I am writing
this base of my experiences. It my contribution to the society who are yet to
understand the pro and con of getting a living space that one call home. Here
are my two cents.
If you buy a landed property You get a house and the piece of land the house was built. You are responsible for maintaining that house of yours only. You pay the Assessment tax to the Local Council, twice a year and Quit Rent to the Land Office once a tear; you are done. The Local council take care of the road in front of your house, the drains, the Street Lighting and cut the grass beside the house. You pay the Electricity and Water Bill and you are done. You need not pay a monthly Service Charges. If there is a Park nearby you are free to use it.
If You buy a
Condo; You are not only buying the space that you are going to live but you are
collectively with the others responsible for the management of the whole Condominium complex which
includes everything that is call the Common area like the Walkway, The Lifts,
the Stairways, the Perimeter Lighting, The Swimming Pool, The Gym, The Garden
and other common facilities. With the assistance of the Commissioner of
Building you are to maintain collectively the whole condominium complex using
the Service Charge Money. This is done through the Owner Association or by a
Company own or appointed by the Owner Association. With the Service charge
money, the Company would manage the whole complex for you. Other than paying
the Services Charges, like the owner of Landed property you must pay Assessment
to the Local council and the Land Tax to the Land Office. Remember that the
owner of Landed property does not have to pay the Service Charge. For the first
few years everything would be fine and rosy but as years goes on the building
and equipment would get older and had to be repaired, the outside wall had to
be repainted and You collectively had to pay for that. Another big problem is
that some owners might not pay or delay in making payment the monthly Service Charges or the Water Bills than it became a problem for the Management company to pay their bills and
arrears would accumulate and the Bulk Water bills are not paid. Water to the
whole complex would be cut and everyone even those who had paid their water
bills would not get water supply.
Eventually
the Management company would give up and decided to leave the place or declare
bankruptcy. The whole complex is left without anyone to managed. Soon the Lift
not working, the Swimming Pool turn green etc. would be left to rots. That
folks is the beginning of your nightmare. These happened to us 200 plus owners of a
five stars condo and now left to rots. So never take for granted the management of the condo complex. Always see to it that every owners pay the service charge. Do check the accounting of the Management company from time to time so that no arrears of bills to the TNB or the Water Authority for the Common areas left unpaid. Remember living in a condominium is a collective responsibility unlike the landed property you are only responsible for your house..
With the high cost of property now you would have to pay a huge sum monthly to the bank and it sort of a life commitment to the bank. Failing to pay the loan your home may be repossessed, and you are back to square one; without a living space that you would call home.
Have a nice day.
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