Saturday, 30 August 2008
Saturday, 16 August 2008
Thursday, 14 August 2008
Wall Opening Spacing Restrictions
As informed previously in the letters from the Chairman of the JMC, the spacing of the wall openings along the corridor to Management Office has been restricted. This is done by installing poles in the spacing. Its width had posed a potential danger for children.
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Cutie Pies Child Care Centre - Now Opened
Monday, 11 August 2008
Article - Condo Prices In Mont’ Kiara, Sri Hartamas Hit New High
By S. C. Cheah
THE high-end property boom of the last few years, particularly in the top two prime locations in the Klang Valley – KLCC and Mont' Kiara/Sri Hartamas, has made it increasingly more expensive to own a condominium, serviced apartment or landed property.
In the case of Mont Kiara (MK) and its adjacent Sri Hartamas, an affluent neighbourhood popular with expatriates, prices of newly launched condominiums have shot up to over RM800 psf with some hitting the RM900 psf mark!
In the early 1990s, condominiums built by the Sunrise Bhd Group such as the MK Pines and MK Palma were around RM300 psf.
As Henry Butcher Marketing Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Tang Chee Meng said there was now a greater variety of property types available compared to the early days of Mont' Kiara's development.
“While the earlier developments have average built-up areas of 1,200 to 1,800 sq ft (MK Pines, MK Palma and Vista Kiara) catering to small and medium sized families, the newer projects ………(extend to) large units of 2,000 to 3,000 sq ft units (11@MK, Seni Mont' Kiara) catering to more well off families.
“There are also the super large units of above 3,000 sq ft (Matahari, MK10) for the well heeled. As the prices of the condominiums in
“Some of these new projects are Sunway Vivaldi (RM800 to RM900 psf), Palazzio (RM840 psf), and Matahari (RM800 psf). Generally for a RM1mil property, based on an 80% loan and an interest rate of 5% per annum for 20 years, the qualifying monthly income is RM15,000 whilst the monthly income required to qualify for a 80% loan for a RM2mil home will be RM30,000,” he said.
With scarcity of land in
“We believe that in years to come,
Saturday, 9 August 2008
Additions To Reading Room - Thank You!
Since then, there have been kind and generous donations of books and magazines.
The latest are these novels. They are of superb condition and a very generous contribution .
A big thank you to everyone for your generosity. We look forward to building up the Reading Room further with your kind donations.
Management has been requested to keep publications organised.
Notice - Rental Of Car Parks
Here is a Notice from Management on the opening of car park bays for rental. Registration opens from 10.00 am, Saturday, 16th August 2008.
NOTICE
Ref No: G/Sutramas/2008/008
5th August 2008
SUTRAMAS CONDOMINIUM
AVAILABLE CAR PARK BAYS FOR RENTAL
Please be informed that for the convenience of Owners/Occupants who require extra car park bays to park their vehicles, we have identified available car park bays in Sutramas and your Joint Management Committee has agreed to open available car park bays at LG3 for rental (‘Rental Car Park Bays”). Owners/Occupants who are interested to take up these Rental Car Park Bays can come forward to the Management Office to register for the Rental Car Park Bays starting from 16th August 2008 (Saturday) from 10.00 am.
The terms & conditions for rental of the Rental Car Park Bays are as follows:-
1. The rental rate for one (1)
2. The Rental Car Park Bay will be rented out on first come first serve basis.
3. The rental period for each
4. One (1) month rental deposit and three (3) months advance rental shall be paid upon confirmation of rental of the Rental Car Park Bays. Subsequently, the car park rental shall be paid promptly latest by 7th day of each month.
6. The Rental Car Park Bays shall be used for the purpose of parking vehicles only.
Owners/Occupants who have extra vehicles (in excess of your car park allocation) are strongly advised to act promptly to take this opportunity to rent these Rental Car Park Bays to ensure that your extra vehicles are parked at authorized car park bays to avoid inconvenience of having your extra vehicles clamped as the number of car park bays in Sutramas is limited.
Should you require further clarification, kindly contact your Condo Manager at 03-6252 8118 or 03-6252 1966 during office hours.
Thank you.
Sutramas Condominium
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Article - Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands
2008/08/03
By R.Anbustreets
KLANG: Owners and residents of Prima Bayu Apartments in Bayu Perdana here took charge and formed a joint management body to address problems on maintenance following the developer's failure to respond to the set up.
Residents' Association chairman P. R. Rajah said the body had to be formed, although under the law the management body should comprise the developer and residents. He said a letter was sent to the developer urging it to set up the management body, but there was no response.
"Following which residents lodged a complaint with the Commissioner of Buildings, which is under the Klang Municipal Council."The council appointed an agent to help us form the joint management body which was supposed to comprise the residents and the developer. But the developer did not turn up."This is the first meeting where an agent has been appointed to help us form the body," he said at the meeting recently.
In the absence of developer Palm Grove Sdn. Bhd, the meeting was conducted by Peter Chong, the agent appointed by the council. Rajah was elected as chairman of the joint management body, Albert Yeow as deputy chairman, V. Gunaseelan as secretary and V. Kalaisilvan as treasurer.
Prima Bayu comprises 672 apartments with 3,000 residents. Not all are owners, some companies have rented the flats to house their workers.Rajah said the residents have had various problems especially on maintenance and security.
Klang MP Charles Santiago, who was present at the meeting, advised developers in Klang to work closely with residents to work out complaints and problems."Many complaints from residents of apartments have been about the lack of maintenance and the developers' lackadaisical attitude."
