|
It's a pie in the sky, say
house buyers
02/04/2009
NST By K. Harinderan
Saravana Kumar says his home was robbed twice in six months
KUALA SELANGOR: The brochure painted a picture of posh resort living in a
safe, green environment. But as far as 50 bungalow lot owners living in
Saujana Utama are concerned, the brochure was a pie in the sky.
Residents say they paid premium prices for their homes and for promises that
never materialised.
Crime is rampant in the area as many bungalow lots are vacant and the houses
are dispersed and secluded.
They invested between RM300,000 and RM6 million to build their homes in what
they were told would be a secure, gated community. But now, they are living
in fear.
“The promises made by the developer in each of the Sales and Purchase
Agreements, and various brochures promoting the scheme as one with full
amenities, are false,” said resident S. Thambisamy.
In a recent interview with Streets, he said he bought a bungalow lot at
Saujana Utama 1 five years ago and spent about RM1 million building his
home.
“It is a constant worry. Burglaries occur on average once a month at all
hours of the day. There has even been a murder in one of the homes here.”
He said that the developer had refused to discuss the matter with the Sungai
Buloh Country Resort Homeowners Association which was set up by the
residents.
“When we bought the property, we were promised a lot within a gated
community, including 24-hour security patrols and all the frills of a
low-density estate, like a fully equipped club house and an advanced fibre-optic
telecommunications system.”
But, Thambisamy said, the security currently consisted of one guard who sits
at the main entrance of each phase.
The perimeter fencing is damaged in many places and has not been repaired.
The club house is a-third of the size that was promised, and many residents
had to wait a long time for telephone lines.
“The developer told us they ran out of funds to build a proper gated-guarded
community, and they feel the present number of security guards is
sufficient.
“We are seriously concerned about the safety of our families and what
measures are available to house buyers once a property has been taken over
completely by a purchaser,” he said, adding that the residents were
considering taking legal action against the developer.
The residents also claimed that they had lodged many complaints with the
authorities but nothing had been done.
The situation had apparently resulted in many buyers not building on their
lots and this has caused the area to be sparsely populated.
Saravana Kumar, a bungalow lot owner at Saujana Utama 3, said:
“My home was robbed twice in six months.
I have even witnessed a robbery but help was not close by.”
He said poor street lighting contributes to the problem.
Another Phase 3 resident Arutchelvam Kumaran said: “There is a low police
presence here because the local police claim it is out of their
jurisdiction.”
Asked if the developer had responded to their complaints, Thambisamy said
the issue lies with the payment of maintenance fees.
“Some of us pay RM90 per month.
“But others feel the developer has no grounds to collect the fees as the
services are not as agreed.”
When contacted, the developer said it would discuss the issues with the
residents. |
