Forging a win-win deal

26/05/2008 The Star By Teh Eng Hock

TWO blocks of condominiums in a prime area sat abandoned for eight years until the intervention of Housing and Local Government Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Ahmad Fuad Ismail.

Ahmad Fuad said the condominiums in Taman Tun Dr Ismail were already 80% complete when the developer stopped work.

“The units were priced at about RM300,000 each. I told the buyers that the project was 80% complete and by paying an extra RM39,000, it could be finished,” he said.

“Finally the buyers relented and paid up. The project is now completed, the buyers have moved in and they are happy.”

Ahmad Fuad said both house buyers and developers have to sacrifice a bit for a project to be revived.

Abandoned projects can be revived if both developers and buyers make a little sacrifice.

“Many people think we take the side of the developers. We always put the rakyat first.

“But buyers don’t care what happens. They want to be compensated if the project is not delivered. The developer had already been wound up. So who will compensate them?” he asked.

Ahmad Fuad wants house buyers to change their mindset and understand that it is better to fork out a bit more to get a completed property than be stuck with an abandoned one.

Many developers, he said, were reluctant to take over abandoned projects as it was usually not profitable.

He said a project was considered abandoned if the units could not be delivered after six months of the scheduled date of completion and when there was no onsite activity during this period.

“Usually, a court order is obtained to wind up the company. The court will then appoint a liquidator, who will try to salvage the project,” he said.

Ahmad Fuad said buyers would have to fork out a bit more, as the developer who takes over the abandoned project would naturally need to make a small profit to get the project going.

“In the case of the project in Taman Tun, I asked buyers whether they wanted the project to be completed. If not, they would not get to see their houses,” he said.

The new developer sold the few remaining unsold units to make up for the cost of reviving the project.