Heran Group stings off-plan apartment buyers 40 per cent extra in Midwater on Gold Coast

Buyers in a massive beachfront apartment tower have been told they will need to pay nearly 40 per cent above their original purchase price, leaving some scrambling to find an extra $2m just to move in.

Buyers in a massive beachfront apartment tower have been told they will need to pay almost 40 per cent more than they signed on for – with some forced to cough up an extra $2m just to move in.

Off-plan buyers in the troubled Midwater tower on the Gold Coast were told they have until this Friday to agree to a 37.5 per cent hike, with the developer claiming the project is “not commercially viable or practical” without it.

Developer Heran Group said it would invoke sunset clauses and terminate contracts for those who did not agree.

Heran stands to take in tens of millions more on the apartment if they cancel old contracts and resell at 2025 prices – a move which isentirely legal under Queensland law.

Buyers of the 119 apartments have signed up for between $1m and $8m since 2020, meaning a 37.5 per cent hike would see them having to find anywhere between $375,000 and $3m on top of their initial prices.

Purchasers were initially told they’d be able to move in at the end of 2023, but repeated delays mean their contracts are approaching “sunset dates”, legally allowing them to be scrapped if construction has not been completed.

The Midwater building site at Main Beach. Picture Glenn Hampson

An artist’s impression of the completed tower.

In letters via lawyer David Krishnan, buyers were told economic conditions and legal problems with the builder, Tomkins Commercial, had caused costs to spiral beyond the developer’s control.

It said the project was now unlikely to be completed until October 2026, well past the sunset date for most of the pre-sale contracts.

The letters also gave buyers part of a valuer’s report which showed the value of their apartments had risen by more than 60 per cent – a claim buyers have rejected.

“Everyone’s laughing, how did they get that?” said one buyer, adding that he’d spoken to 10 other buyers who planned to reject the developer’s offer.

“It’s not hard to have a look at what’s selling – apartments are selling well but not that high.”

A nondisclosure clause in the buyers’ contracts has meant many do not want their names published.

As well as the hiked price tags, buyers are concerned about the build quality of the project, which has been left open to the elements since the dispute with the builder exploded last year.

Those disputes are still making their way through court.

Buyers in the Midwater Main Beach project are unhappy with how the development has progressed. Picture: Glenn Hampson

Many of the buyers sold existing properties years ago after signing their contracts, missing out on three years of property gains, with many also shelling out for rent.

Some have retired since signing up and have no opportunity to make up for any lost money.

“There are some people who have retired and are coming from Melbourne and other cities and this is their retirement dream,” the buyer said.

“They are absolutely gutted.”

Midwater’s developer York Property – a subsidiary of Heran Group – has spent the past year refusing to rule out cancelling existing contracts.

Heran did not respond to questions on the matter this week.