Cheung Kong Holdings (0001) says up to 80 percent of those buying units at its Apex Horizon Hotel have signed formal sales contracts despite the swirl of controversy that continues to hound the project. Even though the deadline for signing deals is this afternoon, a majority of the buyers had opted to complete the formalities early, the developer said.
At the same time, it was learned that Cheung Kong-recommended law firms that handled transactions required buyers to sign a list of disclaimers.
Among the disclaimers is one requiring buyers to forfeit their right to claim compensation should a violation by Cheung Kong of the hotel ordinance occur that may result in the government seizing the property.
Violations by other unit owners may also have an impact. Buyers were warned that the hotel license will expire in 2018 and, if not renewed, the government also has the right to seize the property.
Buyers also have to be prepared to possibly pay a "large sum for management fee and miscellaneous fees."
Due to the high risks involved, many law firms told buyers they will not handle the transactions if they do not sign the disclaimers. In addition, unit owners will also have to sign a hotel operation agreement, which absolves the operator of any liability.
According to the agreement, the operator can charge up to 10 percent of the operation as expense and has full discretion for the leasing of the units.
Meanwhile, one of the two buyers who sought help from police said she had contacted more than 10 buyers to make the report, but only four showed up.
