That's very obliging of the vendor. That ought to be the correct way of doing things.

All the best

3-5 working days at the earliest

Paste it here and i'll take a look at it for you.

Salam,bro baharin. Good to see you here again.

I went like this after reading your post ->

Basically there's two ways to go about it - the lurus bendul way or the proposed-crooked-bridge-from-JB-to-S'pore way.

Lurus bendul way:

1. Fill up Form CKHT 3 - you declare that you have owned half-share of the property for more than 5 years;
2. Fill up two copies of Form CKHT 1A - in one you declare that you own half-share for more than 5 years. On the other you declare that you own the property for less than 5 years, ie since 2007.
3. Submit the original S&P - from 1999, and the MOT form from 2007 as evidence.
4. You pay RPGT for the half-share.

the proposed-crooked-bridge-from-JB-to-S'pore way.

1. You fill up Form CKHT3 - declare that you own the property for more than 5 years.
2. Fill up one copy of Form CKHT 1A - declare that you own the property for more than 5 years
3. Submit the original S&P - from 1999. That's it.
4. You are thus exempted from RPGT

Me being the lurus bendul that I am would go for option 1.

PS: Reference to you technically means you wife. Sorry

Offset against maintenance fee? What is your authority on this? Is it stated anyway in the agreement that you can do it? What is the legal basis for your advice?

Please elaborate.

That is the first time ever in this thread, unfortunately, that someone has asked this question - whether 'advice' given is legal or otherwise.

It is a sad day indeed.

There's absolutely nothing to be confused!

The answer lies in the most important document of all - the sale and purchase agreement. Have you taken the time to read it?

At the back of the agreement, there ought to be a Schedule. At the bottom of the schedule there will be a clause like this:

Within twenty-one (21) working days after receipt by
the Purchaser or the Purchaser’s solicitors of the
separate document of title to the said Lot together with a
valid and registrable Memorandum of Transfer to the
Purchaser duly executed by the Vendor or on the date
the Purchaser takes vacant possession of the said
Building, whichever is later. 2.5 %

On the date the Purchaser takes vacant possession of the
said Building as in item 3 and to be held by the Vendor's
solicitor as stakeholder for payment to the Vendor as
follows:-
(a) two point five per centum (2.5%) at the expiry
of six (6) months after the date the Purchaser
takes vacant possession of the said Building;
(b) two point five per centum (2.5%) at the expiry
of eighteen (18) months after the date the
Purchaser takes vacant possession of the said
Building.


There you go.

Bro, I think the first question that we need to ask our friend here is this:

Is it still within the defect liablility period?

Better not put the horse before the cart

Are you speaking from experience or are you giving a hypothetical situation? In reality there's no reason for the developer to intentionally delay. The sooner the SPA is executed, the sooner the purchaser can apply for a loan, the sooner it can be approved (or rejected, and the sooner the developer can start looking for another purchaser), and the sooner the developer can receive the money.

There's no rule/law to prevent the developer from doing so - i.e. delaying executing the agreement. Nothing specified in the sample agreement too (Schedule G & H).

Let's look at the standard clause for DLP:

Defect liability period
26. (1) Any defect, shrinkage or other faults in the said Building which shall
become apparent within a period of eighteen (18) calendar months after the date the
Purchaser takes vacant possession of the said Building to which water and electricity
supply are ready for connection to the said Building, and which are due to defective
workmanship or materials or the said Building not having been constructed in
accordance with the plans and description as specified in the Second and Fourth
Schedule as approved or amended by the Appropriate Authority ,shall be repaired and
made good by the Vendor at its own cost and expenses within thirty (30) days of its
having received written notice thereof from the Purchaser and if the said defect,
shrinkage or other faults in the said Building have not been made good by the Vendor,
the Purchaser shall be entitled to recover from the Vendor the costs of repairing and
making good the same and the Purchaser may deduct such costs from any sum which
has been held by the Vendor's solicitors as stakeholder for the Vendor and subject to
subclause (2), the Vendor’s solicitors shall release such costs from such sum to the
Purchaser within fourteen (14) days after receipt by the Vendor’s solicitors of the
Purchaser’s written demand.

(2) The Purchaser shall, at any time after the expiry of the said period of
thirty (30) days, notify the Vendor of the cost of repairing and making good the said
defects, shrinkage or other faults before the commencement of the works and shall give
the Vendor an opportunity to carry out the works himself within fourteen (14) days from
the date the Purchaser has notified the Vendor of his intention to carry out the said
works.

Shouldn't leaking/burst pipes/water tanks be under 'defective materials' ?

I'd argue it that way. What say you, Hansel?

That is between you and your bank and whatever terms and conditions as to repayment would be stated in the facilities agreement. Perhaps it would be wiser to consult your mortgage consultant to get the details on this.

Basically if it falls under scenario (1), then yes, the developer/m'ment office has to repair the defect - still within DLP. No issues there.

If under scenario (2), and if it is after the DLP, then the question we have to ask is whether those pipes fall under the definition of 'common property':

a) Strata Titles Act 1985 - building managed by Management Corporation

Section 43 of the Strata Titles Act
43. Duties and powers of management corporation.
(1) The duties of the management corporation include the following -
(a) to manage and properly maintain the common property and keep it in a state of good and serviceable repair.

