Double
blow for housebuyer
The Star
Penang 18/10/2004 By Sira Habibu
Lorry driver Vishnu Ramasamy is one frustrated
man. His wife walked out on him because he failed to deliver the Taj
Mahal he promised a decade ago.
Vishnu, 39, said their RM81,000 dream home in Taman Pekatra Indah,
Simpang Empat, Nibong Tebal, was supposed to have been completed in
1999, but the project was stalled and left 491 buyers in the lurch.
“My wife divorced me because she could not take the financial strain
anymore.
“I was in dire straits because I have to pay monthly interest of
RM335 a month on the housing loan, and another RM300 a month for the
house we were renting,'' he said, adding that he only earned about
RM1,000 a month.
“I was working over time to make ends meet but I still could not
afford to service the interest on the housing loan for many months.
“My wife hit the roof when I was summoned to court to settle the
outstanding balance,'' he claimed, adding that his father P.
Ramasamy helped pay the RM3,000 he owed the bank, otherwise he would
have been declared a bankrupt.
Vishnu said his 10-year marriage ended in divorce in May, adding
that “this would not have happened if the developer delivered our
double-storey house several years ago as promised.”
Another buyer Abdul Rahman Omar said he was also summoned to court
for failing to service the bank loan.
“We are being sued because we cannot afford to service the housing
loan. I am just a small-time businessman,” said the father of two
toddlers aged 30 months and 18 months.
The house buyers joined the Taman Pekatra Indah House Buyers
Association yesterday.
Its vice-chairman Fadli Razman urged house buyers to join the
association as soon as possible “so that we can act as one entity
and get this project moving again,'' he said.
The developer, Koperasi Taman Pembangunan Kampong Tradisional Tasek
Bhd, initiated the housing project in 1997.
Phase one of the project, comprising 212 double-storey units, had
been completed, while phase two, involving 219 double-storey units
and 40 bungalows, had been partially-completed. Phase three of the
project involving the construction of 232 units had yet to take off.
Kuala Lumpur-based 6 Development Sdn Bhd, a company specialising in
abandoned projects, is planning to revive the project.
Its managing director Ab Wahab Mohd said he could revive the project
within six months “if every buyer gives his full co-operation and
pay the RM350 legal fee for the supplementary agreement.”
For information, call Fadli at 013-4031155, or association secretary
Yosri Lidin at 012-4542026 or chairman Nik Ahmad Saide Nik Him at
019-4452596, |
