"TODAY, 27 Dec 2007
HELP, WE ARE EN-BLOC REFUGEES
Thursday December 27, 2007
LUCY HUANG
WE HAVE been "en-blocked" for a second time. On both occasions, we were
reluctant sellers.
People tell us we are lucky because we are getting a lot of money from the
en-bloc sale.
But in reality, we have had to downgrade each time - from private and
freehold, to HUDC and leasehold.
And now, it looks like we will have to either go HDB or move to the edges
of Singapore - away from our doctors, dentist, friends, church and clubs.
To make matters worse, at almost every prospective home we have checked
out, we have been told that there is a good chance of the place going en
bloc.
Our housing agent has told us that if we want to live in a condominium, we
have to face the fact that sooner or later the owners will try to go en
bloc.
We were in our late 60s the first time we were forced out of our home.
Now, we are in our late 70s. The next time, we will be in the same boat as
two of our neighbours, who are in their 90s but still have to uproot.
Is this the way we are going to pass our twilight years? Always faced with
the prospect of having to sell our home?
The experience is very stressful. Losing one's home ranks alongside losing
one's spouse, child or parent. It can be traumatic and mentally
debilitating.
We have two other options. First, we can buy an HDB resale flat, which may
not have the benefits a condominium offers in terms of security and
facilities. Second, we can consider landed property, which would cost a
lot more. And, as old people, we will have to hire someone to help
maintain it because we will be unable to do so on our own.
Of course, we could also choose to rent a home. However, this would put us
at the mercy of landlords who may decide to raise the rent to an
unreasonable level, or decide to take the property off the rental market,
which would mean more packing, moving and house-hunting.
Even with landed property, we wouldn't have complete peace of mind. The
Government may decide to redevelop the estate, or our neighbours may band
together to sell.
After working all our lives and raising our children, we had hoped to pass
our twilight years in peace and relaxation.
Instead, what can we look forward to? The constant fear of some bright
(and greedy) spark rallying all the neighbours to put the entire estate up
for sale to a developer?
And if at first they don't succeed, they will try and try again!
As en-bloc refugees, we are appealing to the Government to come up with a
solution, which will allow us to live the rest of our lives without the
fear of losing our home - again."
"TODAY, 4 Jan 2008
When a windfall is a whammy
Letter from AUGUSTINE CHEAH
I refer to "Help, we are en bloc refugees" (Dec 27).
Such situations are becoming more common and they are no laughing matter.
There are people going around speculating, and often, the ones who suffer
are innocent homeowners oblivious to what is happening until it's too
late.
The media can play its part by publishing stories to put some perspective
into things - about those who find that such a "windfall" often means
having to downgrade against their wishes. Stories of en bloc riches have
spawned an army of speculators and homeowners who don't want to miss the
boat.
My condominium, Bayshore Park, is currently trying for an en bloc sale.
The original sales committee, which had to disband because some residents
sent a legal letter questioning their validity, is again trying their luck
and have called for another extraordinary general meeting on Jan 12.
Unless there are further changes to the legislation, this will be a
perpetual affair. After one sales committee fails, another will be set up.
How can you live in peace under the perpetual spectre of an en bloc sale?
How can you decide if you should renovate your home in case the money is
soon to be wasted?
In my estate, there are also families who moved there after their previous
homes were sold en bloc. Needless to say, they are extremely unhappy at
the current developments and constant attempts to go en bloc.
Sometimes, it's not just about the money ..."
"ST Forum online, 29 Dec 2007
More legislation needed to protect condo owners who do not wish to join en-bloc sale
I HOPE there can be some preventive measures to protect owners of condominiums which have failed in an en-bloc sale, or those who have spent substantial funds on upgrading.
In my condo in Clementi Park, there is renewed dissent by residents against the forming of yet another committee to try again for another en-bloc sale. Owners recently banded together to form an anti-en-bloc group called Save Clementi Park and have launched a website www.saveclementipark.com to save the condo. The web site features many pictures of the condo.
The en-bloc sale attempt last year failed to receive even 50 per cent of the vote. Immediately after this failed attempt, one committee was disbanded, but another one was formed in November this year. This has unsettled many of the residents and such social upheaval is becoming all too common in Singapore.
As a resident of the condo, I am not in favour of an en-bloc sale. En-bloc processes, to say the very least, are disruptive. Moreover, our condo is in the process of upgrading at a cost of $2 million. An en-bloc attempt after a majority of us have voted to upgrade would be a sheer waste of owners' funds. Our upgrading will only complete around mid-2008.
There is no mechanism in place to deal with this. This is harmful to our societal psyche as stated by Mr Waleed Hanafi in his many website articles on en-bloc madness. Perhaps a time ban of, say, 15 years could be put in place for condos which have spent more than $500,000 for upgrading. Some balancing mechanism to reflect and honour decisions made by subsidiary proprietors should also be in place.
The en-bloc law needs to be reviewed.
Yeo Han Tiong"
As you have read, all were not the most pleasant of experiences. We are currently going through the same thing ourselves as that mentioned by Augustine Cheah and Yeo Han Tiong. The former sales committee was disbanded and now, another is coming up in its place pushing for the enbloc again, without care if ALL residents and owners wanted the enbloc. They will probably do this over and over again, putting residents and owners through unnecessary stress and duress time and time again.
We, who value our HOMES, have to decide what we want. Do we want to be evicted from our homes through enbloc and become en-bloc refugees like Lucy Huang? Do we want to make a stand to save our homes and say NO to enbloc? We believe it is the latter.
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