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The owners of the ailing Mascot Towers will take a big step to potentially free themselves from the troubled building tonight, almost two years after they were given just hours to evacuate the cracking structure.
The owners of the 132-apartment complex will meet at The Junior’s club in Sydney’s east tonight to discuss their sparse options, with a collective sale to a developer on the cards.
The 10-storey apartment complex, situated on the same block as Mascot train station in Sydney’s south, has been sitting empty since June 2019 after cracks were found in its primary support structure.
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Residents were given just four hours to evacuate the building over fears it could collapse as cracks began to show in the basement and on its outer facade.
The cost of repairing the building was initially estimated to be between $10 and $20 million however owners of the building are now facing a 15-year strata loan of at least $54 million.
It’s a cost many former residents would be unable to afford, leaving owners with limited options.
In a statement to news.com.au, Mascot Towers Owners Corporation Chair Gary Deigan said former residents were faced with a dilemma.
“We have always pursued rectification, but with such high engineering and construction costs many owners are facing financial ruin and are unable to meet repayment obligations,” he said.
“We can’t have a situation where some owners can’t pay and others are supposed to foot the bill.
“We need to look at a sale, even if we only get a fraction of the value back on our property. If we don’t the liability could only get worse.”
Owners hoping for a sale fear others could potentially continue to push for repairs.
The group of owners will meet in two weeks, after discussing all options tonight, to vote for what they want.
A unanimous vote from all owners is needed for a collective sale and many former owners are doubtful 100 per cent of them will vote for it.
Mr Deigan called on the NSW government to buy the building but said the owners were currently being left to fend for themselves.
“The problem is that without unanimous approval from every owner and without clearing of the debt from the rectification costs, a sale is unlikely,” he said.
“We initially asked the NSW Government to buy the building at a discount and use it for affordable housing, but we were rebuffed.
“We then looked to the commercial sector and asked for financial assistance with the sale from the Australian Banking Association and from the NSW Government.
“However, after many months of discussions it currently looks as though we have been left to fend for ourselves.”
Some owners are receiving rent assistance from the NSW government but most are in dire financial situations.
“The NSW Government has assured Mascot Towers that its Rental Accommodation Package will continue pending a sale,” Mr Deigan said.
“Unfortunately, those payments just aren’t enough. They don’t even scratch the sides given the enormous rise in loan repayments and the loss of value in homes.
“When this all started, we asked the government for a low-interest loan to fund remediation. That was denied and so we had no option but to take out a high-interest strata loan to fund the works that we were required by law to undertake. That has left us with crippling debt.”
The owners want the government’s help to pay off their multimillion dollar debt “so that we can sell the building and end this nightmare”.
Mascot Towers commenced legal action against Aland, the developers who built the neighbouring Peak Towers, in the Supreme Court last year.
The owners of Mascot Towers are seeking more than $15 million in damages from Aland, who they allege potentially damaged the building’s foundations after conducting deep excavation work.
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