Irate investor to developer: 'Give back my Dh3.27 million'
Investor demands money back on four units at Laguna Tower after project suffers huge delay, says he'll take developer to court
DUBAI: An irate investor is demanding Dh3.27 million — plus interest — he had invested in four units at Laguna Tower building in Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT).
Abbas Liyakatali Datoo, a Dubai investment analyst, said he's had enough of waiting for his units to be ready in the tower, which are more than three years overdue. "We have run out of patience and calling for the termination of our agreement," he said, citing a clause in the sales deal allowing either buyer or seller to terminate it.
Datoo bought four units at the Laguna Tower in JLT on February 26, 2007. The project was supposed to be completed on October 1, 2007. But the schedule was delayed for one year and then for an additional two years.
"They have been sending us project updates with wrong information," said Datoo, adding he was frustrated by false hopes the developer had been giving him.
"We are now in March 2012, a delay of three-and-a-half years," said Datoo, who has threatened to take the developer to court.
Datoo showed XPRESS a response from the company citing "force majeure" provisions in the sales contract, which in effect allows the developer to delay the project for up to three years.
A company spokesperson of the Kuwait-based developer said they will start the handover of units by end of the second quarter of 2012. "It will be a phased hand-over that will take three to four months," said a company spokesperson.
The official cited a number of factors that caused handover delays. "Unfortunately, many of these [factors] were outside our control and related to infrastructure in JLT. We also faced challenges resulting from the knock-on effect some of our contractors suffered after the economic crisis."
Asked whether they will offer compensation to investors, the spokesperson said: "Unfortunately, IFA HR has not received any compensation for the building delays and therefore cannot pass this along to our clients."
Datoo said, however: "We are no longer interested in these units as they have been delayed by leaps and bounds." He cited a clause (13.1) in the sale agreement which states that if the building falls under force majeure, either the seller or the buyer may terminate the agreement by a written notice to the other party.
