Sydney dad Anthony Najafian facing financial ruin after Mascot Towers apartment block fiasco

A father who bought a one-bedroom apartment in a prime Sydney location will lose $450,000 on the potential sale of his home.

Like the 132 other owners of the failed Mascot Towers apartment complex, Anthony Najafian is in financial ruin due to his 2015 purchase.

More than four years after residents of the creaky and uninhabitable block in Sydney’s south were evacuated over safety concerns, the government is trying to broker a deal that would allow owners to sell their individual apartments to a commercial consortium.

However, because Mr. Najafian purchased his unit as an investment, he is not eligible for government assistance.

“If we manage to sell, I would get about €133,000 of what should be an $800,000 apartment based on today’s value,” he said.

The potential sale would leave his family with a remaining mortgage of about $450,000.

“We are just looking for just and fair relief. We want everyone to be taken care of equally, we (the owners’ investors and residents) have all suffered, and we want to move on as well.”

Mr Najafian was the first resident to move into Mascot Towers before he and his wife moved to another apartment in 2015.

They lived in the building briefly in 2018, but because it was rented out at the time of the evacuation, they are classified as investors and not as owner-occupiers.

Investors, such as owner-occupiers, will be told how much they will receive for the sale of their apartment on February 19.

From then on, they have until March 15 to decide whether to accept that offer.

But unlike owner-occupiers who will receive government support and have their mortgages forgiven, investors must negotiate with the banks.

Investors, such as owner-occupiers, will be told how much they will receive for the sale of their apartment on February 19

Single mother of three, Holly, also faces a similar scenario. She bought her one-bedroom apartment in 2009, but had to rent it out in 2011 due to financial reasons.

“I was honestly very happy to have it, but I realized quite quickly that it is very expensive to live on your own,” she said.

While she agrees that she was fortunate to “have a roof over my head” in the aftermath of the evacuation, she says both the owners and investors have since been “put through the wringer.”

“I had no support, the bank supported me and I had to get the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) involved,” Holly said.

“As of today, I can’t even officially divorce my partner because as far as separating assets goes, if you have half a million dollars in debt, no one wants to own it.”

Holly says that while she could get around $133,000 from the sale, she would still have a $400,000 mortgage that would leave her “financially devastated”.

She would also have to sell the second apartment she owns with her partner, which she bought by remortgaging her Mascot Towers property in the months before the evacuation.

“That puts us in the rental market. To be honest, I’m too scared to even think that far ahead. I guess I hope something can change between now.”

More than four years after residents of the creaky and uninhabitable block in Sydney’s south were evacuated over safety concerns, the government is trying to strike a deal that would allow owners to sell their individual apartments to a commercial consortium.

Mr Najafian says he is grateful for the advocacy done by NSW Construction Commissioner David Chandler – who is leading the deal – but he is calling on the government to get the job done.

The father-of-one says the offer to sell his former home will only continue his family’s financial pain.

“He has actually met with us and he wants to do the right thing, but I don’t think the funding is there to be able to support everyone equally to get this nightmare over and not do that,” he said.

“Everyone is sick, both mentally and physically. We are exhausted.”

The NSW Department of Customer Service was contacted for comment but was reluctant to respond to Fair Trading Minister Anoulack Chanthivong’s office.