Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
HOA Tags NYC Developer With $67 Million Lawsuit, Alleging Condo Buyers Were Promised "Premier Luxury Caliber" Building, But Were Left Holding The Bag With Crumbling, Leaky Mess
In New York City, the New York Post reports:
The residents of a Midtown high-rise were promised a building of “premier luxury caliber” — but all they got was a crumbling, leaky mess, a $67 million lawsuit charges.
When The Alexander was being built on East 49th Street near Second Avenue in 2008, its developer promised amenities like an Equinox gym and roof decks, as well as fine touches such as marble and bronze elevators and white-oak flooring, according to the suit by the building’s condo owners.
But the 24-story building is now rife with dangerous code violations and sloppy, unfinished work, the owners charge in the suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court last week against developer Alexander Gurevich and others.
Gurevich “represented to prospective purchasers that the Turtle Bay condominium and its units would be of a premier luxury caliber and would be designed and constructed with the highest quality of materials and workmanship,” the suit says.
“However, this was not the case at all.”
The suit says cracks and leaks permeate the building, including on the roof, balconies and terraces, causing water to flood some condos — which, according to the real estate website StreetEasy, sell for as much as $1.9 million for a two-bedroom.
Cracked glass on the common roof deck is held together with clear tape, and windows aren’t sealed properly to keep out drafts and noise, the suit says.
Terra-cotta roof tiles are loose and in danger of falling, and no emergency signs were ever installed, the suit says.
The five-member board of managers says several high-end amenities promised in the building’s “offering plan” are nonexistent, too.
A promised gym, “cold-storage room” for perishable-food deliveries and mail room were never built, the suit says.
The manager panel claims in the complaint that The Alexander’s initial board was stacked with Gurevich cronies who failed to pay the building’s water and sewer bills for five years. Now, they say, condo owners will have to shell out roughly $320,000 as part of a 10-year repayment plan, with another $122,000 in interest.
“The board felt it was very necessary to pursue these claims based on the various conditions alleged in their complaint,” said their lawyer, Steven Sladkus.
CBC News: Betrayal of Trust (A CBC investigation reveals how lawyers across Canada have misappropriated and mishandled clients money, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, or sometimes even charging vulnerable people top dollar for shoddy services)
Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets
The New York Times: The Housing Trap (In the wake of the housing crisis, low-income families have turned to seller financing to buy homes but these deals can be a money trap)
Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System
The NY Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice(Part 1 in series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court)
Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements
Justice Deceived: How Large Foreclosure Firms Subvert State Regulations Protecting Homeowners
MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases
Justice Disserved: A Preliminary Analysis of the Exceptionally
Low Appearance Rate by Defendants in Lawsuits Filed in the Civil Court of the City of New York
Mortgage Mess Redux: Robo-Signers Return (A Reuters investigation finds that many banks are still employing the controversial foreclosure practices that sparked a major outcry last year)
CNN Video: As Foreclosures Mount, Florida Court Turns To 'Rocket Docket'
The Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases (2 Questions, 15 Seconds, 45 Days to Get Out; 'What's to Talk About?' Says a Judge)
"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions
ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
<< Home