Be more considerate to home buyers, banks told

Property project s: (From left) Chor and Mapex organising chairman Datuk Ng Seing Liong listening to a briefing by SP Setia Bhd group president and CEO Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin during a tour at the expo in Kuala Lumpur.

KUALA LUMPUR: Banks should be more lenient towards genuine house buyers who want to get a housing loan, said Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung.

The Housing and Local Government Minister said some banks were too “scared” to approve the loans as they were afraid borrowers would not be able to make repayments.

“The banks are being very, very prudent. Sometimes, too prudent that a lot of would-be borrowers don't have a chance to buy houses,” he told reporters after launching the Malaysia Property Exposition (Mapex) 2012 yesterday.

While stressing that Bank Negara's guidelines on housing loans were far-sighted in ensuring prudent loan approvals, he also urged banks to be more “considerate”.

He said he had also heard of developers complaining that they found it difficult to sell their units as buyers were unsuccessful in obtaining loans.

Chor advised banks to investigate the background of each individual applicants to determine whether they were genuine house buyers.

On another issue, Chor said he had also noticed several property advertisements placed by developers in newspapers, which were not approved by the National Housing Department.

“These advertisements do not comply with the department's requirements, including neglecting to display the advertising permit number or developer's licence in the small print.

“I have asked officers to take action against them, and the maximum fine that can be imposed is RM50,000,” he warned.

Chor said Mapex 2012 gave potential home buyers the opportunity to get educated about property choices as well as make comparisons from the various offers available.

He also urged the Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association Malaysia (Rehda) to follow the Government's lead in building more houses at cheaper prices.

Rehda president Datuk Seri Michael Yam said the exposition marketed property of various prices to cater to the needs of house buyers, adding that Mapex had also received very strong support from financial institutions and developers.

Mapex 2012 will run until tomorrow at the Midvalley Megamall Exhibition Centre.

By The Star