Expatriates worry over investments in real estate at home
Monday, 1 October 2007
M M Haque from Jeddah
At the dawn of the on-going anti-corruption drive the biggest real estate conglomerate was on hunt. Gradually many of the land developers and real estate owners were put behind the bar. The eye catching graphic design of blocks, apartments and villas started disappearing from the TV screen.
In a land congested with people, shortage of land does always make it on high demand. This has made it a lucrative business in the country as well. Also, due to the absence of proper legal system and its implementation, the land developing business becomes centres for quick money and limitless corruptions. With the power of quick money (in cash), they flexed their muscle and forcefully grabbed land -- encroaching upon others' habitat, waterbodies and vital eco system. Their cash influences the society through their ways of profiteering and eventually eats up the vitals of our society in terms of values and its long-term sustainability of the liveable and cultivable land space.
Over the years since the '90s, thousands of apartments and block of plots were developed which made a significant investment in the economy. However, despite its size and importance, the general public and the national treasury both suffered a great deal due to dubious practices that are present in the sector.
The deceitful nature of the transactions helped evade taxes and duties, but the indifferent system, bearing a great influence on the same, did little to improve on the situation that could have helped the revenue earning figures of the national budget and for the financial resources for undertaking the Annual Development Programme (ADP). Besides the adverse ecological and environmental impact due to faulty and greedy planning, liveability of our habitat has to suffer for years or for a century. Strange enough, we have learnt to live with this story and impact.
But the individual who lost his last belonging, who had been forced to sell at a dictated price and under forced terms, never could recoup the loss in his generation. This is one aspect of the individual loss. The other -- and may be even greater one -- is the financial loss of the buyers of these lands and flats. All the developers usually accumulate their fund taking advance from the intended owners of a land whose title is yet to be acquired by the developer himself. For many reasons we get attracted to the offer and hold onto our patience year after year to see the promised land or the flat. There are much agony and anxiety within the hapless victims as no recourse is found available and still we hold on to our hope.
But today our anxiety finds no bound as the developers, one after another, are arrested and the government is disseminating no information about the real status of their business -- real and false equity. What should the buyers, who had made a substantial payment against a plot or an apartment, opt for? What is the option that government is leasing for them? It is imperative that while making arrest they should inform the public what remains of the organisation as an entity to deal with, how good the assets are to rely on etc. Government should be aware that a big chunk of the foreign currency that it is getting without having any effort on its part and which is serving as a saviour of the economy and to its comfort, is earned from this investment of the wage earners. So far, they did little to protect those small saviours. But at least they should now notice that with each arrest many of the instalment payments are being held up. With the fear of loosing further, they only have opted not to provide any more fund beyond whatever has been already given.
Many of the buyers this scribe know have stopped sending their instalments. Such instalments should amount to millions of dollars altogether.
The government should do a great service to the affected expatriates by coming up with a clarification whether any dealing with such developers are still okay or not, in to keep the flow of remittances uninterrupted.
The concerned adviser may look into the matter and demonstrate the willingness of the government to help the treasury and the general public in this regard. The sooner, the better.
(The writer can be reached at e-mail: [email protected])
At the dawn of the on-going anti-corruption drive the biggest real estate conglomerate was on hunt. Gradually many of the land developers and real estate owners were put behind the bar. The eye catching graphic design of blocks, apartments and villas started disappearing from the TV screen.
In a land congested with people, shortage of land does always make it on high demand. This has made it a lucrative business in the country as well. Also, due to the absence of proper legal system and its implementation, the land developing business becomes centres for quick money and limitless corruptions. With the power of quick money (in cash), they flexed their muscle and forcefully grabbed land -- encroaching upon others' habitat, waterbodies and vital eco system. Their cash influences the society through their ways of profiteering and eventually eats up the vitals of our society in terms of values and its long-term sustainability of the liveable and cultivable land space.
Over the years since the '90s, thousands of apartments and block of plots were developed which made a significant investment in the economy. However, despite its size and importance, the general public and the national treasury both suffered a great deal due to dubious practices that are present in the sector.
The deceitful nature of the transactions helped evade taxes and duties, but the indifferent system, bearing a great influence on the same, did little to improve on the situation that could have helped the revenue earning figures of the national budget and for the financial resources for undertaking the Annual Development Programme (ADP). Besides the adverse ecological and environmental impact due to faulty and greedy planning, liveability of our habitat has to suffer for years or for a century. Strange enough, we have learnt to live with this story and impact.
But the individual who lost his last belonging, who had been forced to sell at a dictated price and under forced terms, never could recoup the loss in his generation. This is one aspect of the individual loss. The other -- and may be even greater one -- is the financial loss of the buyers of these lands and flats. All the developers usually accumulate their fund taking advance from the intended owners of a land whose title is yet to be acquired by the developer himself. For many reasons we get attracted to the offer and hold onto our patience year after year to see the promised land or the flat. There are much agony and anxiety within the hapless victims as no recourse is found available and still we hold on to our hope.
But today our anxiety finds no bound as the developers, one after another, are arrested and the government is disseminating no information about the real status of their business -- real and false equity. What should the buyers, who had made a substantial payment against a plot or an apartment, opt for? What is the option that government is leasing for them? It is imperative that while making arrest they should inform the public what remains of the organisation as an entity to deal with, how good the assets are to rely on etc. Government should be aware that a big chunk of the foreign currency that it is getting without having any effort on its part and which is serving as a saviour of the economy and to its comfort, is earned from this investment of the wage earners. So far, they did little to protect those small saviours. But at least they should now notice that with each arrest many of the instalment payments are being held up. With the fear of loosing further, they only have opted not to provide any more fund beyond whatever has been already given.
Many of the buyers this scribe know have stopped sending their instalments. Such instalments should amount to millions of dollars altogether.
The government should do a great service to the affected expatriates by coming up with a clarification whether any dealing with such developers are still okay or not, in to keep the flow of remittances uninterrupted.
The concerned adviser may look into the matter and demonstrate the willingness of the government to help the treasury and the general public in this regard. The sooner, the better.
(The writer can be reached at e-mail: [email protected])