Should realtors be blamed all the time?
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Md Monjurul Alam
Developers are always blamed for not being fair in their dealings with the clients. No doubt some real estate companies resort to unfair means but, at times, clients are unfair too. The real estate companies do not press for setting such cases as per the agreement lest they lose.
It would be worth sharing two cases. A client had booked a flat at a concessional rate of Tk 2,500 per square feet on condition that he would make the full payment within 30 days. But the client neither paid the full amount in time nor in instalments in next one year. Despite several letters and notices sent by the company the client did not make flat full payment, even when the time came for handing over of that flat came. Finally, the developer charged interest for delay in the payment only to make the client angry. For a developer, it is hard to take stern action against a client once an agreement is signed. They cannot easily cancel a booking as it would make new clients suspicious about that flat when remaining flats are sold out.
In another case, the developer cancelled the booking for a flat as the client defaulted the instalments. The company, in its note, gave seven days time to pay all dues. Even after this notice, the company made several phone calls and sent more letters before informing the client that the booking would be cancelled without serving any further notice. After a two weeks' wait the company sold the flat to another client. The client came with partial payment twenty days after the company had sent its final notice and tried to make the issue complicated.
Nobody believed what the company had to say. Delayed and irregular payments often make things difficult for the estate companies. They, in most of the cases, do not flash these issues for the sake of business reputation because people believe the clients not the developers.
(The writer is the head of operation of Imperial Real Estate Ltd)
Thousands of complaints from the buyers are regularly being lodged against developers. The property developers also have their complaints against their clients. Considering the above, the FE introduces a ‘Complaint Board’ for both groups giving scope for responding to the complaints by the parties concerned as well as readers. The language of the complaints and their responses must be courteous and respectful of both the
complainants and the defendants.
Developers are always blamed for not being fair in their dealings with the clients. No doubt some real estate companies resort to unfair means but, at times, clients are unfair too. The real estate companies do not press for setting such cases as per the agreement lest they lose.
It would be worth sharing two cases. A client had booked a flat at a concessional rate of Tk 2,500 per square feet on condition that he would make the full payment within 30 days. But the client neither paid the full amount in time nor in instalments in next one year. Despite several letters and notices sent by the company the client did not make flat full payment, even when the time came for handing over of that flat came. Finally, the developer charged interest for delay in the payment only to make the client angry. For a developer, it is hard to take stern action against a client once an agreement is signed. They cannot easily cancel a booking as it would make new clients suspicious about that flat when remaining flats are sold out.
In another case, the developer cancelled the booking for a flat as the client defaulted the instalments. The company, in its note, gave seven days time to pay all dues. Even after this notice, the company made several phone calls and sent more letters before informing the client that the booking would be cancelled without serving any further notice. After a two weeks' wait the company sold the flat to another client. The client came with partial payment twenty days after the company had sent its final notice and tried to make the issue complicated.
Nobody believed what the company had to say. Delayed and irregular payments often make things difficult for the estate companies. They, in most of the cases, do not flash these issues for the sake of business reputation because people believe the clients not the developers.
(The writer is the head of operation of Imperial Real Estate Ltd)
Thousands of complaints from the buyers are regularly being lodged against developers. The property developers also have their complaints against their clients. Considering the above, the FE introduces a ‘Complaint Board’ for both groups giving scope for responding to the complaints by the parties concerned as well as readers. The language of the complaints and their responses must be courteous and respectful of both the
complainants and the defendants.