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Push to sell, demolish Mascot Towers

Hannah RyanAAP
The Mascot Towers Owners Corporation have advised owners to sell or face millions in repair costs.
Camera IconThe Mascot Towers Owners Corporation have advised owners to sell or face millions in repair costs. Credit: AAP

The owners of apartments in Sydney’s Mascot Towers have been told they must agree to the sale of the building at a massive loss so it can be demolished, or face tens of millions of dollars in repair costs.

The owners corporation said at a Thursday evening meeting they want 75 per cent of owners to agree to sell.

They have been offered between $40 million and $42 million to sell the building to developers, who could then demolish the rebuild, owner Treacy Sheehan said.

That figure is a long way short of the $125 million owners would need to sell the building profitably.

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If they do not sell, owners are looking at paying more than $30 million - plus interest on loans - to repair the building.

Ms Sheehan, who owns a three-bedroom apartment at Mascot Towers, said that outlay would amount to $2000 a week - or more than $1.5 million over 15 years.

That payment would be on top of her mortgage and living expenses.

The owners have already spent $15 million on repairs and legal action.

The 132-unit residential block was evacuated in June 2019 after cracks were found in the primary support structure and facade masonry.

Ms Sheehan said the experience had been devastating.

“You end up being depressed,” she said.

“You’ve lost what your future was all about, financially.

“It’s debilitating because I’m at the second half of my life and I’ve got a young son.

“I’m just not going to make the same amount of money. That’s 30 years of savings.”

Ms Sheehan said the mood at Thursday’s meeting was grim, with the owners tired, stressed, and angry.

Ms Sheehan and other Mascot Towers owners have been given a rental subsidy by NSW Fair Trading, which means she has not been forced onto the street or had to live with friends.

But she has been forced to move five times in the past two years and is still paying back a mortgage on her apartment.

“We need the builders to go back in and fix it or we need government assistance,” she said.

“We just need help at the end of the day.”

For a collective sale to go ahead, the owners will need to reach agreement by the time a general meeting is scheduled in two weeks.

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