You need to abide by the terms of the SPA which both parties have signed. Look at the time given to the vendor to comply with the transfer of ownership of the other half-share. 6 months? 9? Until then, you can't fault him at all. You ought to be aware when you're buying this particular property that it is not the run-of-the-mill transaction and that it may be delayed.  So, do be patient.

With regard to your statement that the owner has 10% and thus, it would benefit him more to delay the process - that is an incorrect statement. The longer the delay, the more detrimental it is to the vendor as the price of the property may appreciate, and he can't do anything about it. Add in inflation and you'll see that the vendor has no reason to delay things. He would definitely want to use the balance 90% for other matters as well.

If you're confused about the whole process then it's time to speak your lawyer directly and find out the latest status and also the flow of proceedings. Some enlightenment would be useful, as you're a first time buyer. Good luck.

alan44:


1. No it is not illegal but there is a way to go about it.

2. No. Only one SPA is needed. It will state the higher price but there will be a side letter whereby the vendor agrees to give you a discount of RM25,000.00 and a letter of authorisation to his lawyer to automatically deduct it from the balance purchase price and hand it to you.

3. Not only too late, but there's no point as there's nothing in black and white. Your lawyer would also not want to get involved in this.

4. What's the point of hiring another lawyer? Plus, there can only be one SPA for a transaction. Another SPA has no legal effect whatsoever. Assuming even that even if it is valid, there's no way the vendor is going to sign another SPA.

5. Without anything in black and white, it's as good as your word against his. Having friends as witnesses does not help either it does not lend your case any credence. It is almost impossible to prove your case against him. Probably you can lodge a police report for cheating against the vendor but once again, without anything in writing, it is highly unlikely that the police will act on it. They would most probably say it is a civil matter and advise you to appoint a lawyer. Even if you appoint a lawyer and intend to sue the vendor, it would be difficult to prove your case without anything in writing at all.

1. Never of such arrangement before.
2. Not normally, but if you sign and agree, then how? Of course you are bound by it.

Well, the problem seems to lie between the bank and/or the bank lawyer, from what little you have told me here.

What you need to do is to prepare a proper chronology of events from the commencement of your SPA (recent one) until the date of termination by the vendor.

Few things which you would need to seek clarification from the bank/bank's lawyer or from the documents in your possession:

1. Where is it stated that the letter of offer is valid for only one year?
2. Did you sign the loan documentation (facility agreement, charge, etc) ? Did the bank's attorney sign it too?
3. When was the bank lawyer appointed to prepare the documents (letter of instruction)?
4. Did you receive a letter in writing informing you that the approval for your loan has lapsed after one year and that you need to resubmit? Did they indicate it to you earlier at any time?

Any delay from your SPA lawyer's side? You need to gather evidence from their side as well to ensure that they did not slip up at any time and did not contribute to the delay.

Once you confirm which party is at fault - only then can you file a formal complaint against the law firm (via a complaint to the A&S DB) OR the bank (via their internal complaint mechanism and to BNM).

If you can show that the bank acted in such a way to lead you to believe that they would release the loan, then you can claim that they have misrepresented and breached their contract against you (via the letter of offer) - and that you can seek compensation from them.

If SPA is aborted, the lawyer normally charges only 50% of the scaled fees as the entire work has not been done. You would still need to pay your SPA lawyer but perhaps you can ask for a 50% waiver as mentioned.