23 November 2010

Intriguing tactics for getting into Gungahlin land release?

| johnboy
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[First filed: Nov 19, 2010 @ 11:23]

the metro surprise [Image courtesy of the Metro Constructions website]

We’ve had the below come in from a source, we are told it was up on Facebook but is now inaccessible. I sent an email to the address asking if they were still looking for people. It didn’t bounce, but we’ve not yet had a reply.

Quick cash offer

If Metro Constructions choose to make a statement we’ll share it in full.

UPDATE: We’ve had this reply:

Hi John,

Thanks for your reply but on this occasion due to the response and a few problems with other parties, we decided not to further participate in the release.

Thanks again,
Alex.

FURTHER UPDATE: Metro Constructions has now issued a media statement.

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Jamie Wheeler8:38 am 23 Nov 10

The picture above must be capturing the moment when interest rates rise again. The family are realizing how screwed they are after buying an overpriced house and land package in Canberra at the top of the market. Dad will be working until he’s 75 to pay off the mortgage. Hopefully he keeps his overpaid APS job during all the budget cuts necessary to reign in the ballooning deficit.

The popcorn may well be dinner to feed the whole family until the foreclosure. The builder and his cartel on the other hand will be retired at 45 and enjoying cruises on the Mediterranean.

Great to be on the receiving end of all the market manipulation aimed at screwing every last dollar out of average Joe.

Clown Killer7:36 am 23 Nov 10

To be honest I’m not so much concerned with the fact that Metro are trying to get around the system – that’s a natural commercial response to shitty Government policy. What really concerns me is when that big corporations try too hard to look like a credidible player in the social media – It’s like listening to your granny jive talkin’. Seriously cringe-worthy.

georgesgenitals7:12 am 23 Nov 10

JasonW1956 said :

Take the money while you can!! The LDA is going to release 17,000 over the next few years anyway and I’m getting out before prices crash!!!

I can’t believe how the LDA stuffed up the all the emails and land release yesterday. They should leave the land development to private developers that know what their doing. Despite LDA’s best efforts and ridiculous profits, land prices seem to be through the roof. How is that a free market? It seems the only ones getting rich are the Government who have a “monopoly” over the market while the both builders and home buyers are obviously finding it hard.

Having just built, it was so much stress and I’d never do it again. The most helpful person throughout the whole process was my builder. You need to get a builder anyway so your best off getting a qualified professional to deal with the whole thing. The Government don’t offer any support after they take your money, stamp duty, ect.

Prices in Canberra won’t crash. There’s lots of demand, and not enough builders to construct dwellings on that amount of new land anyway. Prices will stop increasing, though, for a while.

Letting the developers take care of everything brings with it the disasters you see in some parts of Gungers, such as tiny streets you can’t garbage trucks in to.

As for your builder being the most helpful, that’s the way it should be. This (and most) local governments are actually pretty poor at genuinely planning and executing development.

That media release contains some top-shelf weaselling. Somehow I doubt that the “won’t someone think of the developers!” line is going to garner them much sympathy.

DermottBanana6:24 pm 21 Nov 10

affordable said :

land ballots are supposed to give every individual, family, builder or investor a chance to buy a very scarce item in Canberra, LAND

Actually, land ballots are a way of the government maintaining an artificially high price for something. It’s nothing to do with fairness and equity.
And anyway, since when do we buy things based on having a fair chance? What an absurd idea.
Do you buy your groceries based in a system where you can buy one loaf of bread and cannot buy a second until all those who want one have got one?

Gungahlin Al said :

Bulk sales of land to single builders = cookie cutter suburbs = yuk + locks genuine families out of buying + prevents purchase of land then designing a home to suit the buyer and site.

Bingo.

Skidbladnir said :

Fuck you Barr.
Fuck you and your shitty system of festering corruption from being in bed with developers generous profit sharing with community-minded private interests.

+1

It may not be illegal, but it’s certainly corrupt.

Take the money while you can!! The LDA is going to release 17,000 over the next few years anyway and I’m getting out before prices crash!!!

I can’t believe how the LDA stuffed up the all the emails and land release yesterday. They should leave the land development to private developers that know what their doing. Despite LDA’s best efforts and ridiculous profits, land prices seem to be through the roof. How is that a free market? It seems the only ones getting rich are the Government who have a “monopoly” over the market while the both builders and home buyers are obviously finding it hard.

Having just built, it was so much stress and I’d never do it again. The most helpful person throughout the whole process was my builder. You need to get a builder anyway so your best off getting a qualified professional to deal with the whole thing. The Government don’t offer any support after they take your money, stamp duty, ect.

dermonttbanana

it is Ok to pay someone to do your menial chores, but 50 people to cut your hair or clean your shoes at the same time is a bit much, were you not paying $5,000 previously.
land ballots are supposed to give every individual, family, builder or investor a chance to buy a very scarce item in Canberra, LAND , as for helping people out with difficulties who have land is a bit like the motor finance wizard kindly helping people with no income.
the whole story highlights the fact that the land rent scheme is a total failure, and open to abuse ( again ) as one entity previously brought 25 blocks in five names, is this the first time for Metro ?
it appears most land sales by the LDA are land rent, up to 75% in some areas, how is ACT treasury going, more taxes will be needed to pay for this rort

DermottBanana said :

I would have thought that in a modern market economy, paying someone a good slab of cash to do something you’d prefer not to do yourself is perfectly acceptable.
I pay people to cut my hair, make my food, stay sober on New Years Eve and drive me home, or fly me to distant cities.
Why would “queue up somewhere boring” or “attend boring seminars/information sessions” be excluded? Especially when I can spend my time doing something more enjoyable, like, ummm, just about anything.

