Remember when I wrote that we had Vacant Possession of our new house about two weeks ago? Well, looks like it is going to be null and void, because we discovered that we were not the ONLY party who had the sets of keys to the property!!!
We signed up all the paperwork, etc when the keys were handed over to us on Friday 22 June 2007 and we inspected the property with the representative of the Developer and also the sub-contractor. There were quite a number of hairline cracks around the house and we were advised to fill in the property defect form within 18 months (from the date of VP).
We were just so happy that the keys were finally ours and we were officially, the legal owner of the property with the handing over of the keys to us. Meaning - we have exclusive rights to the property. Right?
Well, apparently NOT!
We went to the house last Saturday and discovered that someone had opened the main door with THEIR OWN set of keys to the property, and had started working on the hairline cracks - and mind you, we have NOT even lodged a formal complaint on any of the defects to the property yet! Nobody had contacted us to seek permission to enter the property to work on the defect! And even worse, whoever who was working on the defect had actually left the main door, the kitchen door, and a couple of sliding doors wide open! And the house was filthy, with marks on the wall and rubbish strewn all over, and horror, horror - these people actually used the toilets - and I just don't want to go into details on THAT! AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!
To say that we were fuming mad would be an understatement! Ayah called the Technical Supervisor who gave the assurance when we were given VP that the three sets of keys handed over to us were the only keys around. So, how do you explain all these? Apparently when the Supervisor came, he himself was shocked! We spoke to the chap who was the liaison officer between the house owners and the sub-contractors and guess what he told us - the honcho of the sub-contractor actually has duplicate copies of keys to ALL of the houses there!!!!
We are lodging a formal complaint and are demanding the Developer to declare that the handing over of Vacant Possession on 22 June 2007 is rendered null and void, and we are changing ALL the locks using our own contractor BUT all the costs involved should and would be borne by the Developer.
So, to all property owners who are moving into your new house, wherever you are - heed my advice. Change ALL locks to your property before you move in. Would you want to move in to your new house if you knew someone else also has access to YOUR home? I think NOT!
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14 comments:
really scary...
wonder what would happen if you should come round with 'them' in the house.....
dear shana,
OH MY GOD!
i think this must be the standard practice in all, if not, most housing projects.
Now we know how some houses are broken into not long after the owners have moved in.
i am not moving into any new house in the future but that is a good advice that you're given to potential house buyers.
Good thing u found out about it early. Kalau dah pindah baru tahu, lagi horror!!!!
wah.. this is beyond shocking. i definitely need to warn my parents abt this. we're going to move to new hse (competion nxt yr). thanks for the advise kak shana.
-zasya-
stf937
Dear Minah Celoteh,
YES - REALLY SCARY...
Even SCARIER - the Developer is actually one of the few quite reputable ones around! If THEY could not guarantee that ALL procedures pertaining to the safety and security of the properties and the buyers are adhered to...hmmmm, I shiver to think about the going-ons within the operations of all the other developers!
Dear K.Ena,
Yes, both Ayah and I memang beristighfar panjang when we discovered what happened that day...
We were shocked and very angry. As if we didn't have other things to worry about, bertambah pulak dengan this problem! Have to lodge formal complaint lah, have to fix another date for VP lah, have to engage our own contractor to change the locks lah...dan bermacam-macam lagi lah - because of something which should not have happened in the first place!
GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!
Mamamia,
Betul tu...Nasib baik we found out before we move in.
It is a HIKMAH in a way - bersusah sekarang, so that, insya Allah, takkan bersusah kemudian...
But still...GERAMNYER!
Dear Zasya,
Yes, you should warn your parents and everybody you know who are planning to purchase/move to their new house in the future.
Even if the Developer gives assurance that there are no other duplicates lying around somewhere, it is best to change ALL the locks to the property.
YES - you will have to bear extra costs, but, what is that, compared to the price of your life and the lives of your loved ones?
All the best, dear. Take care.
Wah...got ar like dat?
YOu'd better get black n white from the Developer
Dear Dad of Four,
Ya lah...got like that lorrr!
I have spoken to the Customer Service Manager and I'm in the process of drafting a formal letter of complaint to the Developer.
The disturbing thing is, when I spoke to one of her colleagues on that day when the incident happened, that guy told us that that was NOT the first time it happened. Apparently he was aware that a few other house-owners had the same thing happened to them.
Even MORE disturbing - the Sales Manager whom I spoke to didn't seem to know anything about it!!!
Errr...don't you think her colleague(s)(or the affected house-owners) should have told her about it before?!!
For fellow new house owners, I agree with what my dear wife has suggested that it would be worthwhile changing the locks and keys...but before we start changing every single one, may I suggest that we only change the front door je. It's the main passage of entrance and exit. Pintu2 yang lain tu boleh letak selak (however many you want) dari dalam. So just change the lock and key to the front door should suffice.
My 2 sen... :)
Ayah
Shana,
Waahhhhh.... bagus lah itu kepala subcontractor. Belom lodge defect report sudah start repair!! Errr.. can i have the contact numbers pls? eheheh...
Aaiya... what la you! Of course they would make duplicates of the house keys! SO changing the locks & keys memang ler one of the few critical next steps after you collect your new house keys.
But if declaring the handing over as null & void, and then can claim back all costs associated with changing of locks & keys from the developer... hmmm.... that's a superb idea! Aa... tolong email itu sample surat boleh ka? ehehehh!!
p.s I hate it when the left wall marks & the toilets dirty. Geram kan?
Ayah,
I still feel safer if we change ALL the locks (at least to all the main doors on the groundfloor), and then pasang all the "selaks" we want from inside...
Dear Ibu,
The representative of the Developer should ALWAYS be the one who unlocks and locks the doors to the property when the sub-contractors are working on the property. NEVER should the sub-contractors be left alone with the keys, even for a second! THAT should be the standard procedure.
Because the Developer's representative felt that there would be such a hassle to unlock and lock the properties everyday (which is part of his job anyway!)which was what happened in this case, I believe, he had given the keys to the sub-contractor, STUPIDLY thinking that the latter would not make duplicates of them!
If the right procedures are followed, we would not and should not be spending our money unnecessarily - changing all the locks and keys to the property everytime we move into our new house.
In our case, we are fortunate that we have concrete proof of the sub-contractors holding duplicates of keys to our property and we therefore have a case to demand the Developer to bear the cost of us changing the locks and the keys. But, what about those who cannot proof that the sub-contractors have the duplicate keys to their house?
Yes, to be on the safe side, they can always change the locks and the keys to their house, irrespective of whether they have proof or not, as to whether another party has the duplicates. But they would have to bear the costs personally. Changing the locks and the keys can be quite costly, and not all property buyers can afford to spend that extra money.
As for them using the toilets and dirtying the walls, etc...YES - I feel like screaming my head off!!!
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