Tuesday, November 25, 2008
A JMB Committee needs your assistance...comments?
Hi Everyone, I need some information from you guys especially those of you who have formed the JMB and have taken over from the previous Management Corp. If you are not in the JMB, appreciate if you could help to find out from your respective JMB: I need your help on the following:- 1. Lift - under comprehensive maintenance, some spare parts are not covered under comrprehensive agreement. Do you ask and are given the discount on these spare parts when they are replaced? If so, what is the discount rate given to you? 2. Do you go for comprehensive or the general maintenance agreement? What are your rationale for the selection? I need the information by, like yesterday, as we need to finalise the negotiation with the vendor for the maintenance agreement to be signed. Therefore, I would appreciate if you could respond as soon as you can before the end of today. Million thanks for your help and I apologise for having to rush you in this matter. Best regards Jenny
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
THANK YOU - Press Conference 14th November
Firstly, APAC would like to thank all of you who took the trouble to attend the press conference held on the 14 nov 2008 Friday. Please read through the points i have raised below and try to append your proposals in blue. My current list is not complete so guys help me to prepare the memo. As agreed, we will submit a 'Memorandum' to YB Iskandar and COB MBPJ as soon as possible with regard to the following issues:
Lembaga Perumahan - YB Iskandar
Uniform interpretation of Act 663 to cover all 12 PBTs in Selangor
A. CLAUSE 5 – Duty of developer to convene meeting
Proxy votes if allowed must be scrutinized by COB to ensure transparency and prevent manupulation
B. CLAUSE 6 – First meeting of Joint Management Body
C. CLAUSE 10- Extraordinary general meeting
D. CLAUSE 33- Recovery of arrears of charges
E. CLAUSE 34- Failure or refusal to pay charges
Should ensure and fastrack the establishment of a Secretariat or Department at PBT level specifically to address all Condos and Apartments Issues staffed by
a. a Panel of Senior or experienced Lawyers b. a Panel of Accountants to review accounts submitted by developers and JMCs c. Enforcement officers to act against errant developers and JMCs d. a Budget allocated to finance the setting up of the Secretariat. All these must be fastracked at PBTs level as problems are piling up as we speak
COB - MBPJ
a. databank on all condominium and apartments to be maintained into 3 categories - high-end condos - medium cost Condos - Low cost Apartments b. to fastrack the establishment of a Secretariat without further delay c. enforcement officers
Problems faced by all Condo and Apartment Owners
formation of JMBs and JMCs
First JMB meeting - preferably to be scrutinized by COB
to conduct workshops to train JMCs to hold meetings and manage the buildings
errant developers
accounts and various documents not given to JMCs such as owners listings
building drawings - structural & M&E drawings
sinking funds
Lembaga Perumahan - YB Iskandar
Uniform interpretation of Act 663 to cover all 12 PBTs in Selangor
A. CLAUSE 5 – Duty of developer to convene meeting
Proxy votes if allowed must be scrutinized by COB to ensure transparency and prevent manupulation
B. CLAUSE 6 – First meeting of Joint Management Body
C. CLAUSE 10- Extraordinary general meeting
D. CLAUSE 33- Recovery of arrears of charges
E. CLAUSE 34- Failure or refusal to pay charges
Should ensure and fastrack the establishment of a Secretariat or Department at PBT level specifically to address all Condos and Apartments Issues staffed by
a. a Panel of Senior or experienced Lawyers b. a Panel of Accountants to review accounts submitted by developers and JMCs c. Enforcement officers to act against errant developers and JMCs d. a Budget allocated to finance the setting up of the Secretariat. All these must be fastracked at PBTs level as problems are piling up as we speak
COB - MBPJ
a. databank on all condominium and apartments to be maintained into 3 categories - high-end condos - medium cost Condos - Low cost Apartments b. to fastrack the establishment of a Secretariat without further delay c. enforcement officers
Problems faced by all Condo and Apartment Owners
formation of JMBs and JMCs
First JMB meeting - preferably to be scrutinized by COB
to conduct workshops to train JMCs to hold meetings and manage the buildings
errant developers
accounts and various documents not given to JMCs such as owners listings
building drawings - structural & M&E drawings
sinking funds
Sunday, November 16, 2008
HAVE YOUR SAY!
