Call the land office where the property is situated and they'll inform you what the regulations are. It differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Delay by vendor's bank counts as delay by vendor as well.

My developer still haven't release key although it's already past due in the S&P (2 years)...should I consult with the lawyers on the daily penalty? Am I eligible? (Reading the S&P seems eligible) Just that they sent me a letter last month saying they need to fix a few things (Stairs due to hear clearance, Party wall material, and also relocation of TNB's meter)..It's 99% finish to my eyes but I guess they're pending CF..

Calculation starts from the date you are handed with VP. So, best be patient and wait for that first before anything. On another note, you can't ask the solicitor who acted for you in the SPA (assuming that the developer appointed the said solicitor), so do seek advice from another independant solicitor.

Thanks for the reply..btw what's VP stands for? Can I ask the solicitor who's appointed by the bank?

VP = Vacant possession/handover of keys.

You can ask that solicitor but you need to ensure that they do litigation cases. Some firms who are on bank panels do only conveyancing cases. So you need to check with them first. Some firms do litigation/convey but are reluctant to sue developers, as they may be on the panel of other developers too.

If the above fails, I would advise you to ask family and friends to recommend a civil litigation lawyer for you. I don't think the case is very complicated and is quite straightforward. Just be careful when you accept the keys. Don't sign any disclaimer or waiver against the developer.

hi. i would like to share a scenario that happened to my family and hopefully you guys can give me some advice..

so there's this house in damansara that we're living in and thought of buying.. we already told the owner we will rent and if we feel comfortable, we will buy.. so the couple agreed and rent it to us..

after one year staying, my family kinda like it and wanted to buy.. but suddenly the owner refused to sell.. and raised 30% or so of the rental.. total rental per month is close to 5k for a 2.5 storey house. =.="

so ok nvm, my family cool with it and at the mean time keep persuading the owner to sell.. finally, in march, the owner agrees to sell it at 2.6 mill.. despite crazy hiked up price, my family said ok and agree to sign contract in june as the owner will return to malaysia from taiwan..

now out of sudden, the owner would like to raise the price to 2.8 mill.. saying that they consulted the bank and the house is worth 3.1 mill.. (what nonsense). of course, my parents are very mad and refuse to buy...

then now this property agent kept pestering my parents by saying if we are not buying then she will have to hang the 'for sale' sign.. and also kept calling and calling and disturbing my siblings as my parents are always not home..

the thing is.. we signed the rental contract when they decided to raise the rental that we will rent this house until nov, 2012.. so i was wondering if i can help my parents in any manner?? my parents are so mad that they are just scolding and scolding but i dun really know what else can we do..

just rent until this Nov and then search for another house la.

Hi Dario,

Recently i sold a double storey link house through agent. We are using two lawyer. After 21 working days from the date of agreement, the S&P still not ready yet. IMO, i believe that S&P agreement shud be standard? i just dun understand why does it took so long to prepare.

Today, I called up both lawyer, the buyer lawyer said that my lawyer did not respond and my lawyer said that the buyer lawyer still havent draft the S&P. My lawyer also said that, regarding my case, it take some time cuz there is a trustee in the title which i edi know that.

What shud i do? please advise

And there's one more thing, my lawyer told me that this title require Court Order(Penghakiman) which i dun hv. My lawyer is going to extract from the previous lawyer but i believe the previous lawyer no longer hv it cuz is abt 10 years ago. Due to this extracting court order, im afraid that my lawyer will delay again.

Who shud i charge the 8% per annum after 90 days after S&P if there a delay, the lawyer or the buyer?

but the agent is really.... haih..
anyone we can report to? her inappropriate act.

With regard to the hike in price, your parents have no choice but to agree with the demands of the vendor if they still intend to purchase the house as there is nothing in writing to bind the vendor to the price of 2.6M. Verbal promises are of no value as it is your parents' word against his. Even if you can prove the verbal promise, it still does not bind the vendor as no consideration has passed from your parents to him in order to secure the promise at that price, eg a deposit.

With regard to the rental, your parents are bound by whatever is stated in the provisions of the tenancy agreement. If it does not provide for early termination of the tenancy, then they have to continue the tenancy until it expires in Nov. Usually, if there is early termination by one party, the rental until the end of the tenure will be considered as agreed liquidated damages and ought to be paid by the party in default. So do check the agreement.

With regard to the For Sale signage, as long as it does not interfere with the use and enjoyment of the premises, I don't see how your parents can object to that as that is the right of the vendor to do so.

You mean if there is a delay from the purchaser's side or from your side (or your lawyer's side)?

If delay from purchaser's side, then purchaser has to pay to you.