Articles - Woes Related To High-Rise Living
Tuesday August 5, 2008
By GEETHA KRISHNAN and TAN KARR WEI
THE high-rise pressure-cooker lifestyle is causing temperatures to rise among residents of apartments and condominium units, resulting in constant confrontation and conflicts between them and their joint management committees (JMCs).
Feuds, veiled threats, aggressive actions and even run-ins with the law are common features of the high-rise dwelling culture.
The common grouses include the usual disputes over sinking funds, maintenance charges, insurance, house rules and parking bays.
The more serious cases involve accusations of cronyism and covert dealings have also been hurled.
Under the Building and Common Property (Management and Maintenance) Act 2007, a developer is required to form a joint management body (JMB) to oversee the management and operation of the common areas at its high-rise projects.
The developer is given 12 months from the date of vacant possession to set up a JMB before strata titles can be issued.
The committee should comprise two representatives from the developer and eight to 12 owners of apartment or condominium units.
The Building and Common Property (Management and Maintenance) Act 2007 is meant to protect buyers and complements the Strata Titles Act.
National House Buyers Association secretary-general Chang Kim Loong, however, feels that it is still a long process for strata titles.
“The Building and Common Property (Management and Maintenance) Act 2007 is new. Hence, there are teething problems,” he said.
“The Federal Government, especially the Housing and Local Government Ministry, must be pro-active in educating both developers and buyers through means like proper guidelines, a hotline or even conducting brief courses,” Chang said.
“One reason there is feuding and uncertainty is because the act is there but the regulations are not in place. Another reason is with power lumbered over to buyers. Everyone seems to have a personal agenda and think the JMB is a gold mine,” he said.
“The residents associations and the Rukun Tetangga are powerless in raising and articulating issues because of legal restraints as the JMB, as a corporate body, can sue and be sued. Hence, although the residents associations can be consulted for checks-and-balances, they are hesitant to address the real issues,” Chang said.
The authority in this matter is the Commissioner of Buildings (CoB).
As a legal adviser, the CoB must determine the service charge of a property, ensure the building is insured, audit the building management fund, enforce house rules and advise on late payment interest for maintenance and service charges.
According to Chang, the Selangor Housing and Real Property Board (LPHS) previously performed the functions of the CoB but the Federal Government, through the Building and Common Property (Management and Maintenance) Act 2007, felt that local authorities should be entrusted with the job.
Chang feels that the board should continue to have control over the JMBs and delegate its tasks through sub-CoBs, which should comprise individuals familiar with housing and local government issues while having the necessary skills and qualifications to resolve disputes.
According to Selangor Housing, Building Management and Squatters Committee chairman Iskandar Abdul Samad, the state is aware of problematic JMCs and has plans to take over inefficient committees through local councils.
Iskandar said the housing board would serve as mediator when deemed necessary.
Residents of apartments and condominium units want to be informed and educated about their rights, according to S. C. Lim, the adviser of the Pelangi Damansara Blocks G-K joint management committee (JMC).
Residents association chairman Anthony Goh, meanwhile, said there were members with various types of expertise and this was a great help in the selection of personnel for the formation of the JMC.
Damansara Sutera JMC chairman Jeffrey Chan said residents should find common grounds when dealing with developers so issues could be raised and amicably settled.
However, for residents of the Palm Court Apartments in Brickfields, it has not been smooth sailing. There are frequent disputes between the tenants, owners and the JMC.
All mayors and local council presidents are de facto Commissioners of Buildings (CoB).
Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman, however, feels that there should be an independent body to handle the formation of joint management bodies (JMBs).
At present, the CoB functions through the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) property management and assessment department.
“The responsibility should not be placed in the hands of the local authorities. We need employees who are trained in this issue to handle the workload,” Roslan said.
For example, he said the council accounting team would have to audit the accounts of the condominium before a certificate for a JMB is issued.
“Our legal team also has to work on it on top of the other council related matters that they have to attend to,” Roslan said.
Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) president Datuk Adnan Md Ikshan said so far, there were 212 condominiums with strata titles and 80 JMBs in the municipality with 36 cases still pending.
“We don’t have a special department to handle the JMB issues. We have to re-deploy employees to work on it,” Adnan said.
However, there is one accounting personnel from the federal government helping the MPSJ employees.
Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) president Datuk Hasan Nawawi Abd Rahman agreed that there should be an independent body appointed as the CoB.
“There are many problems relating to the formation of the JMBs and it is hard for the local authorities to concentrate on them because we have other issues that we should be working on,” Hasan said.
Meanwhile, Local Government, Research and Studies Committee chairman Ronnie Liu said the state government was still studying the proposal to relieve the local authorities of the responsibilities of the CoB.
Getting to grips with high-rise living
RESIDENTS of apartments and condominium units want to be informed and educated about their rights, according to S. C. Lim, the adviser of the Pelangi Damansara Blocks G-K joint management committee (JMC).
Residents association chairman Anthony Goh, meanwhile, said there were members with various types of expertise and this was a great help in the selection of personnel for the formation of the JMC.
Damansara Sutera JMC chairman Jeffrey Chan said residents should find common grounds when dealing with developers so issues could be raised and amicably settled.
However, for residents of the Palm Court Apartments in Brickfields, it has not been smooth sailing . There are frequent disputes between the tenants, owners and the JMC.