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Condo developers now cheat buyers with smaller floor area & substandard fixtures

Rogue Trader

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Condo complaints

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Residents at a condo in Bedok, Waterfront Waves, say that the developer has shortchanged them of 2 sq m in each unit.

Melissa Tan
The Straits Times
Monday, Jan 13, 2014

SINGAPORE- Residents of some condominiums here are up in arms after discovering that the construction of their dream homes did not quite go according to plan.

At Waterfront Waves in Bedok Reservoir, some units ended up a little smaller than what their buyers paid for. Over in Novena at Vista Residences, what was supposed to be a window turned out to be a fixed glass panel.

Home owners at both projects told The Straits Times they were concerned the discrepancies might affect their units' value.

Mr Richard Tan, 60, a retiree, said the area of his three-bedroom unit at Waterfront Waves was short by 2 sq m, or about 21.5 sq ft. This shortfall is worth slightly more than $14,000 at the price of $657 per sq ft that he paid for the unit in 2009.

"With price appreciation, that area could be worth potentially $20,000," Mr Tan said.

Another home owner, Mr Andy Wee, added: "We felt the developer was not upfront with us. They should have told us before we had to find out ourselves."

The 43-year-old manager in the IT industry also has a three-bedder costing $646 psf.

The 99-year leasehold Waterfront Waves was finished in late 2011, but home owners found out about the unit-size shortfall only when they got their Strata Certificates of Title early last year.

Its developer is Frasers Centrepoint Homes. Chief executive Cheang Kok Kheong told a meeting with home owners in July last year that about 80 per cent of the 405 units had a size shortfall.

Both Mr Tan's and Mr Wee's units were meant to have 141 sq m but turned out to have 139 sq m, a shortfall of about 1.4 per cent.

That percentage is below the construction tolerance threshold of 3 per cent stated in the sale and purchase (S&P) agreement.

Mr Cheang told The Straits Times the shortfall was the result of tweaks to the placement of balcony railings and bay windows.

During construction, Frasers Centrepoint decided to set bay windows further back from the window ledge "to ensure water tightness", and move the railings further in from the balcony edge "for safety reasons", he said.

Mr Loi Hwee Yong, president of the land surveyor division of the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV), said these were "valid reasons" given the inevitable difficulty of translating plans on paper to concrete reality.

"There's not much savings involved so I don't think it was for the purpose of saving cost."

An Urban Redevelopment Authority spokesman said the 3 per cent tolerance level for constructed unit sizes in the S&P agreement provides for "minor deviations" that may arise during construction due to unforeseen circumstances. If the shortfall is less, the developer and home owners are not entitled to compensation under the agreement.

At the freehold Vista Residences in Jalan Datoh in Balestier, completed in October last year, residents have a different gripe.

Ms Koh Lee Lee, 44, who runs her own recruitment agency, said that she bought a three-bedder expecting that each bedroom would have at least two windows, going by the unit layout plan she got.

She was "shocked" to find that one supposed window was actually a fixed glass panel.

"If this had been made known to me four years ago, I might not have bought it. It's like buying a substandard room." The Straits Times understands that 153 out of 280 units are missing a window.

Mr Chng Kiong Huat, executive director of property services at Far East Organisation, which developed the project, said yesterday "the architect had not intended for two 'openable' windows for the second bedroom".

"An extra 'openable' window was inadvertently drawn in the as-built floor plan provided to Ms Koh. The error was subsequently corrected." The architect is RDC Architects.

The Building and Construction Authority said yesterday the main rule for provision of windows was that total area of the openings has to be at least 5 per cent of the room's floor area, for ventilation.

SISV's Mr Loi said that such post-completion discrepancies are rare, adding that it was highly unlikely that property developers here would want to cheat.

PropNex Realty chief executive Mohamed Ismail said the main way for home buyers to avoid discrepancies was to buy completed resale units. "Then what you see is what you get."




Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.


 

laksaboy

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SISV's Mr Loi said that such post-completion discrepancies are rare, adding that it was highly unlikely that property developers here would want to cheat.

Faith is the last refuge of the gullible.
 

johnny333

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Are these projects by the Far East Organisation:confused:

The quality of their projects are well known by their customers:biggrin:
 

gingerlyn

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Frasers centerpoint is belong to F&N group and it is owned by Temasek and ex chairman is second son of lee kuan yew, Lee Hsien Yang
 

kohpc

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During Ng Teng Fong's day many of the FEO projects were plagued by shoddy workmanship and inferior materials. One of my colleague's parents bought a Phase 1 intermediate terrace in Bedok Ria. After a few months the front apron started to sink along with the gate pillars. Soon after the back apron started sinking too. It caused them a good few months of stress before the defects were rectified.


Are these projects by the Far East Organisation:confused:

The quality of their projects are well known by their customers:biggrin:
 

Annunaki

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"With price appreciation, that area could be worth potentially $20,000," Mr Tan said.


Fucking cheebye mr tan condo already appreciate don't know by how much why never say?
 

imperialarms

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Buying off-plan is like that. You take the risk. As the article said, you could just buy a completed resale unit but you will pay a premium for it.
 

johnny333

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During Ng Teng Fong's day many of the FEO projects were plagued by shoddy workmanship and inferior materials. One of my colleague's parents bought a Phase 1 intermediate terrace in Bedok Ria. After a few months the front apron started to sink along with the gate pillars. Soon after the back apron started sinking too. It caused them a good few months of stress before the defects were rectified.


If it was landed he has the option of re-building. This option is not available to condo owners. In one of their condo projects the condo management found out that a beam was missing:eek: They only found this out 10+ years when there was a leak. Don't know if they were able to sue Far East for the cost to repair this:confused:

Far East sets up different shell companies to build their projects. I think it is a ruse to make it more difficult to sue them for such problems.
 

king_of_abalone

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Hey bros, those condos with rooms facing istana, their windows must be sealed glass panel lah... Long time ago already like that. This woman suaku lah, first time buy condo.
 

johnny333

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Hey bros, those condos with rooms facing istana, their windows must be sealed glass panel lah... Long time ago already like that. This woman suaku lah, first time buy condo.

Are you sure only sealed :confused: I heard last time the residences next to the Istana , in Cavenagh, had to brick the sides facing the Istana. Maybe it was because LKY was shy about people being able to see him sun bath in the nude.
 

johnny333

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WTF? How did the principal engineer approve the work? He should be shot!

I think someone at Far East is related to the royal family by marriage. It could be an honest mistake.
I could of course mention the MRT breakdowns, the flash floods,.... but I won't:wink:
 

king_of_abalone

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Are you sure only sealed :confused: I heard last time the residences next to the Istana , in Cavenagh, had to brick the sides facing the Istana. Maybe it was because LKY was shy about people being able to see him sun bath in the nude.

Yeah that one because right next door mah.... Newton and Novena are further away, so no need to brick, only sealed glass can already lah...
 
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