If delay from your side or your lawyer's side, then the completion date would be automatically extended in favour of the purchaser. So the purchaser gets more time to complete the transaction.

thank you so much for your reply! will assist my parents in reading the agreement and discuss further.

really appreciate your help. thanks dario!

Dear Dariofoo,

I received the keys of my condo on September 2011. However, I realized there had been a late penalty charged to me (almost 5k) due to the late disbursement of the first loan for almost 2 months. Of cause I was very mad back then and checked with the solicitor, which they deny any wrongdoings and at my request, provided me a very simple chronology, which I can't judge who is at fault on the delay. So I started checking with my bank and they replied it was due to the some mistakes and delay from the solicitor. They even feedback me with a detailed chronology which explain which event was late and what causes it. I find their explanation to be much more convincing as compared to the solicitor. In short, there is no unwanted delay from the bank side.

When I started to turn back to the solicitor asking for an explanation, she started to act realy unprofessional. Firstly, she NEVER reply my email. Secondly, she always claim to be discussing with the bank side but for goodsake it's been more than 4 months! I've called several times since January and she always gave me empty promises about reverting back to me.

So here's my questions:
1. Am I partially on fault for not chasing the solicitor on the loan disbursement in the first place? FYI, it was my 1st house purchase and I thought the lawyer will handle everything for me....
2. On the legal perspective, can I get the solicitor to compensate my late penalty?
3. Can it be a full compensation?
4. Since she kept 'forgetting' and avoiding my request, what can I do?

Please advise as I am very very upset with this irresponsible legal firm!

1. Not at all. There is no duty upon the client to 'chase' the lawyer to do their work. So don't feel an inch of guilt about it.
2. Well, if the chronology of the bank is more reliable, in the sense that it is supported by correspondence duly acknowledged, then yes, I would say that you have a good case.
3. If the delay is caused by the solicitor, of course.
4. Put in writing a letter requesting for an explanation of the delay and request for a full chronology supported by correspondence duly acknowledged by all parties - lawyers, bank and dev. Give them 7 days to hand it over to you, failing which you will complain to the Adv & Sol Discip Board [see link at first page of this thread]. That ought to shake them up. Send in the letter BY HAND and get an acknowledgement - very important.

Then see what have to say. If you're lucky they would admit to their error and reimburse you the sum in full.

Come back here for further advice if things remain as it is after the letter has been sent.

hi dariofoo..

Received from my lawyer below calculation, is it correct?

completion date : 10/04/2012
we received balance chq: 07/05/2012
days of delay: 27 days

date we sent redemption chq to bank: 27/03/2012
date we received original title from bank: 12/04/2012
days of delay : 2 days
* According to S&P if exceeds 14 days to return security documents,
completion date shall be extended accordingly.

27 days - 2 days : 25 days

Purchase Price: RM445,000.00
10% Deposit: RM 44,500.00 (-)
Balance P. Price: RM400,500.00
Purchaser's Loan: RM378,000.00 (-)
Differential Sum: RM 22,500.00 (has been forwarded to us on 28/02/2012)

RM378,000.00
RM350,900.00 (-) redemption sum
RM27,100.00 (amount eligable for interest)

Therefore, for the calculation of interest:

RM27,100.00 x 25 days / 366 days x 8%
= RM148.08

Yes, the method of calculation is correct.

Many thanks, you helpful.

Hi Dariofoo,

You've been very helpful... really surprised by the fact that I can get decent legal advise on lowyat.net.

Since the bank already provided me a full chronology while the developer had admitted some of their mistake and gave me some discount, I will only focus on the lawyer. In fact, the battle was only between the bank and the lawyer as they are pointing fingers at each other. Will prepare the letter accordingly.

On the other hand, I recently experienced an almost 40% increase on my maintenance fee and was informed that it was due to the common area electricity being charged as commercial rate instead of residential rate. The developer claim that TNM rejected thair claim to charge residential rate because "this building is considered a high-end condo." They further explain that under the TNB dictionary, even the land title is Residential, they will still put us under commercial rate... is that true? I have check the master title and it mentioned "Tanah ini hendaklah digunakan untuk bangunan kediaman bertingkat bagi tujuan pangsapuri sahaja". I'm really confused now as it was never mention in the S&P whether this is a residential or commercial title. Any advise? The increase is just too much to bear.

Wonder why I had so many problems with my 1st house purchase... really headache.

Good. Keep us updated from time to time.


This, I'm not too sure. You can't be too sure also that TNB indeed classified it as commercial by virtue of it allegedly being a high end condo. Is there a letter from TNB to that effect?

What has the JMB has to say about all this? Perhaps they ought to rally with the developer and send in a letter to TNB seeking further clarification and explanation.