Hi,

Back in 2005, I signed an S & P document with a local developer. The house was supposed to be completed at the end of 2007. We were supposed to move in early 2008. However, due to a series of problems, the project was delayed. It is now 2009 and my unit is only 30% built. We have had numerous phone conversations with the developer. They kept giving us excuses like ground works in progress, permits not approved and etc. I am desperate to move out from where I am staying and I had hoped to have my own place in 2008. All my funds are tied up with this commitment I made. How can I bail out of this mess?

1. Since the S & P has already expired and the developer FAILED to deliver as signed, what legal actions can I take?
2. I tried to consult the lawyer firm, who represents both the Developer and myself. I get the impression that they are siding with the Developer. All they can tell me is, IF I sue, I stand to LOSE all my payments and the Developer can choose NOT to compensate my losses. I wanted to find a neutral legal party, who can offer me advice. Anyone has any recommendations?
3. I have also emailed the Goverment's housing department for advice. They sympathize with me and have asked me to submit a letter and a complaint.

In short, I can no longer wait for the developer to deliver his word. I just want to end this nightmare and move on. Any advice on how to achieve this would be greatly appreciated!

P/S: I am in Penang. The housing project mentioned is in Seberang Perai, Bukit Tengah.

This post has been edited by romualdo: Feb 18 2009, 08:36 AM

The first thing you should do is read the S&P. All the advises here doesn't really matter unless you read the S&P and find out what is the developer's responsibility if this happens. Usually they have to compensate the buyer a certain amount perday or permonth. Then again maybe not. All depends on the term & conditions on the S&P.
And second of all, never ever go to THEIR lawyer for advices in this case. You have to keep in mind, the developer is paying them. Not you. If the lawyer is hoping for a repeat business from the developer, of course they are going to side with them. Its much more better if you get the legal advice from somewhere else.

We as buyers are always at the mercy of Developers who are in it only for the money,they doesnt care whether u borrow a substantial amount of money to purchase a house and struggling to pay back the loan every month just to have a home of our own. just one question: if most of the units are sold then y the developers have difficulty in completing them? there's one reason which my fren told me...

One of my fren's parents bought a house in Serdang which is scheduled to be completed in 2007 but until now its abandoned after completing about 70% of the units there. now the windows,doors,gates,wires all stolen and its in a sorry sight,and his dad is still servicing the loan for a house they never know whether they have any chance to stay in. all calls to the developer are left unanswered,if he's lucky some1 will pick up but all they answer is simply 'dunno', 'not sure', 'call back later',...

My fren found out from other buyer the stupid developer went bankrupt and the reason its becos they have too many projects on hand which they cant complete. so until today after many meetings with all the buyers they still havent got a solution,they have gone to many parties they think that they think can help but always went home disappointed so they have no choice but to service the loan every month. now 2 years has since passed and still no solution in sight...

This post has been edited by kcmy: Feb 18 2009, 09:10 AM

sorry to hear this, I think bukit tengah is a bit not easy to bail out.

have you tried quietly talk to the developer saying you want to bail out and mentioned lets settle this quickly and quietly. u can even pretend to ask about what other new projects the developers are doing and near or already completed and if you can get those instead etc. as to show your intention you want to bail out but flexible to hear their options.

at the same time, get a lawyer to advise what you can do fast ! now that PR is in charge, u may go find any lawyers who are link to PR.

lastly go to development board also, i don't know if seberang prai still fall under Penang dev board, but the last time I went to PDB, they can give quite good advices for this kind of cases.

good luck buddy !

I read the SnP document. They DO have to compensate for late delivery. In our last phone conversation, they did acknowledge this fact. However, whether they will live up to this acknowledgment is unknown.

You are right. I should NEVER have gone to their lawyer. That is why I am trying to get legal advice from somewhere else. However, who to go to? I am trying the search for legal firms online....

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Added on February 18, 2009, 10:48 amI am sorry to hear about your friend...I hope both he/she and I can get out of this mess

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Added on February 18, 2009, 10:50 amYou know, I have never tried hinting to the developer about bailing out. Maybe I can try that and at least improve my situation a little. I'll try to look out for the Penang Dev board and see if there's anything there.



This post has been edited by romualdo: Feb 18 2009, 10:50 AM

Trying to find a lawyer online is probably a bad idea as well. The best thing is probably to get a personal recommendation from friends, old schoolmates and family. Failing that, you could ask around on property forums for recommendations from homeowners who have faced similar problems.

It is best for the buyers in that same property area to form a committee then all share and hire a lawyer for delay compensation and trying yo find a solution with the developers.

In Malaysia, the housing law/rules are always disadvantage to the buyers, sadly to say.

Yah i agree also. Based on me experience with lawyers, especially involving suing here and suing there, they will all say its doable. So if you intent to get litigious, i would suggest first you refer to somebody who has experience in this field. Preferably someone who is in same field. Like Project Manger, or Architect or a developer. Show them the SnP and get their opinion.
The best is thru recommendations like he have mentioned. At least they are taking your money and they should be helping you.

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Added on February 18, 2009, 4:40 pmAnd by the way, they do have to live up with their agreement and pay up for the delay of handing over the property to you.
SnP is a legal binding document an also a contract between you and the developer, and subject to the term and condition of the agreement, actions can be taken to the party who violate the agreement, as stated in the SnP.
If you just want the completion of the housing project and the CF so you can move in, just let it slide.
But if you wanted to get the full advantage as stated in your Snp, then lawyer up.

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Added on February 18, 2009, 4:47 pmI'm really sorry to hear about this. In this case, most of the time, its a goner. As the company also went bankrupt, its there is nobody else who will be finishing up the project.
In this case, one of the solution is where another company pick up what the last company left off. they will continue with the project, finish it up and deliver to the house owner. but i have no idea how the financial arrangement works.
Another solution, which i only heard off but have not actually witness, is where a group of house owner banded together, and finished the houses themself and applied for CF and everything so they can move in. I have heard of this before, but have no idea where is it and how it actually works

This post has been edited by toekong: Feb 18 2009, 04:47 PM

if you need cheap legal services you may want to try contacting the bar council in penang. i'm sure they can assign someone to help you, but i'm not sure how efficient they are.

try reading the condition precedent (am not sure if it's in the S&P though, things which says what happens if they fail to deliver etc.).... it's good to get another person's view on this but legal proceedings may be expensive if they are not willing to let you off the hook easily, especially if the S&P was designed in a way which benefited the developer instead of yourself.

Well, guess what. I received a letter over the weekend, informing me that my developer is winding up. A provisional liquidator has been appointed and we will be meeting on the 12th next month to find out more. Things are looking rather bleak. I have no idea what this means. Am I to lose all my deposits? Can I look for compensation? What about my loan? What about my interests? Who is going to help me resolve all this? What else can go wrong? I am starting a new topic about this...

This post has been edited by romualdo: Feb 23 2009, 08:44 AM

Is it Talam? They have quite a reputation to do things halfway.

nope, not Talam...

u are not alone.. just search in this lowyat forum :damai apartment (merge housing)..

we purchase our apartment since year 2000.. and now 2009.. developer have immunity (LOL) nothing can make them cry..

our group has made few time appearance on TV (last one was few week ago)..

now our developer try to apply for winding-up.. while we (purchaseR already pay for interest since day one we sign with the bank (9 years x RM350)

my point of view .. simple.. it going to be a long..long.. long.. plus windy.. tired route