Karin (NOT Karen, it's Ka-rin) Upton Baker and best 'pal' and talented social climber/conquerer Deborah Hutton
Trophy...part of the home's interior; and Karin Upton Baker, right.
Home at risk over $18m
VANDA CARSON AND ANDREW HORNERY-Sydney Morning Herald
October 17, 2009
SMH Karin Upton Baker 18 Million Debt (click to link)
SOCIETY doyenne and Sydney style queen Karin Upton Baker appears to have it all - the fur coats, sparkling diamonds, glamorous supermodel friends and the ultimate trophy home overlooking the harbour.
But she may soon lose the lot over an $18 million debt.
Ms Upton Baker is fighting attempts to ''forcibly evict'' her family from one of Sydney's most glamorous pieds-a-terre - which she hopes to sell for $29.5 million - after not paying the mortgage since April.
Ms Upton Baker, who earns $360,000 a year as managing director in Australia of Hermes, the French luxury goods house, told the NSW Supreme Court she was ''reduced to tears at her husband's insistence she sign'' mortgage documents ''under threat that if she did not do so the family would 'lose everything'.''
She argues that her husband, developer Gary Baker, ''enjoyed such an ascendancy over'' her that she could not ''make any worthwhile judgment'' over the $18 million worth of mortgages.
Ms Upton Baker argues that Perpetual Trustee and Challenger Managed Investments should not be able to foreclose because the mortgages were ''unjust'' and ''obtained as a result of undue influence or pressure''.
She took out a $6 million mortgage with Perpetual to finance her husband's development of six apartments at Bellevue Hill. The rest was secured against four apartments he was developing at Bondi Beach. Two of these are now in the control of receivers.
Mr Baker said the banks should not foreclose because he had a contract to sell the property. ''Karin offered to pay out the mortgage fund with an approved interim refinance facility until settlement on the sale can be completed,'' he said.
Exit penalties added at the last minute meant the refinancing amount was too little. A Challenger spokesman said Mr Baker's comments were incorrect. ''The contract of sale failed to settle five months ago in May and the loans remain in arrears. None of the borrower's attempts to refinance or sell the property have succeeded.'' He said the pair had always known the full payout figure and had made no attempt to pay that amount.
Justice Cliff Hoeben - who has been asked by the lenders to give them summary judgment for possession of the apartment - told the court on October 1 he was not persuaded there was a defence. ''From what I can see in the affidavit, [Ms Upton Baker] appears to be an astute, aware businesswoman,'' he said.
The case returns to court on October 26.
Dear readers,
Although I'm living overseas, I'm still very interested in a handful of people back home in Oz.
And Karin Upton Baker is one of them, so when I opened my e mail from a best friend, I was thrilled.
An article about Karin.
I worked for Karin Upton Baker while I careered in Sydney and rather enjoyed her. I loved creating and tending to her domestic orchid installations , Christmas decorations and party preparations wherever and whenever HRH needed some blooms.
Karin could have made a great princess in another world.
She's the type of woman who would and could adapt easily, as long as loads of cash was abound.
This woman is UBER POSH and SUPER LOVES her shit.
Karin is classy "light" which is good considering she's from zero money and climbed/crawled her way on top of Kerry ('s) editor heap having 'migrated' into the city from the 'mucho outer' suburbs. Once I met some of her family and thought to myself, "Why are they so being snobby?"
I guess when you're in her presence, it rubs off. I always felt like a peasant around Karin even though I would wear my finest clothes whenever I would do a home visit. I enjoyed it except when her toad stool husband the pervert was around. I hated Gary with every pore of my being. Everyone hated Gary and I'd watch people look at him and snicker and laugh. HOW could she marry THAT?
Karin's creepy, fugly husband looked like a pervert in these tragic super super short shorts (you could always see his mushroom cap) and EIGHTIES BOAT SHOES. He was simply VILE and I would have to turn away, my retinas burning!
HOW could this creature have landed HER?
To this day I've not met a more disturbing combination of two people.
Beauty and the hideous wog beast.
Karin was a nice enough person to be around and I would listen to her tell her maids what to do and think, "Oh honey, look at you with the nannies and maids and a personal florist and hair dressers". She has two kids but I highly doubt Karin ever changed a diaper. I really can't see Karin anywhere near baby shit.
Karin was ALWAYS looking beautiful in the latest of the latest fashions. A Randolph Duke trench stopped traffic for a week in Potts Point when she arrived home after another whirl wind global fashion trip when she was Editor of Harper's Bazaar in Australia. She was our Anna Wintour for a while. Anna without money.
After a nice run at the Harper's job, Karin was ousted for being too old. (her replacement Vanessa sucked but crows feet are crows feet and they are NOT allowed at Harper's) But soon enough Karin took over at Hermes (which needed an massive overhaul).
Karin was cool, except for the complete loser whom she married.
Gary Baker has the personality of a toad stool (resembles one as well) and the fashion sense that literally made me re think life once.
Karin, you were stupid to leave everything to that moron to lose.
Why do you have to live around all that stuff?
Why are you such a snob?
He blew it and you blew him too, which shocks me more than anything......
And all your hard decades of fashion devotion are going down the crapper pipe along with your reputation as a smart business woman.
We are to believe that YOU, KARIN UPTON BAKER is a meek, feeble woman 'forced to sign documents'?
Wow, I thought you were a dynamo with two kids to protect.
Turns out your hideous husbands greed infected your very core and now you're paying the ultimate price.
You may lose it all.
Was it worth it?
I knew this was going to happen to you one day Karin because your husband had the WORST HOMOPHOBIC ENERGY of anyone I'd ever met and because there are no certainties when one is dealing with crisp new money!
Why did you marry such a NEANDERTHAL?
A homophobe of the worst order.
OMG.
Your only flaw Karin.
Your husband Gary.
