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http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_776658.html
Property agent gets flat seller into debt
Case of unscrupulous housing agent colluding with moneylenders
By Elizabeth Soh
When prison inmate Ahmad was released last November, he decided to sell his three-room flat to pay off about $15,000 in debts he had run up during his eight-year jail stint.
Instead, the 56-year-old ended up owing another $9,500, he says, after the property agent referred him to a moneylender to 'tide him over' while the home was put on the market.
Worse, after three months Mr Ahmad (not his real name) was still waiting for his flat to be sold.
His case is just one example of a problem highlighted by the Minister for National Development in his Budget speech last week. Mr Khaw Boon Wan referred to media reports about families selling their flats to pay their debts or short-term expenses, only to be taken advantage of by unscrupulous real estate agents, and pledged to flush them out.
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_776658.html
Property agent gets flat seller into debt
Case of unscrupulous housing agent colluding with moneylenders
By Elizabeth Soh
When prison inmate Ahmad was released last November, he decided to sell his three-room flat to pay off about $15,000 in debts he had run up during his eight-year jail stint.
Instead, the 56-year-old ended up owing another $9,500, he says, after the property agent referred him to a moneylender to 'tide him over' while the home was put on the market.
Worse, after three months Mr Ahmad (not his real name) was still waiting for his flat to be sold.
His case is just one example of a problem highlighted by the Minister for National Development in his Budget speech last week. Mr Khaw Boon Wan referred to media reports about families selling their flats to pay their debts or short-term expenses, only to be taken advantage of by unscrupulous real estate agents, and pledged to flush them out.
