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Maintenance a factor in sale

Dear Editor: I was quoted in Jane Seyd's April 11 story Judge Denies Sale of NV Complex on the court decision regarding the sale of the Cypress Gardens' complex.

Dear Editor:

I was quoted in Jane Seyd's April 11 story Judge Denies Sale of NV Complex on the court decision regarding the sale of the Cypress Gardens' complex. The article was excellent in summarizing the position, but I would like to correct figures quoted by Carlos Ruiz to give a true picture of what was offered to owners.

Owners of typical townhouses of 1,312 square feet were offered $325 per square foot ($426,400) together with up to $20,000 in compensation for improvements carried out and a discount of $30,000 on the purchase of any units in the purchaser's developments. This is considerably higher than the $350,000 quoted by Mr. Ruiz.

The owner of a typical two bedroom apartment of 952 square feet would receive $309,400 plus the other possible compensation and discount.

A further confusion is the implication that the group active in supporting a sale was in Polygon's pocket, whereas that offer is completely behind us. The petition for sale included provision for the property to be marketed internationally with the owners to decide on the best offer received. We did, in fact, receive support of 62.9 per cent of owners to apply for sale and, although the judgement was incorrect in referring to less than one-third of owners, we cannot appeal due to the onerous cost of doing so.

Those who oppose the sale are oblivious to the future costs of maintaining a 50-year-old property with significant defects that was built to rental standards rather than for owner-occupier standards back in 1962.

I was treasurer for the complex for 20 months, I am an exbanker with experience of financing developments in Vancouver and I feel that I have a good grasp of the reality of the deterioration in Cypress Gardens. There are also elderly people and single parents who wish to sell as they will be unable to pay increased maintenance to cover unforeseen repair costs.

The North Shore is a very expensive housing area and if the only way to afford to live here is to buy a run-down property that will cost a lot of money to maintain, then I suggest there are thousands of people in many complexes who are in denial or are postponing the inevitable need to look for something newer and in better repair. This is hard to swallow, but is a fact in this economy.

Peter G. King North Vancouver

(Editor's note: The $350,000 figure quoted in the story was provided by two sources. However, letters received by the North Shore News show that at least some owners were offered more than $350,000.)