Striving for affordable and quality homes

The Star 26/03/2001 By S.C. Cheah

STAFF of Talam Corp Bhd and Europlus Bhd have been recently wearing large round badges with the groups' logo "Striving for Affordable and Quality Homes''.

Few would dispute the fact that Tan Sri Chan Ah Chye's products are mostly affordable but his image has taken a beating with growing complaints about the shoddy workmanship of the properties that his companies build.

Chan, who is chairman of both groups frankly admits that in the past he was more concerned with the cash flow aspect of his developments but now that cash flow has been stabilised, he is seriously dealing with all shortcomings.

To start with, Chan has recently formed five problem-solving departments to stress on quality control and ensure that quality workmanship will no more be compromised.

The five departments (listed below) will deal with the following:

Technical Audit Department: Chan has employed many retired building inspectors to inspect buildings before handing the property over to purchasers.

"We'll make sure that our clerk of works and technicians certify according to specifications at every stage of construction. If not they will be hauled up. We are not only auditing the work of others but our own people as well,'' he said.

Customer Service Centre: All complaints must be attended to within 48 hours.

If the contractor fails to rectify the defect, Chan will call in his own in-house contractor or engage outside contractors to do the job. They will then bill the original contractor.

Liquidated Ascertained Damages Department: It is headed by a lawyer and will deal with legal matters, like late delivery of houses and taking contractors to court for bad workmanship.

Certificate of Fitness: One of the common complaints is that purchasers cannot move into their houses without the CF.

This team will ensure that everything is in order so that CF can be obtained reasonably early and without troubling buyers.

Monitoring progress payments: Progress billing is important for without sufficient funds, the developer may not be able to solve or settle purchasers' problems/complaints.

Meanwhile, Chan is going after those parties including contractors, consultants, authorities and even his own workers who may have contributed to the house buyers' woes. "Enough is enough,'' he said at his office at Menara Maxisegar in Kuala Lumpur recently. Chan is going to sue a utility provider for breach of contract.

Chan appeals to house buyers to adopt a give and take attitude as not all the problems are caused by his companies.

He is optimistic that most if not all the current problems would be over by next year. His target is to solve all backlog cases this year.

Talam will be launching five new projects this year. This will include Bandar Baru Bukit Jalil (next to Taman Equine and Technology park Malaysia) and Saujana Damansara (opposite the upmarket Sierramas and near Bandar Sri Damansara).

While other developers are still looking for enough land for development, Chan has acquired a substantial land bank over the past few years.

Among Chan's current top performers are Putra Perdana, Saujana Puchong and Ukay Perdana.

Since its launch in August 1999, Saujana Puchong's medium-cost terrace houses have recorded sales of 1,842 units amounting to RM269.7 mil, according to Talam's year 2000 annual report.

For Chan, who was voted Property Man of the Year by the Malaysian Chapter of FIABCI (International Real Estate Federation) and one of the most experienced developers, the past decade has been a learning curve.

He has had his share of mistakes. "I laugh when I see young developers making the same mistake as Chan Ah Chye,'' he muses.