The buyers come first

NST 18/11/2005

DELAYS in houses projects have been given more column inches in the print media than any other topic in recent months. And so it should be, as housing affects everybody.

Developers are by and large decent businessmen making an honest living. They are intent on delivering a good product on time. They honestly believe that the rogues among them can be weeded out by stringent rules and strict enforcement - despite evidence to the contrary.

Underlying the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association's seeming intransigence regarding the proposed build-and-sell system is the fear that a change will affect them adversely.

This fear is founded partly on their assumption that the banks will not support such an arrangement. This fear, I think, is without foundation.

Banks are in the business of making money by lending money and the house-buyers (together with motor vehicle buyers) are the biggest borrowers from banks. There is no reason why banks will not give out loans, whatever the arrangement, if the projects are viable.

With a decision from the Local Government and Housing Ministry expected soon, the parties concerned (developers and house-buyers) are aggressively putting forward their proposals,

One scenario has the minister opting for a solution which allows both systems to operate side by side. In other words, giving the buyers a choice. On the surface this would seem like the perfect solution but it is not!

If the status quo is maintained, developers can use buyers' money to fund their projects and not risk their own money.

If there is a choice between sell-and-build and build- and-sell, developers will no doubt opt for the status quo to be maintained. Buyers will not be better off.

Any new arrangement adopted must give priority to protecting house-buyers.

The Prime Minister has already said the present system is unsatisfactory and no doubt the minister concurs that house-buyers have to be adequately protected.

N.YIN
Penang