House ready at last, but more problems loom

07/01/2006 The Star By Wani Muthiah

Klang: Instead of looking forward to moving into their homes, several owners of double-storey houses in Taman Sungai Pinang in Kapar near here of what awaits them.

The housing project, which comprises 29 residential units priced at almost RM100,000 each, had been stalled for 20 years; the developer abandoned it in 1985.

Seventeen houses were completed when Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad came to the rescue.

But this could be the beginning of a new string of problems for those who took bank loans to purchase the houses in 1983.

One of them, Rashid Anuar, 51, said the 20-year delay had resulted in the loan interest coming up to almost the price of the house.

"Those of us who borrowed from banks serviced the loans for three years and stopped paying when the housing project was abandoned by the original developer.

"However, 'the meter' continued to run and currently we owe the banks almost double the amount we initially borrowed," said Rashid, who works for an automative parts trading company.

He said he was only 30 when he bought the house.