There’s a car park where our apartment is supposed to be

Melanie and Andrew Bowring thought they had bought a ground-floor property in Lane Cove 18 months ago. But it was ‘deleted’ from the plan.

ISN’T that a car park where our courtyard is meant to be?

That was the question Melanie and Andrew Bowring were left asking in January this year as they peered into the building site of the Lane Cove unit complex they had bought into off the plan more than 18 months earlier.

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They were about to discover the developers, Landmark Group Australia Pty Limited and Mindarie Street Pty Limited, had deleted their ground-floor apartment from the project without telling them.

What they were hoping for: An artist’s impression of the Mindarie St development in Lane Cove.

The Bowrings’ lifesavings had been tied up for nothing — in June, 2012, the couple signed a contract and paid a 5 per cent deposit of $37,500 on the unit, priced at $750,000.

Then, in September last year, they paid nearly $30,000 in stamp duty.

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“We feel like they have taken our dreams away from us, as well as any chance of getting into the Sydney property market,” Mrs Bowring told me.

When they asked what was going on, lawyers for the ­developer Arash Tavakoli said that, due to “poor amenity for the lot” such as “south-facing windows” and “no cross-ventilation” as well as “health risks to occupants” — defined as mould — “our client in discussion with our client’s consultants, considered that the area is best used for car ­spaces and storage bays”.

“Our client considered it necessary to vary the development consent to omit the subject lot,” the lawyers added.

The Bowrings have rejected the offer of a refund — or a new apartment, which they say is priced $230,000 higher than what they’d originally agreed to pay. Picture: Damian Shaw.

The developer invoked a “special condition” in the contract which said “the number and configuration of the lots in the strata scheme may change” and “the purchaser may not make any claim, ­objection or requisition”.

The lawyers said Mr Tav-akoli was “prepared to ­refund” the deposit, interest and legal costs.

But that is not acceptable to the Bowrings. Nor is a later offer of a different three bedroom unit, which they say is nearly $230,000 more than the omitted apartment.

“We don’t want to be greedy ... we just want what is fair,” Mrs Bowring said.

Mr Tavakoli has not ­responded to requests for comment. His lawyers said the press “is not the appropriate forum for this discussion ... ­negotiations to resolve this matter are currently being conducted by each party’s lawyers. Our client made an offer to Mr and Mrs Bowring and is awaiting their counter offer”.

“We are instructed that our client denies Mr and Mrs Bowring’s account of events.”

LOTS OF FRONT BUT LITTLE REALITY TO BACK IT UP

GIVEN the Bowrings’ experience, it’s ironic that there is little to be found at the head office of the Landmark Group.

Developer Arash Tavakoli.

Public Defender went to its listed office, Suite 2201 of Westfield Tower Two, Bondi Junction, seeking answers. But there were no answers — and no office.

It was a “virtual office” — for as little as $232 per month Servcorp provides clients with a “prestigious corporate address for your business cards” and a shared receptionist who answers the phone in the company name.

The receptionist called Landmark director Arash Tavakoli (pictured) and told him I was there. The receptionist asked for my card and said Mr Tavakoli wasn’t “in the suburb today”.