Be wary of schemes when buying houses


Potential house buyers should be fully aware of the schemes being offered by developers before signing up for their dream homes, said National Housing Department (JPN) director-general Datuk Mohamad Yusoff Ghazali.

He said that due to high demand in the property market, private developers offered various schemes to market their products without following the guidelines stipulated in the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1996 (Act 118).

Yusoff said the department had received numerous complaints, including for the sale of houses based on the Islamic concept where buyers were given the assurance that they would receive cash of RM500 for 36 months or until handover of the house keys upon signing of the agreement.

"Buyers of these houses are required to get personal loans in advance and subsequently pay the full amount to the lawyers appointed by the developers," he said in a statement issued in Putrajaya.

He said there were also schemes that offered 1Malaysia Dream Homes which required buyers to pay up RM500 to join as members and discount cards would be issued for travel and hotel reservations, as well as to get RM30,000 discounts on a house.

In reminding house buyers to be wary of schemes offered by housing developers, Yusoff said JPN would take appropriate action against errant developers to protect the interests of house buyers. - By Bernama

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