Have you ever bought a condominium or house and lot sold by a small or big real estate developer and then came some months with financial difficulty resulting to default payments and forfeiture of all your previous payments?
You still have a chance to refund your payments from the real estate developer. How? Read our story.
Last October 12, 2007 we were spending our time at SM North Edsa when 2 sales people, namely; Mr. Nesthy Vijandre and Ms. Mary Anne “Miles” P. Lequilla, approached me and my wife and offered to show the sample unit design for the Condominiums at Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2 that they were selling. They showed us their display unit and we were delighted to see their showroom.
You still have a chance to refund your payments from the real estate developer. How? Read our story.
Last October 12, 2007 we were spending our time at SM North Edsa when 2 sales people, namely; Mr. Nesthy Vijandre and Ms. Mary Anne “Miles” P. Lequilla, approached me and my wife and offered to show the sample unit design for the Condominiums at Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2 that they were selling. They showed us their display unit and we were delighted to see their showroom.
We were also amazed that Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2 requires ZERO Down payment and a monthly amortization for as low as 7,395.86 in order to own a Condominium in Metro Manila. Me and my wife told ourselves, “is this too good to be true?, this sure beats renting a condo in Metro Manila” Then we went for a tripping for the actual location of the project together with Mr. Nesthy Vijandre and Ms. Mary Anne “Miles” P. Lequilla that same night.
While we were touring the Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2 we were also delighted with the many amenities of the project so that is why we were convinced that this investment would be worth it. Then as we were choosing among the available Condo units, we were discouraged when Ms. Mary Anne “Miles” Lequilla told us that when we start reserving and paying for the property, the turn over of the property would be FOUR (4) years + ONE (1) year allowance after we make the reservation.
Being the sales person that Ms. Mary Anne “Miles” Lequilla that she is, she did not give up on us, instead she offered another Condo Unit that they termed as “Re-Opened” that if we decide to buy it on that same day, it will be turned over only ONE (1) Year after the time we started paying for the “Re-Opened” Unit.
Note: Re-Opened Unit means a previously sold condo unit wherein the first buyer failed to pay for the condo unit until the end of the Contract. All payments were forfeited and the condo unit resold to a new buyer.
She further explained that it would be a wise investment since after 1 year of paying for only Php 8,635.99 and a lumpsum payment of Php 23,911.32 for the first year, the Condo unit will be turned over to us and we can have it rented for the next coming years so that it will be “SELF-LIQUIDATING” hence no more burden from us to pay for its monthly amortizations.
Me and my wife agreed to buy the Re-Opened Condo unit for that reason that its turnover will only be ONE (1) year as what Ms. Mary Anne “Miles” Lequilla verbally committed to us approximately December of 2008. So, on that very same day, my wife issued Empire East Landholdings a check worth Php 10,000 as reservation fee for the Re-Opened unit to grab the rare opportunity. The said Condo unit has the following details:
PHASE/CLUSTER: Phase 2/ Cluster 12
Floor/unit no. : 8/G
Area : 34 Sq. m.
After paying for ONE (1) year, with no default payments, me and my wife were now following up the turnover target date of the Condo unit that we paid for and we were even excited to have it renovated so that it will be rented out quickly. We called up the head office of Empire East Landholdings, Inc. and talked with Ms. Sherilyn Gachuela to know the exact date for the unit’s turn over.
Ms. Sherilyn Gachuela confirmed to us that the turn over of the unit will be roughly 3rd to 4th Quarter of 2009. We were shocked with Ms. Gachuela’s answer since we will still have to pay for another year for the “Re-Opened Unit” for another year but this time it is at Php 11,344.16. So technically, the turnover date is TWO (2) years! Another ONE (1) year of payment and waiting!
We also asked Ms. Gachuela “what if, if we decided to cancel the contract for the Condo Unit since we are already having difficulty paying for it?” her reply was, “Sad to say sir, all payments made for the Condo Unit will be forfeited.”
Me and my wife now were trapped in an ONEROUS contract wherein all things favored the land developer. Our only option now is to sell the condo unit to another buyer hoping that we can get back the money we paid for the Condo Unit. Then we started searching for a buyer of the Condo Unit until we came to offer it to one of our friends in the neighborhood which also happens to be a Real Estate Lawyer.
