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Why settle for less when you can get more?
30/04/1996 The Star
You have bought a house from a housing
developer and made sure that all payments were made when due. The loan is in
place, and the bank releases parts of the loan according to requests for
progress payments from the developer.
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Charging Land
12/12/1998 The Star
Land is a valuable asset, besides its
various obvious uses, it can also be charged to obtain a loan or other
financial facilities.
A person may, of course, charge a property for his own benefit. But what
about situations when one person's property is charged and another gets the
loan? In this situation, the land owner allows his land to be charged for a
loan or facility that is granted to another person. Even though the loan is
granted to someone else, the property is at risk until the debt is repaid.
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Plight of the house buyer
1998 The Star
The signing of a Sale and Purchase
Agreement is a happy occasion for most house buyers as money matters such as
the downpayment and loan, would have been settled or arranged for.
The developer on his part, has nothing to complain about. He has acquired
the land, though he may not have paid for it as yet, and he has enthusiastic
buyers who are willing to pay as much as 10% of the purchase price.
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Housebuyers vs
developers
14/03/2000 The Star
THERE is much talk about making changes
to the law involving housing. To what extent these will improve the lot of
housebuyers remains to be seen.
A major problem faced by housebuyers is getting compensation for late
completion. There are not many "gentlemen" among housing developers who will
honour the terms of the Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA). Whilst most
developers will ensure that every sen is paid to them before possession of
the property is handed over to the housebuyer, the reverse is not true when
it is the developer who is owing money to the housebuyer.
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Societies'
right to own property
18/04/2000 The Star
MANY activities are carried out using
the legal framework of a society. A society needs to be registered under the
Societies Act 1966 to be legitimate. But this does not make the society a
body corporate. Societies are organisations usually formed to pursue
cultural, political, social, sporting or even religious purposes, or "some
other common interest which does not amount to carrying on a business." Thus
some industry bodies which exist to pursue their interests are also
registered as societies.
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Cracking Up
12/09/2000 The Star
In good or bad times, a person still needs
a house to stay in. For some people, owning property is a form of
investment. Often there are problems like defects in houses and unkept
promises by housing developers and property agents.
Different problems arise from time to time. The problems are not always the
same though the house buyer often ends up the loser. A reader complains:
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Being innocent
victims
27/11/2000 The Star
Usually one merely uses the phrase
"innocent victims" in general conversation. The phrase is self-explanatory.
An innocent victim is a person who suffers for the consequences of something
he did not do.
The recent decision of the Legal Profession Qualifying Board to set aside
this year's Certificate of Legal Practice (CLP) examination provides a
classic example of a situation where people become innocent victims and are
caught in a Catch 22 situation and are helpless.
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Landed with problems
06/01/2001 The Star
The purchase of landed property could
involve just a piece of land, a house or a commercial building. It involves
the commitment of substantial resource in terms of the initial payment and
the monthly instalments.
When hiccups arise, the consequences for the buyer may not only be
burdensome but on occasions, disastrous. The purchaser may face difficulties
and find the law not entirely on his side.
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Rights
of house buyers
06/03/2001 The Star
In recent months there has
been discussion in the press about changes in the laws affecting housebuyers.
One reader expresses his concerns over the fact that no clear picture is
emerging. Such concern is understandable. This is because housebuyers hope
that, through some new law, all their problems will be solved. This, of
course, is unlikely to happen in a big way. Not every problem area will be
completely addressed.
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Right to peace
and quiet
01/05/ 2001 The Star
MORE businesses are
located in office and shopping complexes these days. Similarly, changing
lifestyles and shortage of space have resulted in more people living in
apartments and condominiums.
Such buildings comprise separate units owned by different people. Each unit
is referred to as a compartment; according to existing legislation, they are
parcels defined to mean "one of the individual units comprised therein,
which (except in the case of an accessory parcel) is held under separate
strata title.''
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