Retiree couple offered only $400,000 for $2 million home in botched apartment complex saga
- Replies 16
For over four agonising years, the residents of Sydney's defective Mascot Towers have endured ongoing financial, legal and emotional turmoil.
Now, after countless protests and intense negotiations, a long-awaited deal is finally on the table—but for some retirees, it's set to deliver an unexpectedly small windfall.
Such is the case for Veronica and Clifton Baker. In 2019, the couple were forced to abruptly evacuate their retirement home—a three-bedroom penthouse valued at $2.2 million—after cracks were discovered in the structure’s basement.
'They sold the family home and bought an apartment in Mascot Towers for their retirement. It's their only asset, and that's all lost now,' their daughter Kate lamented.
Despite the steep price tag, the proposed sale would see the Bakers walk away with just $400,000—a crushing blow to their future financial security.
Like many Mascot owners, they face losing hundreds of thousands in equity virtually overnight.
'Where do they go in their retirement years to try and replace what they had? It's just an impossible situation,' Kate argued.
The deal stemmed from a complex agreement between banks, the government, and a private consortium to purchase all 130 apartments.
It's intended to finally free trapped owners from the legal and financial quagmire of the structurally unsound tower. But for victims like the Bakers, it delivers little justice or recompense.
Under the deal, owner-occupier mortgages will be forgiven—but those who have paid down debt or purchased outright won't be adequately compensated for lost equity.
And while some means-tested support is promised, details remain scant and confusing to anxious elderly residents with declining health.
'The government want people to pay off their homes, they want people to pay their levies...and then they’re punishing them for doing that,' Kate pointed out.
The timeline of the agreement also adds another edge to the distress of unit owners.
Owners are still awaiting information on their sale prices, and they won't receive formal contracts until late February, with a deadline of February 19, 2024.
Following this, they have until March 1 to make a decision. However, 75 per cent of owners must agree to the sale for the deal to proceed.
The short timeline pressures them into an impossible choice: take what they're offered or keep sinking money into an uninhabitable asset they can't sell or live in.
Rachel Williams, another affected resident, asked: 'Why after almost five years, is there an urgency to make a decision in two weeks?'
Like the Bakers, starting over in Sydney now seems financially impossible for Rachel and her husband, Derek, approaching retirement.
In 2019, the couple's unit was appraised at $1.2 million before the evacuation. Currently, they hold approximately $800,000 in home equity, with an outstanding mortgage balance of around $180,000.
Although their mortgage will be paid off in the suggested agreement, they also face the prospect of losing a substantial portion of their home equity.
The financial ambiguity is heightened by emotional exhaustion and frustration. Additionally, Mr Williams is currently battling with blood cancer, a condition his wife attributes to the increased stress over the past four years.
‘People’s lives have been destroyed. Their health has been destroyed,’ Rachel expressed.
While the Building Commissioner contended 'the sale of lots proposal finally offers [owners] a chance to move on,' residents argued they're being offered little more than false hope.
As the contract deadline looms, overwhelmed residents desperately call on the NSW Premier Chris Minns and Fair Trading Minister Anoulack Chanthivong for an urgent intervention.
They're asking for more time, transparency around recompense packages, and the chance to fight for fairer terms.
There were no responses from Mr Minns and Mr Chanthivong's offices regarding the possibility of a meeting, but a spokesperson from the NSW government stated that they are ‘fully committed to collaborating with Mascot Towers owners to identify a resolution’.
‘At the direction of the government, the Building Commissioner has been working with lenders and owners to deliver relief,’ they assured. ‘Each individual lot owner is now being asked to consider this deal because it finally offers them a chance to move on.’
You can watch the residents’ interviews here:
Source: YouTube/7News Australia
What do you think of this new deal, members? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Now, after countless protests and intense negotiations, a long-awaited deal is finally on the table—but for some retirees, it's set to deliver an unexpectedly small windfall.
Such is the case for Veronica and Clifton Baker. In 2019, the couple were forced to abruptly evacuate their retirement home—a three-bedroom penthouse valued at $2.2 million—after cracks were discovered in the structure’s basement.
'They sold the family home and bought an apartment in Mascot Towers for their retirement. It's their only asset, and that's all lost now,' their daughter Kate lamented.
Residents of the Mascot Towers were offered a deal. Source: Google Maps
Despite the steep price tag, the proposed sale would see the Bakers walk away with just $400,000—a crushing blow to their future financial security.
Like many Mascot owners, they face losing hundreds of thousands in equity virtually overnight.
'Where do they go in their retirement years to try and replace what they had? It's just an impossible situation,' Kate argued.
The deal stemmed from a complex agreement between banks, the government, and a private consortium to purchase all 130 apartments.
It's intended to finally free trapped owners from the legal and financial quagmire of the structurally unsound tower. But for victims like the Bakers, it delivers little justice or recompense.
Under the deal, owner-occupier mortgages will be forgiven—but those who have paid down debt or purchased outright won't be adequately compensated for lost equity.
And while some means-tested support is promised, details remain scant and confusing to anxious elderly residents with declining health.
'The government want people to pay off their homes, they want people to pay their levies...and then they’re punishing them for doing that,' Kate pointed out.
The timeline of the agreement also adds another edge to the distress of unit owners.
Owners are still awaiting information on their sale prices, and they won't receive formal contracts until late February, with a deadline of February 19, 2024.
Following this, they have until March 1 to make a decision. However, 75 per cent of owners must agree to the sale for the deal to proceed.
The short timeline pressures them into an impossible choice: take what they're offered or keep sinking money into an uninhabitable asset they can't sell or live in.
Rachel Williams, another affected resident, asked: 'Why after almost five years, is there an urgency to make a decision in two weeks?'
Like the Bakers, starting over in Sydney now seems financially impossible for Rachel and her husband, Derek, approaching retirement.
In 2019, the couple's unit was appraised at $1.2 million before the evacuation. Currently, they hold approximately $800,000 in home equity, with an outstanding mortgage balance of around $180,000.
Although their mortgage will be paid off in the suggested agreement, they also face the prospect of losing a substantial portion of their home equity.
The financial ambiguity is heightened by emotional exhaustion and frustration. Additionally, Mr Williams is currently battling with blood cancer, a condition his wife attributes to the increased stress over the past four years.
‘People’s lives have been destroyed. Their health has been destroyed,’ Rachel expressed.
While the Building Commissioner contended 'the sale of lots proposal finally offers [owners] a chance to move on,' residents argued they're being offered little more than false hope.
As the contract deadline looms, overwhelmed residents desperately call on the NSW Premier Chris Minns and Fair Trading Minister Anoulack Chanthivong for an urgent intervention.
They're asking for more time, transparency around recompense packages, and the chance to fight for fairer terms.
There were no responses from Mr Minns and Mr Chanthivong's offices regarding the possibility of a meeting, but a spokesperson from the NSW government stated that they are ‘fully committed to collaborating with Mascot Towers owners to identify a resolution’.
‘At the direction of the government, the Building Commissioner has been working with lenders and owners to deliver relief,’ they assured. ‘Each individual lot owner is now being asked to consider this deal because it finally offers them a chance to move on.’
You can watch the residents’ interviews here:
Source: YouTube/7News Australia
What do you think of this new deal, members? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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madness.