Condominium and apartment residents in Petaling Jaya have called for the abolition of the proxy system.
They made this call in a meeting organised by the All-Petaling Jaya Selangor Residents Association Coalition (APAC) and the Condominium, Apartments and Highrise Committee (CAHC) on Friday (Nov 14) at Taman Mayang public hall.
The condominum and apartment residents were invited to the meeting to share their concerns, suggestions and experiences with regards to clauses under the Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act 2007 or Act 663 and the Commissioner of Buildings (CoB).
Chairing the meeting were APAC chairman Liew Wei Beng, CAHC chairman Tengku Nazaruddin Zainudin, Subang MP R. Sivarasa’s aide Aloysius Francis Pinto, lawyer Eddy Chung and Bukit Gasing Joint Action Committee member Gary Yeoh.
Speaking out: Owners sharing their thoughts on the issue during the meeting.
They were questioning the logic behind Sec 6(5) of the act, which reads: “Notwithstanding subsection (4), joint purchasers shall not be entitled to vote except by way of a jointly appointed proxy”.
“We do not understand why neither one of the purchasers can vote and they have to appoint a proxy,” some said.
They added that the proxy system was subject to abuse.
“We had no opportunity to verify if the proxies present at annual general meetings were really appointed by the owners or were sent by the developer,” resident Gary Wong said.
Andrew Tan highlighted that the clauses were interpreted differently by all 12 local councils in the state due to loopholes and ambiguities that actually benefited the developers.
“The developer told us that according to the act, we could not appoint our spouses as proxies,” he said.
Other clauses of the Act deemed to have created grey areas are Sec 6 (2), which deals with the quorum for the meetings, and Sec 5(2) that deals with the issue of notice of the meeting.
“Sec 6 (2) requires purchasers to settle maintenance charges to be eligible for the meeting but it does not stipulate the deadline, is it on the day of the meeting or a period prior to that?” Liew asked.
He added that even though Sec 5 (2) required the developer to give a written notice 14 days earlier, it did not stop them from limiting the time for purchasers to appoint their proxies or prevent them from holding the meeting on a weekday to minimise attendance.
He said the two associations would send a memorandum to Selangor Housing, Building Management and Squatters committee chairman Iskandar Abdul Samad and Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman, urging them to look into the points raised.
“We will also urge them to draft guidelines on how to convene the first meeting and to come out with a common interpretation of the act for all local councils,” he said.
Pinto proposed that the CoB operate as an independent body under the state government instead of the local council to prevent favouritism and that scrutineers should be present during the appointment of the joint management committees to ensure fairness
They made this call in a meeting organised by the All-Petaling Jaya Selangor Residents Association Coalition (APAC) and the Condominium, Apartments and Highrise Committee (CAHC) on Friday (Nov 14) at Taman Mayang public hall.
The condominum and apartment residents were invited to the meeting to share their concerns, suggestions and experiences with regards to clauses under the Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act 2007 or Act 663 and the Commissioner of Buildings (CoB).
Chairing the meeting were APAC chairman Liew Wei Beng, CAHC chairman Tengku Nazaruddin Zainudin, Subang MP R. Sivarasa’s aide Aloysius Francis Pinto, lawyer Eddy Chung and Bukit Gasing Joint Action Committee member Gary Yeoh.
Speaking out: Owners sharing their thoughts on the issue during the meeting.
They were questioning the logic behind Sec 6(5) of the act, which reads: “Notwithstanding subsection (4), joint purchasers shall not be entitled to vote except by way of a jointly appointed proxy”.
“We do not understand why neither one of the purchasers can vote and they have to appoint a proxy,” some said.
They added that the proxy system was subject to abuse.
“We had no opportunity to verify if the proxies present at annual general meetings were really appointed by the owners or were sent by the developer,” resident Gary Wong said.
