solution

Task

How can we lead this to a win-win situation?

The scenario

Jasmine has purchased an apartment ‘off the plan’ from Marvin. Marvin is the developer of the apartments. There was also a real estate agent, Pristine Realty, involved in the negotiations and purchase. Jasmine resides on the other side of the country and bought the apartment off the plan in July 2020. She was ‘in lockdown’ throughout this time and was unable to leave her state in order to view the site or the display unit at the front of the site. Caloundra is the location of the apartment building, and the marketing literature depicts unobstructed ocean views. The apartments were advertised as having a very “high end” finish out, with marble bench tops and handmade timer joinery. Jasmine expected a very high standard of finishes and a high-quality product for the $2 million she paid. Jasmine did her last inspection of the completed apartment prior to settlement in early August 2021 and was horrified to discover that the bench tops were laminate with a marble finish and that the woodwork was all ‘timber look’ laminate. For Jasmine, this was a huge disappointment because she had high expectations. Most surprising of all, Jasmine had paid $50,000 for a beachfront apartment only to discover that another apartment building had been built on an adjacent plot, and she now had to lean out over one corner of her balcony to view the ocean. Her view was mostly into her neighbours’ living rooms. Most of her view was into her neighbour’s living areas. It also appears that her main bedroom is 30cm shorter than the floor plan in the marketing material would suggest. Jasmine has reviewed the contract that she signed, and it is stipulated that the apartment is 120 square metres. However, the completed apartment is only 118 square metres. The contract stipulates modern finishes but does not specify the quality. When Jasmine questioned Marvin about the new apartment building next door, he claimed that he had no knowledge of it when he was marketing the development. Apparently, construction had started following the sale to Jasmine ‘off the plan’. Jasmine is supposed to settle on the apartment mid-September. She is now deciding what action she should take. this happend in QLD