The thing is, theyre not hiring one person to do that for them, theyre trying to hire several. It would be like going to a department store with a 90% off sale but ‘limit of 1 per customer’ and offering people money to go buy one for you to cheat the system.

What I cant understand, is if there are laws here to prevent developers from buying the land in the first place, then why cant those same laws be used if/when the multiple purchases are discovered? Theres only so long they could hide the fact that the blocks are owned/developed by Metro Contructions.

Clearly if they’re offering $1k to individuals merely for being knowingly exploited for their names, there’s got to be good money in it and the risk of being caught is worth enough profit for commercial interests.

Fuck you Barr.
Fuck you and your shitty system of festering corruption from being in bed with developers generous profit sharing with community-minded private interests.

S4anta said :

Maybe this didnt work out as planned… Thought i knew ’em from somewhere.

Mysteriously a week after the land ballot, dozens of people experience ‘difficulty’ with their land rent blocks, and all sign their leases over to a particular company which just so happens to offer that service. lmao

DermottBanana said :

So a company is prepared to pay someone to act on their behalf?
I thought that was the basis of employment.

I didn’t know that companies could ’employ’ people for the purpose of using their identity. Interesting..

DermottBanana said :

Chaz said :

land release should be for people wanting to purchase their home, not for developers to get as much land as they can and build townhouse after townhouse for crazy prices

Chaz,
I would have thought that in a modern market economy, paying someone a good slab of cash to do something you’d prefer not to do yourself is perfectly acceptable.
I pay people to cut my hair, make my food, stay sober on New Years Eve and drive me home, or fly me to distant cities.
Why would “queue up somewhere boring” or “attend boring seminars/information sessions” be excluded? Especially when I can spend my time doing something more enjoyable, like, ummm, just about anything.

“free market is perfect” theory is the same as “communism is perfect” theory. Doesn’t work so well in practice.

When different actors (building companies, versus home owners) have vastly different access to information and political influence, and vastly different resources, such that one group (building companies) can pretty much collude with other companies and/or government, and when government is already heavily regulating the market, then “free market” isn’t really so free anymore and really just exists to line the pockets of the rich and powerful.

Christ, that’s the ugliest family I’ve even seen.

Gungahlin Al2:31 pm 19 Nov 10

DermottBanana said :

Chaz said :

land release should be for people wanting to purchase their home, not for developers to get as much land as they can and build townhouse after townhouse for crazy prices

Chaz,
I would have thought that in a modern market economy, paying someone a good slab of cash to do something you’d prefer not to do yourself is perfectly acceptable.
I pay people to cut my hair, make my food, stay sober on New Years Eve and drive me home, or fly me to distant cities.
Why would “queue up somewhere boring” or “attend boring seminars/information sessions” be excluded? Especially when I can spend my time doing something more enjoyable, like, ummm, just about anything.

I think you are missing the point of Chaz’s post, with which I agree.

Bulk sales of land to single builders = cookie cutter suburbs = yuk + locks genuine families out of buying + prevents purchase of land then designing a home to suit the buyer and site.

Falls on deaf ears every time I raise this with the Govt/LDA. Could that have anything to do with the Govt getting stacks more stamp duty for house and land sales as opposed to just stamp duty on the land? Nah – surely not?

I cackled loudly at the court ruling against this earlier this week. You’ve been warned – if you are buying a house, no matter what – get the land on a separate contract and save yourself thousands.

Maybe this didnt work out as planned… Thought i knew ’em from somewhere.

grunge_hippy1:45 pm 19 Nov 10

damn. wished i had seen that, could do with some $$$ for a weekend on the piss in brisbane this weekend.

DermottBanana1:22 pm 19 Nov 10

Chaz said :

land release should be for people wanting to purchase their home, not for developers to get as much land as they can and build townhouse after townhouse for crazy prices

Chaz,
I would have thought that in a modern market economy, paying someone a good slab of cash to do something you’d prefer not to do yourself is perfectly acceptable.
I pay people to cut my hair, make my food, stay sober on New Years Eve and drive me home, or fly me to distant cities.
Why would “queue up somewhere boring” or “attend boring seminars/information sessions” be excluded? Especially when I can spend my time doing something more enjoyable, like, ummm, just about anything.

colourful sydney racing identity1:14 pm 19 Nov 10

‘a few problems with other parties’ what price thos ‘other parties’ represent regualtory agencies?

land release should be for people wanting to purchase their home, not for developers to get as much land as they can and build townhouse after townhouse for crazy prices

“we decided not to further participate…”

In other words – “We would have got away with it if it weren’t for you pesky kids!”

DermottBanana12:52 pm 19 Nov 10

So a company is prepared to pay someone to act on their behalf?
I thought that was the basis of employment.

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