desm52 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 some good news for the Obel finally. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/business-news/top-legal-firm-set-to-move-into-obel-15145468.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJ1977 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 some good news for the Obel finally. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/business-news/top-legal-firm-set-to-move-into-obel-15145468.html Kevin Magee at the BBC reported this months ago. Did Ms Weir ask any of the following: How long is the lease and when can they break? What are A&O paying psf? What rent free period have they negotiated? Are Karl contributing to fit out costs/ any other inducements? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigooner Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 1 bed flat listed today at £95k http://www.propertynews.com/Property/Belfast/ECSECS25467/1-02-Obel/176920942/Page1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2buyornot2buy Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 On the first floor. 95K. I'll pass. I'd probably pass at half that. The changes in Housing Benefit single person allowance will cause these one bed rental prices to drop like a lead balloon. Much lower yield on these investments come 2012. Still there’s always co-ownership to help bail the developer out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigooner Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 On the first floor. 95K. I'll pass. I'd probably pass at half that. The changes in Housing Benefit single person allowance will cause these one bed rental prices to drop like a lead balloon. Much lower yield on these investments come 2012. Still there’s always co-ownership to help bail the developer out. 95k must be near what the 1bed flats were offered for off plan i think.but then again, off plan they were going to be a higher spec with central heating and decent kitchens, not to mention a good finish on the outside without that awful cladding. and before most of it is given to social housing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2buyornot2buy Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 95k must be near what the 1bed flats were offered for off plan i think.but then again, off plan they were going to be a higher spec with central heating and decent kitchens, not to mention a good finish on the outside without that awful cladding. and before most of it is given to social housing. I don't know. I think the first phase 2 beds went for that price. Could be wrong but I remember people flip them on gumtree right after the first release. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJ1977 Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 BoSI have taken out the Obel. Kevin Magee had details on Radio Ulstet just now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigooner Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 BoSI have taken out the Obel. Kevin Magee had details on Radio Ulstet just now. Obel on BBC news http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-20561118 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2buyornot2buy Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Social housing. Coming to a young professional city centre apartment complex near you. Allen & overy meets shameless. How's that for contrast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotoflight Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Social housing. Coming to a young professional city centre apartment complex near you. Allen & overy meets shameless. How's that for contrast. Very Allone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sophia Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Saw tonight on tv and thought of you guys! Remember that girl who posted here a while back who was renting an apartment in the Obel, and was ranting and raving about how great it was. Maybe she is bankrupt now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJ1977 Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Social housing. Coming to a young professional city centre apartment complex near you. Allen & overy meets shameless. How's that for contrast. To be fair I'm cheek-by-jowl with the Curzon development which Clanmil bought and it's been no bother at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bewildering Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I now live in the US and only visit NI on occasions since I first left in 93. After seeing these buildings I have a simple question. Will there be an criminal investigation into how these high rise apartment blocks were given planning permission? Bribes must have been given at some point to get permission to build these monstrosities. They are so ugly. And who aspires to live in an apartment? Can anyone enlighten me on how, or why they were built. Was there a big discussion at the time before they were built? