Honolulu Trump Tower-Maybe Not! Read The Contract!
July 14th, 2009 categories: For Buyers, Negotiating Contracts, Rants & Riffs
A few years ago when the Trump Tower in Waikiki was being pre-sold, a client called me with an interest buying a unit. I told him I would read the forty-two-page contract and let him know what I thought about the purchase. Here is what I told him.
1. There is no guarantee that the project would be named a “Trump Tower”.
2. The size of the units could vary buy as much as ten percent. Given this clause, I felt he should expect the unit to be 10% smaller than advertised.
3. Due to number 1 and number 2 above and the outrageous per square foot cost of the project, I recommended against buying. Thankfully, he took my advice.
Flash forward to this morning! The Honolulu Star Bulletin has a headline that reads “Trump Tower Might Not Really Be A Trump” and the Honolulu Advertiser has a headline trumpeting “Buyers Sue Trump Waikiki”. In the Star Bulletin, attorney Warren Price is quoted as follows.
“Price says Irongate concealed the terms and conditions of the Trump license agreement, including whether it could be assigned to the buyers. These material facts should have been provided before buyers signed their sales contracts.”
READ THE HONOLULU STAR BULLETIN ARTICLE
The developer of the project is quoted through the Honolulu Advertiser as follows.
“”Furthermore, we intend to pursue all of our own claims against these individuals. The vast majority of buyers are moving towards closing and are looking forward to their first visit to Trump Tower Waikiki Beach Walk later this year.”
READ THE HONOLULU ADVERTISER ARTICLE
Here are the lessons.
1. Read the contract. It will tell you what rights the buyer and the seller have. In the case of Trump Waikiki, the buyer did not have many rights.
2. Words mean things. If the contract says they can change the name, then they can change the name.
3. Clauses are put in a contract for a reason. When I read the Trump contract, I did not think that the naming and square footage issues we inserted by accident. Who ever wrote the contract knew that they had to be in the document to protect their client.
If you would like to discuss your real estate needs, feel free to call me at 808-737-2093 or toll free at 877-737-2093. You can email me at keahi@lava.net.
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Long Term Investment Makes Sense
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Wow! Good work Sherlock! Do I understand correctly in that Trump sold his name for a fee on the project? Money maker….
This is a fantastic post! (I am coming back to reblog this one in a bit…
) Have a great Easter!