Andrew Tan highlighted that the clauses were interpreted differently by all 12 local councils in the state due to loopholes and ambiguities that actually benefited the developers.
“The developer told us that according to the act, we could not appoint our spouses as proxies,” he said.
Other clauses of the Act deemed to have created grey areas are Sec 6 (2), which deals with the quorum for the meetings, and Sec 5(2) that deals with the issue of notice of the meeting.
“Sec 6 (2) requires purchasers to settle maintenance charges to be eligible for the meeting but it does not stipulate the deadline, is it on the day of the meeting or a period prior to that?” Liew asked.
He added that even though Sec 5 (2) required the developer to give a written notice 14 days earlier, it did not stop them from limiting the time for purchasers to appoint their proxies or prevent them from holding the meeting on a weekday to minimise attendance.
He said the two associations would send a memorandum to Selangor Housing, Building Management and Squatters committee chairman Iskandar Abdul Samad and Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman, urging them to look into the points raised.
“We will also urge them to draft guidelines on how to convene the first meeting and to come out with a common interpretation of the act for all local councils,” he said.
Pinto proposed that the CoB operate as an independent body under the state government instead of the local council to prevent favouritism and that scrutineers should be present during the appointment of the joint management committees to ensure fairness
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Anyone with comments on this?
Hi CAHC
1. This is an excellent site, however I had to do a lot of searching before locating the email address to send this mail. I would suggest a prominent 'contact' logo on the CAHC header or perhaps a standard 'Contact CAHC' appended to all letters published. You will probably see a lot more mail.
2. I have some questions, firstly... can Condos be renovated (specifically PJ) such that the outer facade of the condo looks different from the others? Eg, glass up or wall up an open balcony, or perhaps enclose the entire open frontage of a balcony with grills? Personally I think this distorts the aesthetics of the building.
3. Can condo owners stick drainage pipes from the side of their condos, to resolve water drainage problems within their units? Such pipes ofcourse would end up shooting water to unsuspecting people below. This may sound a silly question, but there are such cases in the place I live. Are there local council laws that govern such modifications?
4. On water leakage issues from one condo to the unit below, causing large unsightly damp moldy patches on the ceiling arising from a defective pipe (either incoming water supply or drainage from bath area) - are there applicable local council laws that require the party whose pipe is leaking to repair such? What can be done if the party refuses to carry out the required repairs?
Would appreciate your feedback on these matters.
1. This is an excellent site, however I had to do a lot of searching before locating the email address to send this mail. I would suggest a prominent 'contact' logo on the CAHC header or perhaps a standard 'Contact CAHC' appended to all letters published. You will probably see a lot more mail.
2. I have some questions, firstly... can Condos be renovated (specifically PJ) such that the outer facade of the condo looks different from the others? Eg, glass up or wall up an open balcony, or perhaps enclose the entire open frontage of a balcony with grills? Personally I think this distorts the aesthetics of the building.
3. Can condo owners stick drainage pipes from the side of their condos, to resolve water drainage problems within their units? Such pipes ofcourse would end up shooting water to unsuspecting people below. This may sound a silly question, but there are such cases in the place I live. Are there local council laws that govern such modifications?
4. On water leakage issues from one condo to the unit below, causing large unsightly damp moldy patches on the ceiling arising from a defective pipe (either incoming water supply or drainage from bath area) - are there applicable local council laws that require the party whose pipe is leaking to repair such? What can be done if the party refuses to carry out the required repairs?
Would appreciate your feedback on these matters.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Statistics Needed
As we approach the end of the year, it is time to re evaluate and prepare for the new year. As part of an on going effort towards Good Governance, Transparency and Accountability, I would like to tabulate some facts and figures.
I would hope to have all interested parties to provide information on the following so that I can tabulate and share out with everybody. In this way, we can all at least have a guide to what we are paying for utilities, services etc........it also helps us to show to the owners if need to increase maintenance fees etc because I am sure rising costs will hit all of us soon..