Definition of common property
Section 4 of the Act
"common property" means so much of the lot as is not comprised in any parcel (including any accessory parcel), or any provisional block as shown in an approved strata plan.

b) Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act 2007 - buiding managed by JMB

Section 8 of the Act
8. Duties and powers of Joint Management Body
(1) The duties of the Body include the following:
(a) to properly maintain the common property and keep it in a state of good and serviceable repair

Definition of common property
“common property”, in relation to a development area, means so much of the development area as is not comprised in any parcel, such as the structural elements of the building, stairs, stairways, fire escapes, entrances and exits, corridors, lobbies, fixtures and fittings, lifts, refuse chutes, refuse bins, compounds, drains, water tanks, sewers, pipes, wires, cables and ducts that serve more than one parcel, the exterior of all common parts of the building, playing fields and recreational areas, driveways, car parks and parking areas, open spaces, landscape areas, walls and fences, and all other facilities and installations and any part of the land used or capable of being used or enjoyed in common by all the occupiers of the building

PS: Note the difference in the definition!

I think it's safe to say that pipes which are not part of an individual parcel, i.e main pipes running above the unit - linking the unit's pipeline to the water tank - are part and parcel of the common property.

As such, even if it is after the DLP, the MC/JMB would still have to repair the defect.

Assuming, of course, that the defect is a defect of a common property.

Read the discussion with Hansel above for a better idea.

Is it within the DLP? Has it been 18 months since date of vacant posession? Check with friend.

Advise your friend to write a letter of complaint to the m'ment office detailing the defect and stating that it has been since xxxx date.

Get it acknowledged.

If still within DLP, cc it to the solicitor who prepared the S&P for their record purposes.

Don't advise your friend to stop paying maintenance, offset charge, etc etc. That is wrong and contrary to the law.

Write to them formally. Get it acknowledged. Would help if he calls up the MC/JMB chairperson up and inform him of the problem personally. If it's one of the main pipes then it's a serious cause of concern for all,right?

The m'ment office ought to have a maintenance guy in charge who can take a look and see if it is the main pipes. If it's the main pipes then it's common property and it is their duty to sort it out.

If things do delay then spend a bit of money by engaging a lawyer to send a legal demand in. That ought to make them quiver in their boots and get crackin'

Good luck

Good advice and fair enough, but who's gonna pay for the said skilled contractor to come in to give an evaluation? That itself is going to cost some money. With the usual Malaysian mentality of 'why should I fork out my own money to pay to fix something which is someone else's problem/responsibility????', that idea would not stretch far.

Right,bro Hansel?

Welcome,bro!

When you say cancel you mean abort the S&P right? Then that would be a default on your part and the vendor has the right to forfeit the 10% deposit. Any other monies paid by you, like the differential sum (if you're not taking 90% loan) will be refunded to you.

With regard to legal fees paid, you are entitled to a 50% refund on the legal fees paid, and all stamp duty deposited and any disbursements which are not spent yet (like the payment for registration of transfer) must be refunded to you.

With regard to bank loan docs, did you pay a certain sum as deposit to your loan sol. I hear that Hong Leong instructs it's solicitors to retain RM1,000.00 as deposit which is refundable when the transaction is complete. I think if you abort it they will forfeit the RM1,000.00 as a form of penalty.

Not sure with other banks though. Would be wise to read up on the letter of offer. Technically the facility agreement would not be in force yet as it has not been stamped with the ad valorem stamp duty. So it would fall back on the terms of the letter of offer. Am sure there would be a penalty as the loan solicitor would've started work on your file. Perhaps you can check with your mortgage consultant on this as well.

Hope the above helps,mate.

What do you mean by penalty? Banks impose a penalty on you, not lawyers.

Lawyers can't impose penalty. For aborted S&Ps, they can only charge you half of the legal fees and disbursements actually incurred up to that date. If you had paid upfront in full for everything ask for a refund.

What do you mean by take his own sweet time?

Have you sat down with your S&P lawyer to find out the chronology of events leading up to the completion date being extended? Why listen to the vendor's solicitor when you have your own solicitors for the S&P as well as for the loan? Best to get detailed facts first before jumping to conclusions.

If the delay is wholly attributed to the loan solicitors (and nothing to the bank), then you can complain to your bank and see if they instruct the loan solicitor to cough up the late penalty interest. If the delay is due to the bank, they ought to pay up on your behalf.

No you can't sue the lawyer, but you can file a complaint at the Advocates & Solicitors Disciplinary Board. But get your facts right first.

Well, if your agreement states that it is 3+1 from the date of the agreement, they yes, the vendor is entitled to seek LPI from you once you exceed the 3 month period. Whether the vendor wants to claim it is a different story altogether.

With regard to your lawyer, it is best to write formally to them , detailing your phone conversation with them and the fact that they are not being responsive to you. Send it in by hand and get an acknowledgment.

You can use it against them later, in the event you want to file a complaint against them. If you wait until the end of the transaction before issuing the letter, then it might be regarded as an afterthought. Do it now. It might keep them on their toes as well.

Which stage are you referring to,bro?

Good,but keep your fingers crossed that it can be completed in time. Now you have to push your loan solicitor to chase the bank to release the balance loan sum A.S.A.P.