A report from The Day in Connecticut. "Suzanne Simpson was living in Groton in 2008 with a $110,000 mortgage, a part-time job and was soon to be single. Looking back, the 68-year-old wonders how it was possible she had the good fortune to land in a $358,000 luxury condominium in the heart of New London in 2011."

"And despite her love of the well-appointed one-bedroom unit at New London Harbour Towers — she raves about the craftsmanship — she now is trying to figure out how to get out. She’s not alone."

"A group of at least a dozen homeowners living at the 8-year-old development at 461 Bank St. have enlisted an attorney to help not only challenge what they consider inflated home values but seek 'to be made whole,' in the words of attorney Gordon Videll, who represents the group."

"'I absolutely love my home but I can’t afford it,' Simpson said. 'We’re tethered to this building. Things are unraveling. Nobody can sell. Nobody can leave. I can’t retire. I’m stuck.'"

"Taxes play a major role in the reason Simpson said her place is becoming unaffordable. She is paying about $10,000 a year in taxes and says the $345,000 purchase price of her home is $120,000 less than the value in one appraisal."

"Coupled with the conclusion of a five-year tax abatement afforded to new owners, the cost is too much, she said. Videll agrees taxes play a large role in the reason units are not selling but he argues Simpson's and the rest of the group’s concerns rise above the level of simple buyer’s remorse."

"Videll claims the values established for the 52 units at the 461 Bank St. condominium complex are based on a flawed premise. He said some of the owners, especially some among the first group to buy into the concept, were able to move in with little or no cash down."

"He said Simpson likely would not have been approved for a mortgage had New London Harbour Towers not loaned her the money themselves and allowed her to stay essentially rent free for two years until she applied for a reverse mortgage, which are federally insured and allow seniors to convert their home equity into cash with no monthly mortgage payments."

"Harbour Towers performed house swaps and enticed other people in by giving no payment loans if they agreed to get reverse mortgages within two years — all in an effort to get people to buy in at prices that ultimately boosted the values of the entire complex, Videll said."

"'You will see that the purchase prices in many cases are very high but in some cases there was no money transacted at all,' Videll said. 'We’re seeing a pattern repeated around the country with developers to secure government financing on undervalued properties,' Videll said. 'Moreover, they specifically targeted people over the age of 62 who would qualify for reverse mortgages.'"

"'It’s certainly unethical ... and comes right out of the script of 'The Sopranos' season 7, episode 4,' Videll said."

"The first sale in 2010 was of a 2,000-square-foot penthouse that sold for $681,400 at a time when the real estate market was in the midst of a downturn. Simpson said she saw an advertisement in the newspaper about the house swap arrangement and spoke to Harbour Towers developer Tony Silvestri."

"As it turns out, an independent appraisal of her property puts the value at $225,000. The appraisal was completed by Norman Benedict Associates Inc., hired in 2017 by a group of homeowners fighting the city’s assessments. The real estate values outlined in the report, which looks back at appraisals completed in 2013, were in many cases 50 percent less than purchase prices and more in line with other residential units in the area and not just purchase prices of other Harbour Towers units."

"'This is extraordinarily complicated. We’re talking about layers of purposeful manipulation and it's horrible,' Videll said. 'Nobody can sell. The game was get as many units sold at high values as quickly as possible to create a false market, so when conventional financing was pursued by buyers, they can point to comps at Harbour Towers. Now you have one- and two-bedroom condos going for $300,000 to $400,000. One bad deal can manipulate an entire neighborhood.'"

"For Leslie Christie the rise in the city's tax rate has her taxes on her ninth-floor penthouse ballooning to about $17,000 annually. While she still marvels at her luxurious surrounding and sweeping water views, Christie said she has been trying to sell and can count on one hand the number of people who have shown interest."

"She doesn't see a way to recoup the money she and her mother spent — $678,000 — considering one appraisal puts the value at just $375,000. 'I feel like a caged animal now,' Christie said. 'I didn’t do the kind of homework I should have done.'"

"Simpson said that, however unlikely, she wishes to 'go back financially to where I was.' 'Just get me out of here. Give me a way to get me out. Buy my unit back. Let me give it back,' she said."

"Christie predicts that if nothing changes 'more people will walk away ... just to stay solvent.'"