When we told our friend about our predicament, he suggested to look up the records with the HLURB (Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board) the target date of completion for the Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2.
He continued saying that if we’ll be able to determine the target date of completion for the project and if they are delayed, then the developer has committed an HLURB violation wherein their LICENSE TO SELL can be revoked. But we can also consider if they asked for an extension of finishing the project. He told us that we can view all their documents at the HLURB records section since these are public documents.
By doing what my friend (Real Estate Lawyer) told me, I personally went to the office of HLURB located in Visayas Ave., near the Quezon City Hall, and started investigating the public documents of Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2 project.
At the records section of the HLURB, I requested for the copy of the target date of completion for the said project, but NO RECORDS can be found. Mr. Bebot of the Records Section told me to look the Officer in Charge with the Project which is Ms. Nelda.
I also saw numerous payments of fines of Empire East Land Holdings, Inc. for NON-COMPLIANCE and DEFICIENCY IN REQUIREMENTS with the HLURB for the Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2 project while searching for the document I need.
Since I can’t find the document that I am looking for, I decided to look for the officer in charge, Ms. Nelda, with Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2 and asked for its “target date of project completion.”
After telling Ms. Nelda all the details of our problem with Empire East Land Holdings, Inc., she confirmed that the reason why there are no documents showing the “target date of project completion” is because they have NO LICENSE TO SELL for the project Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2.
While we were touring the Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2 we were also delighted with the many amenities of the project so that is why we were convinced that this investment would be worth it. Then as we were choosing among the available Condo units, we were discouraged when Ms. Mary Anne “Miles” Lequilla told us that when we start reserving and paying for the property, the turn over of the property would be FOUR (4) years + ONE (1) year allowance after we make the reservation.
Being the sales person that Ms. Mary Anne “Miles” Lequilla that she is, she did not give up on us, instead she offered another Condo Unit that they termed as “Re-Opened” that if we decide to buy it on that same day, it will be turned over only ONE (1) Year after the time we started paying for the “Re-Opened” Unit.
Note: Re-Opened Unit means a previously sold condo unit wherein the first buyer failed to pay for the condo unit until the end of the Contract. All payments were forfeited and the condo unit resold to a new buyer.
She further explained that it would be a wise investment since after 1 year of paying for only Php 8,635.99 and a lumpsum payment of Php 23,911.32 for the first year, the Condo unit will be turned over to us and we can have it rented for the next coming years so that it will be “SELF-LIQUIDATING” hence no more burden from us to pay for its monthly amortizations.
Me and my wife agreed to buy the Re-Opened Condo unit for that reason that its turnover will only be ONE (1) year as what Ms. Mary Anne “Miles” Lequilla verbally committed to us approximately December of 2008. So, on that very same day, my wife issued Empire East Landholdings a check worth Php 10,000 as reservation fee for the Re-Opened unit to grab the rare opportunity. The said Condo unit has the following details:
PHASE/CLUSTER: Phase 2/ Cluster 12
Floor/unit no. : 8/G
Area : 34 Sq. m.
After paying for ONE (1) year, with no default payments, me and my wife were now following up the turnover target date of the Condo unit that we paid for and we were even excited to have it renovated so that it will be rented out quickly. We called up the head office of Empire East Landholdings, Inc. and talked with Ms. Sherilyn Gachuela to know the exact date for the unit’s turn over.
Ms. Sherilyn Gachuela confirmed to us that the turn over of the unit will be roughly 3rd to 4th Quarter of 2009. We were shocked with Ms. Gachuela’s answer since we will still have to pay for another year for the “Re-Opened Unit” for another year but this time it is at Php 11,344.16. So technically, the turnover date is TWO (2) years! Another ONE (1) year of payment and waiting!
We also asked Ms. Gachuela “what if, if we decided to cancel the contract for the Condo Unit since we are already having difficulty paying for it?” her reply was, “Sad to say sir, all payments made for the Condo Unit will be forfeited.”
