and prompt payment from a buyer.
Indeed, I would think this should ideally be brought to the Supreme Court as a personal rights case. I would think that a person should have the absolute right to back out of any contract if after being given a reasonable period of time, the contractor has failed to deliver. There’s nothing reasonable about the time period in this case.
Why are all ships rising on the same tide here? does this mean they sink at the same rate? The OP says Nationally or generally there has been a fall of 4.7% yoy. Ergo, his property is now worth less. Really?
Hasn’t this been the problem with the Irish property market since the start? “Jaysys, Mary down the street just sold up for 500k, ours must be worth 550 wha?” Really?
Is the fact that they are now on the hook for a large mortgage repayment too hard to take, so a nationl drop figure suits them to use?
Sure there is a national downturn / crash, but some areas will still see rising rates while some will fall more than others.
Just playing DA here…
Pain
I’d guess that guy would be doing cartwheels if he can sell that apartment this week at a loss of only 6.7%, let alone 4.7%.
If he’s forced into a sale, he won’t manage any better than 15% down, I reckon.
There’s an easier way to acheive what you suggest rock3r. Its called “not signing stupidly one sided contracts where the other party holds all the cards”. The law does not need to change. People need to read what they sign.
Aye, plenty of better built 2nd hand houses out there. Vote with your feet, cavet emptor, etc.
Yes
all people need is a tardis and or a delorean…
I haven’t read any of these contracts, but explain to me how Gasumping is possible, yet buyers appear to be locked in.
Are the contracts actually watertight in terms of buyers obligations and not worth the paper their written on in terms of Sellers oblications.
My understanding during the Gasumping issue was that basically you’re deposit meant nothing, the contract meant nothing, they could sell to higher bidder if one emerged, and return the deposit.
So what’s changed? Why can’t a buyer simply say “Sorry, I’ve got a better deal on another place, drop your price to match, or give me my deposit back”.
-Rd