August 18, 2021 7:30 AM
PETALING JAYA: Everyone loves a sale, particularly if the property is going at half price.

But not earlier buyers, or investors who had bought to flip. These two groups would be unhappy. Maybe even furious.

Headlines about property have been like this, of late: Is it time to buy? Is it ‘still’ a safe investment? Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

There is a missing question: “Will prices fall further?”

Much depends on the location, type of property and developers’ track record, said Johor-based KGV International Property Consultants.

It also depends if one is buying into an overhang project – completed units which remain unsold after they have been certified fit for occupation.

Executive director Samuel Tan said the percentage of discount for overhang units is higher.

When Chinese developer Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd advertised its Danga Bay, Johor Bahru, project at 50% discount for about six weeks starting in early June, earlier buyers were angry. New buyers were delighted.

A Singaporean buyer, Hassan (not his real name), who bought an apartment unit in 2015 for RM1.82 million, was shocked and upset. Overnight, his unit was worth about RM900,000.

“The drop is significant. I can accept that property prices do fall, and have fallen because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Even then, I was shocked to discover that it was by so much, as though a calamity had occurred,” he said. It was his holiday home.

A government-linked developer also halved prices for some of its remaining units located near the National Science Centre in Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur. The units were originally priced at about RM4.5 million each. It is not clear when these units were sold.

Each of these two cases involved unsold completed units. Country Garden Pacificview cited “current market conditions” and “changing requirements of the situation”.

Read more: Houses at half-price, anyone?

15 APR 2021
PETALING JAYA: Experts are calling for Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and banks to set up a department to look into why borrowers are defaulting on their payments.

The recent case of M. Moganah, who had her home in Seri Kembangan, Selangor auctioned by a bank, highlights the need for such a department, they said.

The 38-year-old tailor had been living with her husband and two children in the flat for 17 years. She found herself in the predicament when her bank purportedly raised the interest rate on her loan without notifying her.

The bank is said to have blamed it on her failure to update her contact details and home address, a claim which Moganah has refuted. Malaysian Chapter of the International Real Estate Federation former president Yeow Thit Sang said members of the B40 group are often in situations such as Moganah, not by choice but as victims of circumstances.

He said factors such as poor education and lack of opportunities, on top of the Covid-19 situation, have led to a drop in their earnings. “The poor chap who signs on the dotted line with a bank is always at the losing end when it comes to default in payment of a loan.”

Yeow said in Moganah’s situation, the bank should have been more understanding and sympathetic by negotiating with her on how to settle the arrears. “People who lose their houses to banks will often never have a second chance to own another place to call home.”

Read more: Call for department in banks to probe housing loan defaults

8 April 2021
A low-income family has urged Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to intervene after claiming their bank unfairly auctioned off their home during the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking to the media today after meeting an officer from the central bank, 38-year-old tailor M Moganah alleged that the interest rate for her housing loan was raised without due notification.

This resulted in an accumulation of overdue payments, eventually resulting in the bank auctioning off her low-cost flat in Taman Balakong Jaya, Seri Kembangan, Selangor. She claimed she only learned about the outstanding repayments when it was too late - after her home was already sold in October 2020. Moganah lives in the unit with her husband and two young children. She co-owns the unit with her mother - 61-year-old P Letchumy. They have been servicing the home loan for the past 17 years.

“We hope Bank Negara will help us get our home back,” she said, adding that she was not interested in any compensation from her bank. Malaysiakini is withholding the name of the bank pending a response to this story. Malaysiakini is also reaching out to BNM for comment. Elaborating, Moganah said she found an informal eviction notice on her door on Oct 7, 2020, from someone who claimed to have bought her flat.

She then visited her bank, where an officer informed her that her home had been sold a week ago in an auction. The officer also said that the bank had increased Moganah’s monthly housing loan repayment from RM268 to RM325 back in July 2018. She claimed she was unaware of this increase and thus did not alter her monthly direct debit amount. According to Moganah, the bank stated that the reason for the auction was their housing loan repayment was overdue by three months.

She said her bank blamed the lack of notification on her failure to update her contact number and home address. She refuted this, claiming her details were updated back in 2015. The buyer was alleged to have terminated the water and electricity supply to the unit on March 30. Moganah and her family are now temporarily living in another location.

Read more: Woman claims bank unfairly auctioned off home, wants BNM to intervene

February 25, 2021 10:14 PM
PETALING JAYA: Badan pengurusan kondominium tiada hak untuk mengenakan sebarang penalti terhadap penghuni yang tidak memakai pelitup muka, kata menteri kanan keselamatan Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Seorang budak lelaki berusia setahun dilaporkan didenda RM100 oleh badan pengurusan sebuah kondominium di Ampang awal minggu ini kerana tidak memakai pelitup muka di dalam lif, dengan kejadian itu tular selepas dikongsikan ibunya di Facebook.

Walaupun memakai pelitup muka diwajibkan sejak 1 Ogos, ketua pengarah kesihatan Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah berkata kanak-kanak berusia dua tahun ke bawah dikecualikan.

Mengulas isu itu hari ini, Ismail berkata hanya pegawai kementerian kesihatan dan polis mempunyai kuasa untuk mengeluarkan kompaun terhadap mereka yang gagal memakai pelitup muka mengikut peruntukan Akta Kawalan dan Pencegahan Penyakit Berjangkit 1988 (Akta 342).

“Apa dilakukan pengurusan kondominium di Ampang itu salah,” katanya dalam sidang media hari ini.

“Kuasa mengeluarkan kompaun dan tindakan lain mengikut Akta 342 adalah untuk kementerian kesihatan dan pihak yang diberi kuasa oleh kementerian seperti polis.

“Sehingga kini kami tidak memberikan kuasa itu kepada badan pengurusan kondominium dan pangsapuri, mahupun pejabat lain. Mereka tidak mempunyai kuasa itu.

“Saya berharap mereka membatalkan kompaun untuk budak berusia setahun itu. Tidak masuk akal pada saya.”

Read more: Pengurusan kondominium tidak boleh keluarkan denda untuk kesalahan pelitup muka

January 19, 2021 1:45 PM
PUTRAJAYA: The calculation for late delivery payment to house buyers begins from the date the booking fee is paid, and not when the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) is signed, the Federal Court ruled today.

Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said the Housing Development (Control & Licensing) 1966 and its subsidiary laws were social legislation and that was a settled law.

In a dispute brought before the court, the developers contended that the scheduled contracts must be read literally and in accordance with the intention of parties.

“It is our view that the submission is untenable. When it comes to interpreting social legislation, the courts must give effect to the intention of Parliament and not the intention of parties,” Tengku Maimun said.

“Otherwise, the attempt by the legislature to level the playing field by mitigating the inequality of bargaining power would be rendered nugatory and illusory,” she said in the judgment to allow seven appeals by purchasers.

The purchasers, from Melaka and Kuala Lumpur, had hauled the developers – PJD Regency Sdn Bhd, GJH Avenue Sdn Bhd and Sri Damansara Sdn Bhd – before the housing tribunal over the payment of the liquidated ascertained damages.

Read more: Late delivery payment begins from booking fee collection, says court