1. Your Apartment / Condo Name - no of units / local council
2. Month Maintenance Fee / RM per Sq ft
3. What facilities: club house / pool / tennis etc etc
4. Security company - your current fees
5. Mgmt Company - fees and number of staff
6. Other Contractors - Services - Fee ie cleaners, landscaping, pool maintenance
7. Parking Rental
any other information
Please email your response to pet_luc2002@yahoo.com
I hope to be able to tabulate all these by the end of november, and be able to have and share out and average cost for each services etc that may be useful to all of us by the end of december. The more numbers we have, I am sure the more accurate the figures will be....
Thank you, guys
Peter CHONG
I would hope to have all interested parties to provide information on the following so that I can tabulate and share out with everybody. In this way, we can all at least have a guide to what we are paying for utilities, services etc........it also helps us to show to the owners if need to increase maintenance fees etc because I am sure rising costs will hit all of us soon..
1. Your Apartment / Condo Name - no of units / local council
2. Month Maintenance Fee / RM per Sq ft
3. What facilities: club house / pool / tennis etc etc
4. Security company - your current fees
5. Mgmt Company - fees and number of staff
6. Other Contractors - Services - Fee ie cleaners, landscaping, pool maintenance
7. Parking Rental
any other information
Please email your response to pet_luc2002@yahoo.com
I hope to be able to tabulate all these by the end of november, and be able to have and share out and average cost for each services etc that may be useful to all of us by the end of december. The more numbers we have, I am sure the more accurate the figures will be....
Thank you, guys
Peter CHONG
Your Views and Comments Solicited......
Hi All,
JMB Maxwell Towers is in the process for selecting Property Management Services (PMS) agent to assist with the running of maintenances as well as improvement projects from Jan 2009. At this stage, we have short listed a number of potential companies.
Our approach is to have a certain number of people from the PMS agent based at the condo, e.g. property manager, billings/accounts/admin clerk, technician and handyman. We would engage service providers to perform the major ongoing tasks. Clearly, the extend we would add to on-site staff would depend on JMB willingness to commit to improvements in maintenance and enhancement projects. All these will be highly influenced by effordability.
To assist our considerations on PMS agent, we would welcome comments on two companies, Izrin & Tan and Global Property Services. We are interested to know if anyone of you have comments on their performance as follows:
Ability to take over/start up operations: setting up contracts with Services Providers, billings & collections and appointment of competent on-site personnel
Track record in delivering good value
Track record in monitoring and managing service providers to deliver promised services
General ability to maintain capable staff and efficient "standard operating procedures"
Please do provide your comments directly to me if you wish to maintain a level of confidentiality as well as to avoid any of your comments being taken out of context.
I hope we can share our experiences with PMS agents and services providers.
Many thanks and regards
Gary Yeoh
JMC Maxwell Towers
JMB Maxwell Towers is in the process for selecting Property Management Services (PMS) agent to assist with the running of maintenances as well as improvement projects from Jan 2009. At this stage, we have short listed a number of potential companies.
Our approach is to have a certain number of people from the PMS agent based at the condo, e.g. property manager, billings/accounts/admin clerk, technician and handyman. We would engage service providers to perform the major ongoing tasks. Clearly, the extend we would add to on-site staff would depend on JMB willingness to commit to improvements in maintenance and enhancement projects. All these will be highly influenced by effordability.
To assist our considerations on PMS agent, we would welcome comments on two companies, Izrin & Tan and Global Property Services. We are interested to know if anyone of you have comments on their performance as follows:
Ability to take over/start up operations: setting up contracts with Services Providers, billings & collections and appointment of competent on-site personnel
Track record in delivering good value
Track record in monitoring and managing service providers to deliver promised services
General ability to maintain capable staff and efficient "standard operating procedures"
Please do provide your comments directly to me if you wish to maintain a level of confidentiality as well as to avoid any of your comments being taken out of context.
I hope we can share our experiences with PMS agents and services providers.
Many thanks and regards
Gary Yeoh
JMC Maxwell Towers
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