From en bloc dreams to endless nightmares - that was how Madam S.L. Chia and her husband described their experience these past two years.

It became a nightmare because the promised $1.1 million from the sale of the couple's Finland Gardens flat never came, as the deal became snagged in a dispute.

They were still servicing the loan on their flat, in Siglap, when the couple went ahead and took a loan on a second property.

Thus, closure of sorts came for them when, last week, the collective sale was called off. It had been sold in November 2006.

Madam Chia, 47, her husband, 55, and their son, 15, will be staying put in Finland Gardens, which has been their home for the last 14 years.

She felt that the collective sale had rushed her into buying a second flat.

A friend had advised them to buy another place quickly because he expected that property prices would go up further.

'He was right. Within six months of our new home purchase, prices went crazy,' said Madam Chia, who works in the media industry.

The new flat, further away in Upper East Coast, cost $800,000. Madam Chia took a 10-year loan that resulted in her having to pay $4,000 - effectively, her monthly salary - every month.

What the couple did not expect was that minority owners would successfully object to the sale.

The couple had ended up so strapped they could not afford to renovate their new house - something they can finally do now.

'And enough of the term 'en bloc' please,' Madam Chia said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on April 27, 2008

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