Onni: 3 reasons to buy in 30 Days Campaign

If you click on the above image to enlarge it, you will see the latest attempt by the R/E industry to prey on your fears/desires to plunge yourself into irrational debt through the remaining 30 day window left open by Finance Minister Flaherty.

Today's entry is courtesy of Onni Group.

Note the disclaimer at the bottom of the ad: "These figures are based on a three year fixed term of 3.20%."

Curiously there's no corresponding chart showing you how f*cked you will be when you renew with a 30 year amortization at 5-8% (or higher).

Gee... I wonder why?

Meanwhile, the best way to summarize what today will bring in Silver...

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Please read disclaimer at bottom of blog.

'Pre-sale' buyer plans to fight Onni lawsuit

On February 5th, we profiled how Onni is suing 20 pre-sale buyers who are trying to walk away from their commitments in the Aria 2 development. This follows similar legal action by Amacon Developments.

Lou and Donna Skoda were 'pre-sale' buyers in Onni’s Aria 2 development in Port Moody and are among the 'pre-sale' defaulter's who are bing sued to hold them to their September 2007 committment.

Skoda says they always wanted to complete the purchase, but the downturn in Vancouver’s real estate market got in the way of their plans. They approached Onni to renegotiate their deal, but the developer wouldn't budge.

Skoda says they got caught in a squeeze between selling their current property and promising to buy into Onni. When they failed to sell their existing apartment, they were unable to pay the $456,000 they had committed to with Onni.

Without being able to sell thier current apartment, the Skoda's are unable to secure a mortgage to buy they Aria 2 apartment.

The Skoda's are 79, retired and live on fixed income.

Skoda claims Onni amended Aria 2’s initial project disclosure statement twice, but never delivered copies to the couple, a requirement under real estate development marketing rules.

The couple stands to lose the $68,350 deposit they put down on the property, plus additional damages that Onni is seeking in its suit against them, starting with lost property value.

Onni has put the apartment the Skoda's committed to up for resale at a price 25 per cent less than their contract price as part of the “liquidation” of 375 unsold units Onni announced two weeks ago.

If sold at that price, Onni could seek at least an additional $45,000 over and above the $68,350 deposit from the Skodas.

We will check back on this as it progresses to see how it works out.

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Another developer files lawsuits against 'pre-sale' walk-a-ways

It you signed a pre-sale agreement at the height of the market last year to buy from Onni Developments, had second thoughts as the market has collapsed, and are prepared to forfeit your deposit and just walk away... then Onni executive vice-president Chris Evans has a message for you.

Were gonna sue your ass off.

Two postings ago we saw how Bowra Group announced they are dumping their H+H Yaletown development after 15 pre-sale “buyers” refused to complete on their deals. In the youtube link in that posting, Bowra stressed they planned to sue those pre-sale buyers for any loss incurred (above and beyond the forfeited deposits) if buyers failed to complete on their commitments

For Onni Developments, there will be no publically issued veiled threats, they are starting to sue.

Onni has joined the litigational fray with a flurry of lawsuits against against 20 pre-sale buyers in the Aria 2 building of its Suter Brook community in Port Moody.

As you may recall, Onni is the developer who in January attracted attention for launching a “liquidation sale” of 375 condominiums in developments across the Lower Mainland, including the Suter Brook community, at prices it claimed were as much as 40-per-cent off original prices.

The statements of claim, filed on Jan. 21, accuse the buyers of breaching their contracts for not closing on their specified purchase dates, and seek to claim the deposits buyers paid as well as additional potential damages.

In the claim, Onni said it “has suffered and will continue to suffer additional loss, damages and expense,” including reduced property value at resale, commissions to realtors, marketing costs and legal fees.

None of the claims have been proven in court.

All of this is further evidence that developers are being squeezed by their financiers for payment of the construction loans secured to build projects.

Onni joins Amacon, who in January filed suit against seven buyers in its Morgan Heights project.

Look for more such lawsuits in the coming months as a whole raft of buildings built during the peak of construction costs are nowing being completed. These buildings were commenced based on pre-sale contracts signed at the height of market last year.

The value of those units has depreciated considerably just as these commitments are now coming due.

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