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest_Belfast Fubar_* Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 (edited) I now live in the US and only visit NI on occasions since I first left in 93. After seeing these buildings I have a simple question. Will there be an criminal investigation into how these high rise apartment blocks were given planning permission? Bribes must have been given at some point to get permission to build these monstrosities. They are so ugly. And who aspires to live in an apartment? Can anyone enlighten me on how, or why they were built. Was there a big discussion at the time before they were built? I completely agree with this. They were never right for Belfast, and that horrific Obel will stand as an ugly monument to a disgusting boom for ever. I would love to see planners get justice. You only need to drive round the countryside a few miles before seeing a massive, sprawling, out-of-character home with orange crazy paving walls and turrets. How the hell did they get planning when going down the correct route means you end up with a fairly normal house? Backhanders. I remember when i was mates with a developer back around early 2000s, and he got planning for far too many houses on a site in the west. We passed a house with a new sports car outside and I commented on it. He said it was a present. The planner lived there. Edited December 1, 2012 by Belfast Fubar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJ1977 Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 (edited) Bad planning decisions in NI usually have more mundane reasons than straight up corruption. Anyhoo someone in the Obel is still trying to flog a 2 bed for £185k for which you could get a semi with a garden in Stranmillis. I also noticed that in Kevin Magee's Newsline report he said about a third of the flats were the subject of disputes concerning completion. To my knowledge there have been no specific performance cases brought but that is likely to change with the bank now firmly in the driving seat. Edited December 1, 2012 by PJ1977 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJ1977 Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 The girl Sophia is referring to was fortunately for her a tenant rather than an owner in the block. She also mentioned that she was by chance renting Apt that belonged to the actual developer. She did certainly post about how much she enjoyed living there for handiness and views but didn't like the electric heating as the heaters were marking the walls - she outlined how the foreman was going to repaint the walls for her. The point in the BBC report outlining how approx 1/3rd had been purchased, 1/3 were under contract dispute and 1/3rd unsold interested me also. If I was an owner I'd be concerned and making enquiries re what are the ramifications for the Management Company pertaining to the block that they are now shareholders in. If only 1/3 are owned, assuming all owners pay their Management Charge on time (many often don't) then that's obviously only 1/3 of the Management Charge coming in. It will have been the responsibility of the developer to pay the Management Charge to cover the remaining unsold units, to ensure that block Buildings Insurance, Lift Insurance, communal cleaning, communal electricity, window cleaning etc etc all gets paid... As an owner I'd be checking that all payments for unsold Apts have been paid up to date so far and will continue to be made until they are eventually sold. Due to the number of currently under dispute/unsold Apts the total charges will be quite alot... I'd also be querying as to who is paying them.. In the cases that Fernhill (College Court Central) won against buyers who failed to complete their contracts, the purchaser also had to pay the Management Charges that the developer had had to pay. It will also be interesting to see who will be taking/funding the cases against those in contract dispute, as the BoSI loans have been sold by Lloyds - maybe PJ1977 can enlighten.. I would presume so many are under dispute due to contracted purchasers being unhappy with finish eg no Phoenix Gas and issues over imposed kitchen selections etc, plus no doubt for some, their financial situation is not what it was when signing up for the Apt. I remember a poster ages ago, I think it was Ulidia stating that he knew someone who had maxed out 3 credit cards so they could put a deposit down for a unit in the block.... I'm not 100% certain that these loans have been sold. It can be very difficult to tell unless you're a potential buyer who gets to see the full schedule. Co-Star sonetimes gets a few details such as reporting that a loan secured on Ciaran Murdock's Vancouver Quarter in Kings Lynn was sold as part of Lloyds Project Harrogate. It can otherwise be hard to tell because the new owner doesn't need to re-register the mortgage, they only have to register fresh security. For example we only know John Miskelly is in Nama because it registered a charge on Applecroft Investments bank account in June, similarly we can tell that BoI have sold at least one of the loans made to Andrew Creighton's Hazelhaw Properties because KW UK Loan Partners (aka Kennedy Wilson) registered a charge on a bank account also in June. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul65 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 BoSI have taken out the Obel. Kevin Magee had details on Radio Ulstet just now. When I heard the news for some reason this advert from their marketing sprung to mind ... Obel Marketing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigooner Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 When I heard the news for some reason this advert from their marketing sprung to mind ... Obel Marketing It's a shame the finished product looks nothing like what it was meant to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotoflight Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Landmark Belfast tower block Obel enters administration http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/landmark-belfast-tower-block-obel-enters-administration-16245637.html From a beacon of new city to white elephant Is this the strongest symbol yet of boom to bust? In 2005 when the luxury £75m Obel development was launched the property market was soaring to new heights. Belfast’s new 28-storey tower was set to transform the face of the city’s waterfront. A one-bedroom studio in the 85m high building would cost £90,000 and a penthouse £475,000. It had the most expensive per-square-foot average price in the city and wanted to offer people the chance to