There is a Lippo apartment development in Singapore one whole apartment building has been sold "off the plan". Most of the residents will be Indonesian. Out the front of the development is a huge sign saying "THANKS BE TO GOD" for our successful project.

There is a Lippo apartment development in Singapore one whole apartment building has been sold "off the plan". Most of the residents will be Indonesian. Out the front of the development is a huge sign saying "THANKS BE TO GOD" for our successful project.

and what is the problem with this Bulegaul?

Money laundering / hiding from the KPK is right, about half the middle - upper price apartments in jakarta are permanently empty it seems based on the handful of lit windows at night. See especially the towering ghost towns such as "The Peak Sudirman". There can't possibly be enough people able to afford living in all the new units that are being built.

Does anyone know why one or two of those four seasons towers are completely empty?

of course it isn't! nearly all houses and apartments here are sold "off the plan". indonesians are very trusting of "artists impressions".

buying off-plan abroad - cancel contract

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I have got myself into a terrible situation and I need to know if there is anything I can do to get out of it without loosing around £80,000.

In September 2005, my partner and i decided to invest in off-plan apartments in Tenerife. The estate agents are english, have been in the business for 20 years, hold awards for anything that is going ie 'best estate agent in the canary islands,' and we had complete faith in them.

We were impressed by the apartments we saw, felt they were well priced and we decided this was a good investment.

We asked the estate what he felt if we were to purchase several and he told us that there was no problem in selling. We also asked him how we would know if they were to be completed on time which was January 2007. He told us that there were such heavy penalties that they had no option but to complete on time. On that basis we bought 7 and paid the deposit of around £29,000 each.

The rest you can guess. They havent sold - not one. completion has been delayed until we are truly in a property slump. We went out to see the apartments in May and was told that completion was around October. They also said that they didnt now think they had the right market for the property and were putting them out to other estate agents as well.

We have just been advised by the developers that they are now completed and they want the balance of £120,000 x 7 on 3rd July.

Obviously, we don't have that money and a mortgage is not a pheasable option as we are in our 50's and the high re-payments mean that we only have enough to pay for 2 months.

The only thing i can think of is to try and get out of the contract. The contract is in Spanish and it was never explained to us what would happen if we could not pay. The estate agents, who are a spanish registered company, have hinted that if the developer has to buy them back, we loose 50%.

any ideas gratefully received.

Those 50 year old buggers from the story oughta just be shot right now. Who in their right mind would go and pay 89k quid on a contract they can't understand?

People are just too damn gullible these days.

A large dollop of self-restraint plus the all too obvious ridiculousness of this post prevent me from commenting on it. (Not the scary 'smackdown' threat laid down by its author)

Let me guess. You are not from one of the refined urban centers of Holland. Friesland perhaps?

Those 50 year old buggers from the story oughta just be shot right now. Who in their right mind would go and pay 89k quid on a contract they can't understand?

People are just too damn gullible these days.

He doesn't know yet does he?

As for a refined urban centre in Holland, you've got more chance of finding a white man in London.

There are fucking plenty of them who do just that in Indonesia - Oh, and I'll think you'll find they are actually into a great deal more than 89K - try ten times that. Building contracts are enforcable across europe

Oh, and they aren't gullible, they are greedy - if they had turned a profit they wouldn't be bleating.

Those two Mensa members would be in for 840,000 notes which is 120,000 times seven (clever boy RH). No doubt this couple will end up embedded in a central tunnel support in an Algarve motorway flyover when the greasy Dago gorillas get hold of them.You're gonna need some serious readies if you want to compete with the lovable cockney murderers chomping on Calimari on the Costa Del Crime. , even Ronnie Biggs despite his huge breasted Brazilian missus and beach bar. "Oh all this drinking of Jack D off a huge pair of waps on a sun baked beach isn't doing it for me, I must nip back to Blighty for a Cornish pastie followed by immediate incarceration." Twat.

They all get homesick eventually though