Thanks for reply.

I thought as much - I did advise her straight away to make sure rent is still paid on time as to not be in breach of contract as then the landlord does have the right, to kick her out!

Thanks Mr Dario Foo... ^.^

Dear Dario

I'm engaged a bank ocbc al-amin to buy a property.
It is a completed property. Loan amount 799,200

Knowing that loan facility agreement fees frOm the lawyer firm breakdown as follow.

(a) Legal fees: 6044
(b) Service tax@6% :362.66
© Est Disbursement fee: 2500

Here is my question. What makes the lawyer charge so much on ©? Can the client ask for discount on ©?

For c), you would need to request for a proper breakdown of the disbursements. Then you can compare with the samples in v1 of this thread. Link is at the first page.

Yes you can ask for a discount on disbursements like transport, paper, photocopying, etc and misc charges.

Thanks Dario,i had sent them a letter on 25 Oct now pending for their reply. thanks for your help. thanks alot...

Hi Dario,

Thanks for doing such good pro-bono work here.
I've been lurking around this thread but I have a small matter, so I would appreciate some advice.

I have a small shop on the ground floor of a 5 storey building. It's under a master title which has yet to be sub-divided into individual strata titles. The shop was financed via a loan from a local bank. So, they used a deed of receipt and reassignment as a security over the shop since the strata title has yet to be issued. The loan has now been fully paid and I would like to remove this deed of receipt and reassignment. Strata title has not yet been issued.

My questions as follows:

1. Could you let me know the general process that happens to discharge the deed of receipt and reassignment? Based on my MINIMAL understanding, the following occurs:

(a) Appoint a lawyer which will correspond with the local bank;
(b) Bank will forward the original documents (Power of Attorney, Deed of Receipt and Reassignment, Facilities Agreement) to this lawyer;
(c ) Lawyer will prepare the document to discharge this deed of receipt and reassignment which is to be signed by me (owner of the property). (not sure what document?);
(d) All these documents are to be furnished to the High Court for registration(?); and
(e) These original documents will then be given back to me for safekeeping.

Is this correct?

2. What are the usual fees charged for this and how long does this process usually take?

3. Is there anything I should take note or be concerned about? What are the documents that I should be signing (or more importantly, NOT sign...)?

***

Further, once the developer issues the individual strata-title later, is there a need to engage any lawyers on this matter? Or can I just go to the developer to take ownership of the strata title?

Thanks in advance and hope to hear from you.

I'm a buyer in a sub-sale transaction. It is a double storey townhouse. The question is the project had completed for almost 10 years ago, but it's still under a master title. One of the banker told me that they can't proceed my loan with master title as the developer don't have any other on-going project. May I ask what is the consequences I should be aware if I were to buy this house?

1. Firstly, the security doc is called a deed of assignment (DOA). The deed of receipt and reassignment (RnR) is the doc which the bank now executes to remove its interest and stake over the property. Basically you first need to obtain a letter of release from the bank confirming that all dues have been paid. Next, your lawyer would prepare the RnR and forward it to the bank together with the release letter. The bank would then execute the RnR and return it to your lawyer together with the original documents - DOA, SPA and PA (Power of Attorney). Your lawyer would then stamp the RnR and revoke the PA at the High Court. Once that is done,a copy is served on all parties and with the RnR, it is evidence that the property is unencumbered.

2. RM300 for RnR and additional RM100 for revocation of PA. Add in 6% service tax and approximately around RM200-500 for disbursements, as this would differ from firm to firm.

3. You would be signing the RnR. That's about it.

4. Yes, you would need to engage a lawyer to prepare the MOT for the developer and you to sign. Once it has been executed, stamped and presented for registration, it is the land office who would issue you with the strata title.

The worst case scenario I can think of is if the developer goes bust, gets wound up and taken over by liquidators and they do not maintain proper records, hence making it a hassle if you want to sell the house later as a letter of confirmation would not be issued with the necessary information which the bank might require.

Having said so, there are numerous projects still on master title where the developer is still active and maintain proper records after many years to date.

I guess there is no hard and fast rule to judge if the developer would go bust or otherwise.

I would suggest that you try to apply for a loan from another bank as the requirements of this one does appear to be quite strict.

Thank you so much, Dario! I really appreciate your advice which is crystal clear. At least I have a good idea how the whole process works.

Dear Dario, I ddnt know that such a thread existed. Not many lawyers do this kind of gestures.

Looking at the thread, i can see that this is totally about real estate, but can you point me to a forum whether LY or else, in which i can get some advice on battery. Or at least where can i get a sample of a complaint letter to a company about its employee who has caused injury to another.

Greatly appreciate your assistance.



fyi....the story, assault - what kind of action

This post has been edited by wannahaveitall: Oct 30 2012, 10:44 PM

No, there have been queries about other areas of the law as well, and such queries are always welcomed.

See the first page of this thread.


Kindly pose your question here instead of redirecting me to another page. Provide all details with a clear chronology of events in order for me to advise you accordingly.

Thank you Mr Dario.

I've received the invoice from the developer's lawyer for the housing loan agreement, there is one item "Company Search fee" amounted to RM50, is this really necessary?

And the lawyer also 'forgot' to apply the 50% waiver on stamp duty (and paid in full) even after I instructed them to do so. So now they trying to get a refund from the Stamp Duty office. Question now is How long it normally takes for me to get the refund?

Appreciate some feedbacks here! thanks!

Company search costs only RM15.



Hard to tell. Months, and maybe even up to a year. There's one scenario where it took almost 2 years. Getting money back from the Govt is not easy as it has to go through the Treasury. It is not a mere refund from LHDN.

Huge mistake by the lawyer. By right they should advance it out of their own pocket and refund you first, and then follow up themselves with LHDN. To ask you to wait for their mistake is, in my honest opinion, highly unprofessional and unethical.

Thank you for the advise Mr Dario,
So i should be extra careful, i should wait for the cheque to clear first before sign and return the SPA

Thanks for the prompt reply! Yes u r rite, they should be the one who wait for the refund, but they just said it's not their company policy. On top of that, they are charging me for extra cost incurred on telephone/courier fee/affirmation on SD and company search again! for the application of 50% waiver refund.

If anyone interested to know the firm name can pm me.

Is the company search also applicable to non-corporate buyer? Or the search is actually done on the developer?

Yes, correct. Wait for cheque to clear before returning the SPA.

hi mr dario, i've been told we actually can convert a leasehold geran to freehold. all it needs is roughly rm3k +- as lawyer fees. jus need clarifications. tq

No no no. They can't make you pay for their own mistake! Lucky for them that you have not filed a complaint against them for negligence!

If there is individual title , the developer is out of the picture and there is no need to conduct a search on the developer. If there is no individual title then a company search upon the developer/proprietor of the master title can be conducted as well as a winding-up search too.