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Buying a house that's just a
plan is 'insane'
NST-Prop 3/12/2005
I may get beaten up for saying
this, but I'll go ahead anyway. House buyers who get cheated by rogue
developers have only their greed to blame.
Why do we have to wait for the
Government to implement the build-then-sell (BTS) policy? Buyers can just
implement it on their own - simply by not buying until the houses have been
built!
I sincerely believe that house
prices will not increase, but can come down, if the BTS policy is "adopted"
by buyers.
Developers give all sorts of
excuses against BTS now because under the existing sell-then-build format,
they carry only minimal risk.
The cost in loan interest that
they will pass off to consumers under the BTS scheme cannot be any different
from what house buyers are now paying while waiting for their units to be
completed.
Speculation on the part of greedy
house buyers is the reason for artificially high prices of houses - prices
that are way above the cost of land and construction.
Buyers need only put 10 per cent
of the cost of a unit as downpayment, and so many do it with a view of
selling the property later for a tidy profit. I believe that if house buyers
are required to put up the full cost, then there will be fewer 'wolves' on
the prowl.
I am at a loss over the argument
that fewer houses will be built if the BTS system is made mandatory. Even
now, under the existing system, there are so many unsold units - can the
developers explain why this is so?
I have never, and most certainly
won't buy a house that only exists on paper. What would you do if Proton or
BMW were to approach you with their blueprints for new models. ask for a 10
per cent deposit to book the car and later show you four tyres and ask you
for another 15 per cent of the price?
Wouldn't you chase them out of
your house? If this is so, why do we accept such a diabolical insance method
when it comes to house buying?
Some of us refuse to put even a
RM10 deposit to process a roll of film - but yet will pay thousands of
ringgit to buy a house shown in a glossy brochure or as an architect's
drawing.
I blame all this on pure greed.
When these people get their fingers burnt, they'll run a and form a
mile-long queue at the National House Buyers Association.
By Radha Vendasalam, Kuala Lumpur |
