Buyers of units at the CityPlace South Tower condominium in West Palm Beach, Florida failed to stop the property from being placed on bank foreclosure listing.
Lawyers representing the buyers said that the failure to stop the distressed property sale would make it difficult for buyers to recover the deposits they paid to condominium developer, Related Group.
In the first place, lawyers added, buyers have a very slim chance of recovering the deposits even if they have been successful in their effort to prevent the foreclosure sale. Buyers were trying to collect from Related Group the down payments they made on units at CityPlace South Tower that the developer turned over to lenders.
The Bank of Nova Scotia was the sole bidder, taking 370 unsold condominium units at the $120 million foreclosed, 420-unit building. The bank offered a minimum bid of $100.
Lawyers representing the buyers, Jonathan Kline, Joseph Altschul and Robert Cooper have tried to prevent the foreclosure on the 20-story condominium building. They requested Palm Beach Circuit Court Judge Meenu Sasser to delay his foreclosure judgment on the property until such time that buyers have resolved their issue with the developer.
Lawyers are still hopeful about their case despite its rejection by Sasser. They plan to make an appeal before the 4th District Court of Appeal. They also plan to ask for an emergency stay to prevent the auction of the property.
According to industry experts, the condominium market in South Florida started to collapse in 2007. Since that time, a growing number of buyers have tried to cancel their pre-construction buy contracts as well as recover their down payments.
A growing number of buyers also filed lawsuits against various condominium developments but a bulk of these projects went into foreclosures. Experts said that with lenders taking ownership of the condominium development projects, buyers will even have a hard time recovering their down payments.
According to Altschul, the developer and lender are in a hurry to complete the foreclosure process because they both want to eliminate liens by condo buyers who are demanding for the return of their down payments.
He pointed out that delaying the foreclosure until such time that Related Group and buyers resolve their disputes would not hamper the operations or sales of the property.
John Cutts has been educated in the finer points of the foreclosure market over 5 years.
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