Elysa Chen
Mon, Oct 27, 2008
The New Paper
He buys condo for a windfall but takes a big fall instead
AMONG the legion of burnt investors is a buyer of a million-dollar condo apartment who should have known better.
He jumped into a then hot property market without weighing the biggest 'if' of all - what if you lack the cash to complete the purchase?
Now Mr Byron Nifakis, 39, is bankrupt.
He wanted to buy a $1.2 million four-room flat in the Casa Merah condominium, as an investment.
The Singapore permanent resident was working as the IT director of a restaurant here, earning $10,000 a month.
Now he is reminded of his bankruptcy whenever he peers out of his rented home, which faces the Casa Merah on Tanah Merah Kechil Avenue.
He eyed the condo development to cash in on the rising property market last year.
But, by his own admission, his 'naivety and cockiness' resulted in his owing the condo developers $18,000 for his botched purchase.
Mr Nifakis, who came to Singapore from Canada in 2001, thought he was 'safe' as he had not signed any documents committing himself to the deal.
But he had handed over a $60,000 cheque as deposit, and what he did not know was that this was sufficient proof of his option to buy the property.
His cheque bounced, but lawyers and property agents told The New Paper he was still obliged to buy the unit.
Mr Nifakis, who had only about $6,000 in his account then, could not proceed with the purchase because money he was counting on from overseas partners did not come in.
He said: 'It was only because my property agent promised me that I could get more time to process the $60,000 payment that I even decided to go to the showroom that day to try my luck.'
But by 4pm, he was unable to raise the money from his partners. So he returned to the showroom to back out of the deal and get his cheque back.
When the agents refused to return the cheque, Mr Nifakis left the showroom.
'I thought they could keep my cheque, because they would not be able to use it against me,' he said.
But he was wrong.
A purchasers' particulars form he had signed stated that he had to pay 25 per cent of the $60,000, or $15,000, if he backed out of the deal.
And, to his horror, he learnt later from his lawyer that the cheque could be used as evidence that the option had already been granted to him.
He said: 'I should have refused to leave the showroom until it was closing time so that I could speak to someone who could return me my cheque.
'My agents kept telling me 'I'm sure you will find a way to get the money'.'
Trying to make the best out of a bad situation, he 'scrambled' to get the money by applying for a bank loan, but failed to get approval.
Desperate
Desperate for more time, Mr Nifakis wrote to the developers, but failed to get an extension.
They insisted that he had to pay the $15,000.
Mr Ling Tien Wah, the lawyer acting for the developer, explained that since Mr Nifakis did not exercise his option to buy the apartment, the developer was entitled to 25 per cent of the $60,000 booking fee.
In February this year, a judge ordered Mr Nifakis to pay the developer $18,000, including legal fees of $3,000.
The developer took out a bankruptcy application against him in July when he failed to pay up.
To make matters worse, his company laid him off the same month because it had run into financial difficulties and had shut down the restaurant.
On 9 Oct, the court issued Mr Nifakis a bankruptcy order as he was unable to come to a compromise with the developers on a repayment scheme.
He asked to pay them $300 a month over five years, but the developer rejected the offer, noting that if he wanted to, he could clear his debt in just 12 months.
A bitter Mr Nifakis said: 'This is the biggest investment I have made; it is also the biggest lesson I have had to learn.
'I try not to think about it too much. There's a bit of resentment. After all, that property could have been mine.'
Mon, Oct 27, 2008
The New Paper
He buys condo for a windfall but takes a big fall instead
AMONG the legion of burnt investors is a buyer of a million-dollar condo apartment who should have known better.
He jumped into a then hot property market without weighing the biggest 'if' of all - what if you lack the cash to complete the purchase?
Now Mr Byron Nifakis, 39, is bankrupt.
He wanted to buy a $1.2 million four-room flat in the Casa Merah condominium, as an investment.
The Singapore permanent resident was working as the IT director of a restaurant here, earning $10,000 a month.
Now he is reminded of his bankruptcy whenever he peers out of his rented home, which faces the Casa Merah on Tanah Merah Kechil Avenue.
He eyed the condo development to cash in on the rising property market last year.
But, by his own admission, his 'naivety and cockiness' resulted in his owing the condo developers $18,000 for his botched purchase.
Mr Nifakis, who came to Singapore from Canada in 2001, thought he was 'safe' as he had not signed any documents committing himself to the deal.
But he had handed over a $60,000 cheque as deposit, and what he did not know was that this was sufficient proof of his option to buy the property.
His cheque bounced, but lawyers and property agents told The New Paper he was still obliged to buy the unit.
Mr Nifakis, who had only about $6,000 in his account then, could not proceed with the purchase because money he was counting on from overseas partners did not come in.
He said: 'It was only because my property agent promised me that I could get more time to process the $60,000 payment that I even decided to go to the showroom that day to try my luck.'
But by 4pm, he was unable to raise the money from his partners. So he returned to the showroom to back out of the deal and get his cheque back.
When the agents refused to return the cheque, Mr Nifakis left the showroom.
'I thought they could keep my cheque, because they would not be able to use it against me,' he said.
But he was wrong.
A purchasers' particulars form he had signed stated that he had to pay 25 per cent of the $60,000, or $15,000, if he backed out of the deal.
And, to his horror, he learnt later from his lawyer that the cheque could be used as evidence that the option had already been granted to him.
He said: 'I should have refused to leave the showroom until it was closing time so that I could speak to someone who could return me my cheque.
'My agents kept telling me 'I'm sure you will find a way to get the money'.'
Trying to make the best out of a bad situation, he 'scrambled' to get the money by applying for a bank loan, but failed to get approval.
Desperate
Desperate for more time, Mr Nifakis wrote to the developers, but failed to get an extension.
They insisted that he had to pay the $15,000.
Mr Ling Tien Wah, the lawyer acting for the developer, explained that since Mr Nifakis did not exercise his option to buy the apartment, the developer was entitled to 25 per cent of the $60,000 booking fee.
In February this year, a judge ordered Mr Nifakis to pay the developer $18,000, including legal fees of $3,000.
The developer took out a bankruptcy application against him in July when he failed to pay up.
To make matters worse, his company laid him off the same month because it had run into financial difficulties and had shut down the restaurant.
On 9 Oct, the court issued Mr Nifakis a bankruptcy order as he was unable to come to a compromise with the developers on a repayment scheme.
He asked to pay them $300 a month over five years, but the developer rejected the offer, noting that if he wanted to, he could clear his debt in just 12 months.
A bitter Mr Nifakis said: 'This is the biggest investment I have made; it is also the biggest lesson I have had to learn.
'I try not to think about it too much. There's a bit of resentment. After all, that property could have been mine.'
