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Frustrated and anxious, Claire Munroe and Josh Alter, both 27, have been left waiting for answers after the builder they bought their Vancouver condo from two years ago walked away from the project last week.

Citing soaring labour and construction costs, The Eden Group of Companies has placed the condo project into receivership.

Ms. Munroe and Mr. Alter, who only learned of their predicament through a reporter, are now part of a group of pre-sale buyers anxious to hear the fate of the 81-unit Sophia building on 11th Ave. near Main St. on Vancouver's East Side.

"First we were in shock, then frustrated we had been left in the dark, and now we're just in limbo," said Ms. Munroe, a public relations consultant who bought a 676-square-foot, one-bedroom condo for $336,900 with her boyfriend in March 2006.

While awaiting the receiver's report, due out in three weeks, the couple have been left wondering whether they'll have to pay more for their unit or be handed back their deposit and have to start all over again.

"This is our first place together, we were shopping for things and excited — and that's abruptly come to a finish," she said.

Ms. Munroe and Mr. Alter are also second-guessing the research they did ahead of the purchase, and wondering whether there's a lesson to be learned in their misfortune for others clamouring to buy in the city's overheated condo market.

It's a question that's likely going through the heads of buyers at two other projects in Vancouver and Richmond, B.C., both recently put into receivership by The Chandler Development Group Inc.

The developments have raised questions about the overall health of the Vancouver area market, especially given a worsening credit crunch and labour shortages due to the Alberta oil boom and the upcoming Olympics.

But the condo industry has been quick to reassure buyers.

"The sky is not falling," says Peter Simpson, chief executive of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders' Association. "These situations are an anomaly. For a developer to let things get this bad is relatively rare."

Most established developers overestimate their costs, and should have no problem delivering people the units they bought for what they paid, he added.

One of the most important safeguards for future pre-sale buyers against these situations is new disclosure legislation now required from developers by the B.C. Financial Institutions Commission, Mr. Simpson said.

As of Nov. 1, developers must include a raft of information in the purchase agreement in "conspicuous type," including any conflicts of interest, bankruptcies or disciplinary action related to real estate and securities activity, convictions for theft or fraud, along with their experience in the industry.

Such information, had it been available, might have helped Ms. Munroe and Mr. Alter in their purchase decision.

For example, it might have shown that despite Eden Group's 25 years in business, the developer had relatively little experience in condo development, says Bob Rennie, director of Rennie Marketing Systems.

The company cancelled two pre-construction projects late last year, also citing soaring costs, but assured Ms. Munroe at the time that the "Sophia was safe."

There are other things buyers can do to decrease their risk, Mr. Rennie says.

This includes not getting caught up in the buying frenzy in Vancouver's hot market, he says.

Buyers purchasing pre-sale units should do their homework, visit the sales centre more than once, and be sure they like the layout and price of their unit, he says.

While it may seem intimidating, prospective buyers shouldn't be shy about knocking on doors at a builder's other projects and asking people about their experiences, Mr. Simpson says.

After speaking with the receiver handling both cases, Mr. Simpson says buyers in the Chandler projects are probably in luck, and should get what they bought for what they paid.

Buyers at the Sophia will probably face a top-up payment to see the building, which is 85 per cent finished, through to completion, he says. A rough estimate that it will cost an additional $2-million would mean almost $25,000 more per buyer, not taking into account the different size of their units.

If this happens, Ms. Munroe and Mr. Alter will have to pony up the extra cost, an unbudgeted-for expense they say they're willing to pay to get their condo.

"Apparently [developer] Bill Eden has said he felt we were lucky people — that we can still make a profit because the market has gone up. We don't feel very lucky," Ms. Munroe says.