ykhoong

Hi npn, I'm sorry to hear that. Few points to note: 1. Consult your lawyer abt your legal rights, and cost. 2. Approach the seller/agent to find out the reason, and see if they are willing to compensate your losses. 3. Dun bother to approach HDB as they will not do anything to help. 4. Find out and calculate all your losses (agent fees, loan cancellation, legal fee etc) For my case, I managed to get the seller (and their agent who is at fault) to pay for all our damages. So in the end we just settled it peacefully and moved on fr there. Feel free to PM me if you have more questions. Good luck!

Aihh I also dun bother whether their story is true or not la, as long as someone is responsible for my damages... Anyway, they claim that it's the seller's agent mistake in the miscalculation (which the agent admitted), and so now they have lodged a complain to the agency (P.......). I wonder what are the chances that the agency will pay for the damages. Anyone?

Well according to them, the purchase price 3-4 yrs back (bank loan, hence no minimum occupancy) was 65k lower then the selling price now. After deducting the outstanding bank loan and returning the all the CPF components (yet to see REAL PROOF), they are left with ~10k cash. Coupled with ZERO savings (can u believe it? a family of >4), hence not enough cash to fund their next purchase. If they sell, I will be happy and they will be left with ~10k cash but have to rent somewhere (which they are reluctant to). If they dun sell, and if their story is true, I will probably be the one who make them bankcrupt, and I might risk having to spend much more on legal fees to pursue this further, than the original damages. What I heard is that banks and CPF have higher priority in claiming than me, which means the most I could squeeze out of them is ~10k afterall, even if I have the full right to claim my legal fees too. Of course this is all based on the assumption that their story is genuine.... Now they are short of at least 20k HARD CASH to fund their purchase. I cant possibly up my budget to "help" them, and I dun think anyone in the market today will consider the flat at such premium. Rent to them? Then who is there to pay my rental now? Aihh.... Anyone tried Small Claim Tribunal b4, which can claim up to 10k? Even though there is virtually no legal fees there, but some websites say it can also be complicated if we win and they still refuse/unable to pay up. Any experience to share?

Thanks. Things are getting a bit more complicated now. The sellers claim that they have ZERO savings, and the cash portion they retain after repaying loan and CPF is merely ~10k, which is not enough to pay 5% cash to buy flats of any size in today's market. Hence decide not to sell. But if they are REALLY THAT POOR, then I'm afraid it might be difficullt to claim my damages (easily >10k), let alone the legal fees involved in filing the claims. If they really become bankrupt, then I might risk spending more on legal fees (hear say can easily be >100k?) than getting back my damages. And if they are REALLY THAT POOR, dun think they can afford to settle my damages off the court too. Any win-win solution? This sounds like a poor man chasing after a poorer man for $$..... Thanks.

U have my best wishes!!!! Guys, one more question: If I intend to sue for damages and not going after the same flat, I suppose I'm free to search for other units while playing this long game with the seller (which I believe I stand a good chance). Does the damage claim include the legal fee incurred, or does the loser bear all the legal fees? Just wanted to know if I will end up paying most of the claimed damages to the lawyer instead. Thanks.

Well if everyone is willing to pay for their "mistakes" without seeing lawyer letter or court order, then this world is a lot more wonderful

According to my agent, the seller made some "calculation" error, and ended up not having sufficient $$ to fund the next purchase (which is a downgrade fr 5rm to 4rm). I dun find this excuse logical as the flat was bought abt 5 yrs ago, and everyone knows how much has property appreciated from SARS low. I also hope everyone is happy with the transaction, on the condition that all my losses are covered, especially now that it's of no fault of mine...

Hi zirhk3355, thanks for your reply. After reading some of the earlier posts here, I did make an effort to ensure that all owners have signed the OTP, and the law firm has also confirmed that there is no bankruptcy issue and all documents are ok. Now that the OTP has been exercised and submitted, I would guess that we have a strong case even if they want to back out BEFORE 1st appt. I'm not trying to make lots of $$ out of this mess, but the LEAST compensation I expect include penalty for bank loan, "partial" agent fee, 5k exercise fee (paid), valuation (paid), submission fee (paid), not forgetting my rental now, and also the risk of rising property prices...... Hope this is reasonable and not classified as "greedy".... Any idea how complicated, or how long is it if I were to go the legal path? Also read from somewhere that as long as this case is still pending, we cant proceed to buy another HDB? Or should I just move on as long as I get compensated for the above-listed losses? Would like to gauge the pros and cons of different options, especially in dollar terms.. Thanks!! Now that u mention Clementi, I think I've read that b4. Is it abt the seller's daughter, who is also the co-owner did not sign the OTP, making it not valid legally speaking? Sorry to hear that, but I'm not much better either....

Need advice from experienced bro and sis out there! We are buying a resale HDB, and are now waiting for 1st appoitment scheduled next month. If, for whatever reason, the seller decides not to sell the flat NOW, what should we do to pursue our rights? I have read somewhere that in addition to getting back the 5k deposit paid, we can also claim for other damages, such as difference in price in our next purchase, our additional rental for the delay etc. I would like to find out: 1. What are the cost involved if we decide to take legal action? Or seller will bear the legal cost if they lose? 2. Chances of winning and getting compensation? 3. Penalty for bank loan secured (not our fault, why should we pay?) 4. Other cost (agent fee, legal fee of the original transaction) We also dun wish to give them a hard time, but the fact that we buy now (despite the PRICE NOW) is because we really need a place of our own... Would appreciate advice, especially if u have come across such cases. Many thanks in advance!!!