Me and my wife now were trapped in an ONEROUS contract wherein all things favored the land developer. Our only option now is to sell the condo unit to another buyer hoping that we can get back the money we paid for the Condo Unit. Then we started searching for a buyer of the Condo Unit until we came to offer it to one of our friends in the neighborhood which also happens to be a Real Estate Lawyer.
When we told our friend about our predicament, he suggested to look up the records with the HLURB (Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board) the target date of completion for the Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2.
He continued saying that if we’ll be able to determine the target date of completion for the project and if they are delayed, then the developer has committed an HLURB violation wherein their LICENSE TO SELL can be revoked. But we can also consider if they asked for an extension of finishing the project. He told us that we can view all their documents at the HLURB records section since these are public documents.
By doing what my friend (Real Estate Lawyer) told me, I personally went to the office of HLURB located in Visayas Ave., near the Quezon City Hall, and started investigating the public documents of Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2 project.
At the records section of the HLURB, I requested for the copy of the target date of completion for the said project, but NO RECORDS can be found. Mr. Bebot of the Records Section told me to look the Officer in Charge with the Project which is Ms. Nelda.
I also saw numerous payments of fines of Empire East Land Holdings, Inc. for NON-COMPLIANCE and DEFICIENCY IN REQUIREMENTS with the HLURB for the Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2 project while searching for the document I need.
Since I can’t find the document that I am looking for, I decided to look for the officer in charge, Ms. Nelda, with Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2 and asked for its “target date of project completion.”
After telling Ms. Nelda all the details of our problem with Empire East Land Holdings, Inc., she confirmed that the reason why there are no documents showing the “target date of project completion” is because they have NO LICENSE TO SELL for the project Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2.
She further confirmed that the HLURB already issued A CEASE AND DESIST ORDER for Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2 because of DEFICIENCY IN REQUIREMENTS in 2007.
With these very significant findings, me and my wife decided to send Empire East Land Holdings, Inc. a demand letter through our Lawyer.
After having the demand letter received by Empire East Land Holdings, Inc. through Ms. Kristine J. Sanchez and we waited after 15 days for their reply for our demand letter.
After having the demand letter received in their office, I also humbly asked for a copy of their LICENSE TO SELL for the Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2 but their representative said “Sir, hindi po kami allowed to give a copy of our LICENSE TO SELL, ang puede lang po ibigay yung LICENSE NUMBER. Yung license number po naming for Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2 ay #09071 po.”
Right there and then, I called up Ms. Malou Bautista of HLURB Records Section and checked the LICENSE TO SELL no. 09071 and Ms. Malou Bautista confirmed that the #09071 only covers Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 1 clusters/towers 1 to 8 only, not Cambridge Village Fordham Phase 2 cluster/tower 12.
On June 5, 2009, they sent their reply through email and stated below.
Obviously stated in their reply letter, Empire East Land Holdings, Inc. does not want to refund our hard earned money and confidently states that they will forfeit all our payments.
My wife and I are just one of the victims of these REAL ESTATE Giants who can always forfeit all payments made by people like us. We can’t even sell the condo unit to another buyer since the condo unit was ILLEGALLY SOLD TO US. We thought to ourselves that even the previous owner of the unit we availed, has the right to get all his/her payments back, because it is understood that even during the time they got the same unit, it was illegally sold to him/her too.
We know for a fact that there are many other victims like us who do not know their rights when it comes to buying CONDOMINIUMS from developers offering “too good to be true” deals.
We are feeling the intensity of the financial crisis today, and with these kinds of companies who are taking advantage of their co- Filipinos the financial crisis is being intensified.
Currently, we are already filing a case against Empire East Land Holding, Inc. under PD 957. You can view the inclusions of PD 957 in this link:
http://www.hlurb.gov.ph/article/articlestatic/504/1/102/
We hope that this blog can reach a lot of people who had been victims of such abuse and we also hope that many people could be made aware of such cases.
If you are one of victims like us, pls. do share your experience in this blog. The lesson here is that before you buy any piece from a small or big real estate developer, you can verify the legality of their license to sell at the HLURB at the records section.
If these developers do not have a license to sell or certificate of registration, then we have the right for a refund of our payments. We will post the progress of our case in this blog until we have refunded our payments. Thank you for reading.
