Two men, Mario V. Bastian and George B. Minnis, are in a row with a local real estate company over the increase in the price of a lot. However, the firm said since it does not own the land, it cannot be held responsible for the price hike.
The men each made a $3,500 deposit to Brent Symonette Real Estate on September 18, 2001, for the purchase of a one-acre plot of land in the Coral Vista Subdivision in Coral Harbour. The deposit represented 10 per cent of the purchase price of each acre, which was $35,000.
In an exclusive interview with The Guardian Monday, Mr Bastian said after he signed the purchase agreement, the company, which has since changed its name to ‘Island Living Real Estate,’ told him that the price of the property had increased to $50,000. In a letter dated February 24, 2005, Island Living Real Estate offered to refund the deposits to the men, saying that the value of the land had increased due to extra costs. The letter stated, “Due to escalating costs of putting in the access roads, the vendor cannot offer properties at the price of $35,000 per acre. A realistic figure would be $50,000 Net.” The gross figure was said to be $59,200. The letter then asked the purchasers to pay an additional deposit on or before May 31 of that year, if they wanted to proceed with the purchase.
“It is not our fault that the roads were not constructed on time. Due diligence was on their part to install the roads, not us,” said Mr Bastian.
The vendor, Anthony Thompson, President of Lakeview Investments Ltd and Attorney-at-Law, indicated in a letter to the buyers, that the roads and survey markers would be installed by Dec 10, 2004. Rachael Pinder, spokesperson for Island Living Real Estate, told The Guardian that Messrs Bastian and Minnis should be pursuing Mr Thompson for resolution to the matter, not the real estate company.
“The vendor wanted to increase the price and they said: ‘No, we had a deal,'” she said. “But they didn’t really have a deal. The vendor and purchaser did sign at $35,000 but the infrastructure was not in, so it never went ahead to closing after that.
“Then the vendor wanted to increase the price, which we have no control over. We offered to give both of the purchasers their deposits back many times.”
By: MINDELL SMALL, The Nassau Guardian
