Transmenu powered by JoomlArt.com - Mambo Joomla Professional Templates Club

KUALA LUMPUR, Mon: On Saturday January 13, Radio Channel Lite-FM started to air a series of talk shows titled “Legal Eagles” from 11.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon. The “Legal Eagles” is scheduled to be aired fortnightly and topics intended to be covered are conveyancing, human rights and family law. Representatives of the Bar Council will participate by speaking on the scheduled subject and answering questions from callers.

The Bar Council’s Conveyancing Practice Committee (CPC) was invited to kick off the first talk show, and was represented by Andrew Wong, the Deputy Chair of the CPC. The show was hosted by DJ, Kevin.

At the start of the show, Andrew thanked Lite FM for giving the Bar Council the opportunity of a fresh avenue in its continuing efforts to educate and enlighten members of the public in relation to the buying and selling of property. He stated that currently the Bar Council together with Sun Media Corporation Sdn Bhd are in a joint venture to feature articles on property transactions which are of interest to the public and which are being published on a fortnightly basis in “theSun – PropertyPlus” section. The articles cover a wide range of topics such as the role of a solicitor, how much to pay for the sale or purchase of property, understanding a sale and purchase agreement, and what happened when a person dies without a will, to name a few.

Andrew said that the Bar Council is taking part in this radio show in an attempt to help members of the public with any problems they may face or have faced, when buying or selling property. He emphasised that as soon as a vendor intends to sell or a purchaser intends to buy, he should immediately appoint a solicitor to look after his interests in the transaction.

The first caller was Mr. Ong, who works in a bank. He had purchased a property from a developer and has appointed a solicitor to act as the SPA lawyer. He obtained a loan from a bank, but the bank did not appoint the SPA lawyer to act in the loan transaction. The SPA lawyer wants to charge him something extra, for not being instructed to act in the loan and Ong wanted to know if this was common practice.

Andrew explained the SPA lawyer is acting for him in the purchase transaction. Whoever is appointed by the bank to act in the loan transaction, is acting for the bank, although as the borrower, he will have to pay the bank’s legal fees unless the loan is on a free legal package basis. The bank has a right not to appoint the SPA lawyer for the loan documentation and the SPA lawyer cannot charge him any additional fee for not being instructed to act in the loan.

The second caller was Keith who had a condominium in Subang Jaya, some 10-11 years ago and was concerned that the strata title for his unit has not been issued and transferred to him. He said the Residents' Committee had been enquiring about this matter with the developer, but the developer had been given them the run around. Keith wanted to know what he can do and how long it normally takes for strata titles to be issued.

Andrew informed him that it is difficult to estimate the exact time for strata titles to be issued and the time period varies from place to place. Generally it will between 5-8 years after completion of the development, which may in different phases.

Andrew advised Keith to get the Chairman of the Residents' Committee to approach the relevant authority (land office or land registry) to find out if the developer had submitted a proper application for strata titles and had furnished all necessary documents. If the developer had done so then it is difficult to fault the developer as the issue of titles is something out of the developer’s  hands. If the developer had not done so or the documents furnished to the relevant authority are not complete, then the Residents' Committee can confront the developer. Alternatively the Residents’ Committee can approach the Ministry of Housing, as the current Minister has shown that he is very keen to regulate and discipline errant developers.

Andrew added that purchasers of property after the 2002 amendments to the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 and Regulations, may not face the same problem, as the purchaser will only pay a final 2.5% of the purchase price when the developer has applied for sub-division of the building.

The 3rd caller was Jerry who wanted to refinance his property. In his case, the strata title has been issued but the transfer could not be effected by the developer as winding-up proceedings have been commenced against the developer. The developer is also unwilling to sign any documents relating to consent to the re-financing.

Andrew explained to Jerry that since the strata title has not been transferred to him, whatever he does with his property will require the consent of the developer. He also advised him to ensure that the strata title is transferred to him as soon as possible.

Nevertheless Andrew informed him that recent amendments to the Housing Development (Control & Licensing) Act and Regulations will probably help him in his predicament. Once the amendments come into force, the developer’s consent will no longer be required as a subsequent purchaser or borrower or financier is only required to give notice of any assignment. Andrew suggested that Jerry should wait until the amendments come into force and then approach his lawyer again. He advised him to call the Bar Council secretariat and/or executive officer, Rohani Adnan for any further assistance in this matter.

Although there were many callers trying to get to the DJ, due to time constraints only 3 callers could be entertained. Andrew rounded the show by informing the public that they can at anytime call the Bar Council secretariat for any assistance in their dealings with lawyers or developers, and the Bar Council will try and help out as much as possible.

Comments (3)

Subscribe to this comment's feed