HKR relaxes deadline as Discovery Park buyers on verge of default

About 400 flat-buyers at the Discovery Park phase three development in Tsuen Wan are on the verge of defaulting after failing to complete their purchases by yesterday's deadline.

However, in view of the large number of flat-buyers who decided not to complete purchases, the project's developer - HKR International - appears to have softened its stance and is not immediately making the customers forfeit their deposits.

The number of uncommitted buyers represented about 35 per cent of the 1,112 units in phase three. Analysts had previously predicted that between 10 and 20 per cent of buyers would default.

An HKR spokesman said it would allow those uncommitted buyers more time to complete the deals but it did not fix a new time limit.

Those buyers would be charged interest on the unpaid balance of flat prices as a penalty and the interest rate would be similar to market mortgage rates, he said.

The HKR spokesman said the extension for these flat-buyers to complete the purchases would be flexible and subject to individual cases, adding that HKR had to talk with its partner New World Development before finalising how to deal with defaults.