By LIM CHIA YING | Jan 15, 2010
High legal fees and costs mar joy of owning PPR units
THE high legal fees and other costs to be paid upfront for the purchase of a PPR unit is dampening the spirits of PPR Desa Petaling residents.
As the first PPR under the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary constituency to receive the offer letters from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) for purchase of the units, its residents are voicing out their woes on being unable to come up with that amount of money.
At a press conference, Bandar Tun Razak MP Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s special representative Azman Abidin, speaking on behalf of the 20-odd residents who were present, said it was only right that legal costs and the various fees be included as part of the loan.
“In the offer letter, the total amount to be paid up on the signing of the sale and purchase agreement is RM5,582, with a breakdown of the costs under five categories.
“How can we expect these residents to pay this amount,” said Azman.
He said there were other PPRs under the constituency that had yet to receive the offer letters and that the DBKL was now sending out the letters.
“For the Desa Petaling PPR, the offer letter dated Dec 30 stated that residents should decide within 14 days and to secure a bank loan within 30 days from the said date.
“Getting a bank loan takes time and residents should be given more time,” he said.
He added that if the Government intended to let the lower-income groups own a home, then it should make it affordable.
“The residents should also be allowed to engage their own lawyers who may charge lower fees.”
Party adviser Andrew Khan said while nothing much could be done about the stamp duty costs and 1% legal fees as this was restricted by the Bar Council, the RM1,570 charges for transfer and strata title could be reduced.
A memorandum on the matter is being prepared by the 10 Kuala Lumpur Pakatan Rakyat MPs to be sent to the Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin.
Among the requests in the memorandum are a review of the terms and conditions, that repairs be made to broken units and common facilities before the sale, that buyers be allowed to engage their own lawyers and that strata title-related problems of previous buyers be solved first.
A report in StarMetro in November quoted Raja Nong Chik as saying that the Government would be reducing some of the extra costs as announced earlier and that the costs would be part of the loan.
He had also said that the residents need not use the panel of banks which might not give them a 100% loan and whose charges were higher.
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