Buyers threaten to exit DLF's Chennai project

A significant section of buyers of an up-market residential project near Chennai being promoted by leading real estate player DLF have locked horns with the builder. Their threat: cut prices, or face exit notices.

But DLF says it "sees no problem" in completing the Rs 1,500 crore luxury township with a school, swimming pool, a club and nearly 3,500 apartments being built in three phases. The project is coming up off Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), 30 km from the city.

Nearly 400 buyers who had booked apartments in this project met at a city hotel on Sunday afternoon. They discussed the sluggish real-estate market following the global meltdown, and demanded that the company cut prices by 25 per cent and give "written assurances" on other issues.

Making a presentation to the buyers, who have formed an internet group, Ramji, a buyer, said DLF was at best willing to give an 11-per cent discount for those who had booked flats at Rs 2,800 per sq ft and 19 per cent for those who had booked flats at Rs 3,200 per sq ft. This group also includes those who are "undecided" on pulling out or not.

A poll was taken at the end of the meeting, and Ramji said of the 383 who voted, a majority of 358 buyers "want to exit from the project at any cost." The large group then split into smaller groups on how best they could ensure a 'decent exit' route from the project.

A spokesperson for DLF, when contacted, told Hindustan Times that as 75 per cent to 80 per cent of the persons who have booked flats in their 'OMR' project are actual end-users who "want to live there", "the project's viability is not affected." Stating that only a small section of "speculators" among the buyers group were now raising these issues as they do not expect to make a big profit in the current real estate scenario, the DLF spokesman said that if they wished to "exit" from the project, there "will be some penalty".

"Let them (dissident buyers) give individual exit letters and we will deal with it as per our policy. The issues raised by them have been addressed," he claimed.

"We are not unduly perturbed as most of the flats in the first two phases (about 2,000 apartments) have already been sold out," he added.