Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

IT was a luxury £32million housing development aimed at well-heeled movers and shakers.

Buyers were left with little change from £200,000 when they snapped up the two-bed flats in the apartment block while penthouses cost an eye-watering £320,000.

Kingston Quay, in Tradeston, Glasgow, was the ultimate city centre address for those lucky enough to afford the high-end price tag.

But now – just a decade after construction was completed – horrified residents are desperate to offload what have become the most toxic properties in Scotland.

A Sunday Mail investigation has revealed how the 372-apartment site has turned from a dream postcode to a crime-ridden nightmare.

House prices have plummeted, trapping homeowners in a negative equity nightmare, while the building is now without insurance after they rowed with the factor.

We can reveal that three brothels operate within the development and a “party service” for transsexuals is also based there.

Drug paraphernalia can be found on the back stairwell while dried blood stains walls.

A recent increase in house break-ins and car crime has been triggered by a faulty secured-door entry system which hasn’t been operational since last year.

Lifts in the complex – based at 220 and 240 Wallace Street – are also out of use.

And to rub salt into already gaping wounds, residents pay a whopping £270 a month in

council tax to Glasgow City Council.

It’s estimated that only around 22 people who live in the complex own their home. The majority of residents are tenants who rent from multiple buy-to-let landlords.

Owners have also been locked in a financial dispute with maintenance firm City Factoring, who recently withdrew their services.

One owner, who has lived there with his wife since it was completed and didn’t want to be named, said: “It’s like living in a nightmare and we’re trapped. There’s no way we could sell our property now. We would probably have to give someone cash to take it off our hands.

“Just when I don’t think things can get much worse, they do. There’s always clear evidence of drug taking on the stairs – some junkies even leave their needles.

“We’re aware of prostitutes operating from the building. I have called police any time I’ve seen something suspicious but it still goes on.

“The factoring issue has been a disaster. We don’t have a factor at the moment because of a continuing dispute over work and money.”

Another homeowner told how he is desperate to escape Kingston Quay for the sake of his family.

The man, who also didn’t want to be named, said: “I’ll never get my money back on my flat. I’d be lucky to get 60 per cent of what I paid.

“We have a five-year-old son but this is definitely no place for a child.

“There are too many absent landlords who don’t care and lease their property – they want to get their money no matter what. That’s resulted in a lot of undesirable people coming and going.”

But not all tenants are to blame. Owen McDonald, 20, and girlfriend Bethany Anne, 21, moved in a year ago and plan to leave when their £550-per-month lease expires this month.

The young couple had their flat broken into by thieves and say they don’t feel safe living there.

Bar worker Owen said: “There’s always dodgy people floating in and around the building. You can see that drug taking goes on and we’ve heard of the prostitution. We’ll be glad when we leave.”

Bethany added: “I really don’t feel safe here and the building is falling apart. Parts don’t even look as though they’ve been finished.

“I feel sorry for the people who paid a lot of money when these properties first came on the market.”

Many homeowners say builders Barratt misled them when the properties first came on the market.

They claim they were told only 10 per cent of apartments would be sold to buy-to-let investors. But they fear the figure is closer to 90 per cent.

In 2006, one duplex flat was bought for £307,980 only to be sold again in 2010 for £133,150.

Another property purchased for £200,000 was sold for £75,000.

A number of repossessions sparked by the economic downturn in 2008 also led to homes being snapped up at rock-bottom prices. But prices have continued to nosedive since then.

The land register reveals that a two-bed flat bought for £130,750 in June 2004 sold for £70,000 in March.

Another flat was bought for £193,950 in February 2006 only to be sold again in May last year at the knock-down price of £63,250. We discovered three women – two eastern Europeans and one Thai – operating brothels within the complex.

All of them advertise on an adult website used by escorts to drum up business.

The hangout for transsexuals and cross-dressers at Kingston Quay is also advertised on the internet. The women behind the site charge men £60 for a two-hour stay and £110 for an evening appointment. Transsexuals are charged £50 if they want to stay overnight. A bondage and fetish night was held there on May 3.

Police Scotland say they are aware of safety fears raised by worried residents.

Chief Inspector Simon Jeacocke, area commander for Govan, said: “We’ve been made aware of several concerns raised by the local residents of Wallace Street regarding recent

incidents of car crime and housebreaking in the area.

“I would like to reassure the residents that their dedicated community police officers are providing additional attention to the area and we have regular cycle patrols at key times of the day.

“We’re continuing extensive inquiries into the recent incidents which have been reported to us.”

A Barratt spokesman said: “This development was completed at a time when the buy-to-let market was thriving.

“Barratt, like most other housebuilders, sell our properties to those who want to buy them and have the resources to do so, which includes private investors.

“We do not discriminate against buyers on the basis of whether they intend to let or occupy.”

City Factoring boss Gary Mitchell claims his firm were forced to withdraw their services from Kingston Quay after residents took out an interdict against his company.

He claimed the wrangle has resulted in the building no longer being insured and said its policy expired on May 23.

Mitchell added: “The situation is untenable.”