live, work and play in a rejuvenated capital. Buyers wanting to own a piece of the landmark snapped up apartments within two days — before construction began. By 2007, as the market boomed, so did the prices at the Obel, with the studio apartments hitting £160,000. Penthouses were snapped up for a whopping £725,000. In 2008 it emerged the developers, Karl Properties, bought out their venture partners. As tough times loomed the £160,000 ‘studio' flats were sold as “ideal for first-time buyers”. When the property bubble burst in 2009 so did prices. In April 2012 a one-bedroom flat was advertised at £87,500. It was nominated as one of the UK’s worst designed buildings and labelled as Belfast’s “tallest white elephant”. In 2011 the owners, Donegall Quay Ltd, revealed that £4m had been lost off its original £54m valuation in 2009. In April 2011 only around 100 apartments were understood to be occupied, while much of its office space remains empty. Then it was announced that international law company Allen & Overy would occupy all of its available office accommodation. But debts still rose. The Obel was to become a beacon for the new city. Now it appears that beacon has dimmed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bewildering Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 It's a shame the finished product looks nothing like what it was meant to "An Obelisk set in old belfast" "We encourage people to live with their head in the clouds" Wow, just amazing they felt this was right for Belfast. I dearly want to see a public inquiry into planning practices in Northern Ireland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastVI Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 . I dearly want to see a public inquiry into planning practices in Northern Ireland. As a developer so would I. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bewildering Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 As a developer so would I. As you are a developer, can you answer a couple of questions. Is getting planning permission in Northern Ireland a transparent process? For example, can you obtain the minutes for any meeting that decides permits? Is the process of deciding planning permission separated from the politicians? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelfastVI Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 As you are a developer, can you answer a couple of questions. Is getting planning permission in Northern Ireland a transparent process? For example, can you obtain the minutes for any meeting that decides permits? Is the process of deciding planning permission separated from the politicians? You can get a copy of all respondents to an application. The process here is about the planning service consulting various bodies. All their responses are in writing and you go about ticking these off or challenging them. Minutes of internal meetings will not be displayed on the file. However, a meeting with the applicants or objectors will be. The planners only make a recommendation. All decisions are made by politicians. The planning recommendation is forwarded to a council meeting where the politicians (normally a planning committee accept/defer or return) In the future the whole planning system will be transferred completely to the control of the various councils. This is the same as the rest of the UK. The developers are dreading this as most of our politicians have been little more than professional objectors. (I once brought one to a meeting to get over an invisible road block. He performed well. I was later told by the planning officer that my politician had previously lodged an objection to that very application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bewildering Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 You can get a copy of all respondents to an application. The process here is about the planning service consulting various bodies. All their responses are in writing and you go about ticking these off or challenging them. Minutes of internal meetings will not be displayed on the file. However, a meeting with the applicants or objectors will be. The planners only make a recommendation. All decisions are made by politicians. The planning recommendation is forwarded to a council meeting where the politicians (normally a planning committee accept/defer or return) In the future the whole planning system will be transferred completely to the control of the various councils. This is the same as the rest of the UK. The developers are dreading this as most of our politicians have been little more than professional objectors. (I once brought one to a meeting to get over an invisible road block. He performed well. I was later told by the planning officer that my politician had previously lodged an objection to that very application. Thanks for the information. It sounds like a recipe for corruption. But I guess any system will be imperfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2buyornot2buy Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 So the BTW staff member wants to bail out of the Obel without a loss. Maybe you could tell us how much was paid for this unit PJ? It always amuses me seeing the bit below on a property ad Please Note: Under the terms and conditions of the Estate Agency Act 1979, we are obliged to inform that 4-02 Obel, Belfast, belongs to a member of staff or a family member within BTWShiells.If I'm not mistaken members of BTW bought in Obel, Custom House, Arc, The Bakery and several other new developments are peak. So no vested interest there in saying prices have bottomed out then. How anyone could take advice from these financial disasters... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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