No ill feelings over failed sale

Despite not knowing for almost four years whether the Horizon Towers collective sale would go through, resident Mohammed Mehdi is not bitter about the delay or the legal fees he has had to pay.

Even though the fees are 'substantial', Mr Mehdi, 54, a businessman in shipping, does not mind the outcome or the wait.

'We own some properties, so we could move any time if we needed to. Fortunately, the protracted pro-cess did not really inconvenience us,' he said. 'The court's decision also makes sense in view of the fact that the market went up in the middle of the sale.'

He felt that the sale committee had worked hard, and he could not find any fault with its members. He added that he would have been happy either way.

'If the sale had gone through, we would have gotten the money. But without the sale, I get to stay in my home. Where else will you find apartments of this size in such a convenient location?' His family, including his brother and cousins, have been living in Horizon Towers for more than 10 years.

Originally from Pakistan, he came to Singapore in the 1980s and is now a permanent resident. His family chose the condominium because it is located centrally.

For the past two years, he has been living with his wife and three daughters in a rented fifth-floor apartment at Horizon Towers. He has a son who lives in Britain.

His family owns another apartment on the 14th floor that is being rented out to a banker. They bought it 10 years ago.

When the chance to sell the 14th-floor apartment collectively came, the family unanimously agreed to sign the agreement. They would have received about $2.3 million.

'We thought at the time it was a worthwhile deal, and consensus is what counts the most. We did not want to be in the minority,' said Mr Mehdi, who never tried to oppose the sale.

Asked about the possibility of the majority residents suing the sale committee for not putting in enough effort to sell Horizon Towers well, he replied: 'Why would we do such a thing? We already have to pay lawyers' fees, and this would just mean more money. Whatever happened has happened for the best.'

Happy either way
'If the sale had gone through, we would have gotten the money. But without the sale, I get to stay in my home. Where else will you find apartments of this size in such a convenient location?'

Mr Mehdi

Source: Straits Times, 5 April 2009