Last night, I attended the homeowners attention. I got the invitation 2 weeks ago in the parking lot. The agenda was all about what happened during typhoon Ondoy. I joined 15 minutes late (the meeting was 8pm in the clubhouse).
I wasn't suprised to see that the host (not even an officer, if my guess is right) had an emergency light lying on the floor, just beside him; the lighting was poor; half of the attendees were standing; and the speaker taped his manila paper presentation on the wall. It's barely a homeowners meeting, if I may say.
I signed the log book and took my place just behind the rest. The topic was about the flooding and how the developer, Empire East Land Holdings, should do it. As what I already surmised watching the flood water drain through our area from the rice field beside us, the speaker (from what I found out, he's an attorney, but I didn't get his name) claimed that our area is a catch basin. Thus, when the perimeter fence was swept by the flood water, our water level didn't subside immediately. He (the speaker) claimed that there should be a drainage that is 5m by height and 5m by width, I am not sure where he got the specs, going to the tributary on the other side of the compound. He claimed that having such facility (or lackthereof), the buyers should not be paying PHP30,000/sqm, but should not be more than PHP10,000/sqm. Where he got that figure is another matter.
Another point that was raised (which I've seen the copied document, but no idea if it's real), is the Cease-and-Desist Order from the housing board. What it says is that the buildings are not compliant. According the speaker's explanation, the development is only allowed to build 2-story buildings; however, the developer kept on adding more levels, reaching the current 6-story buildings. He made an example of Ruby Tower this is the building that collapsed during an earthquake in 1960s, I am familiar with this because my mom told me the story more than a couple of times.
I could feel the interests of the participants were increasing. Me, I was just there to observe - I haven't attended any homeowners meeting yet. Besides, I know for a fact that when I decided to purchase the unit, I was attracted by the model unit and never investigated it. Now, I (and the rest of my family) have to suffer my stupidity.
Questions started to pop up, like what can the buyers do. One possibility that the speaker raised is to file a damage suit to the developer. Two howeowners claimed that they are not paying anything to the developers, except for the association dues (which goes to daily ops of the compound). When the parking fee was raised, everyone agreed that what we are paying is unfair since the parking area doesn't offer any kind of security. I really don't know if this is the case, I haven't put too much thought on what I am paying for except for compliance sake.
And what about those who paid cash? According to the attorney, they have the rights to take their payment back.... with interest! The way it was said, it sounded quite attractive (at least in my perspective). So there's hope alright. And what about those who doesn't want to pay, but are paying via PDCs (post-dated cheques)? They can stop paying; according to the attorney, there's a law allowing them to avoid the bouncing check law.
There were harrasments, like people with unpaid parking bills were not allowed to go inside (police and barangay officials were not allowed to join in because it's a civil case, whatever).
What I found out, that I will clarify with the admin, is that the regular officer election is May 5 of the year. According to those who lived here for 3 years now, no election was seen or called upon. However, there's a list of officers posted on the bulletin board (I saw this, one last name caught my attention was "Tan").
My hunch was confirmed - the group who organized it wasn't allowed to use the clubhouse's facility. Thus, the lights were not turned on, except those that are turned on at nights regularly. Mosquitos were everywhere!
Anyway, the mosquitos won! I left the area when I couldn't stand them punching through my skins. The discussion was just starting, but I have a good feeling where it will lead to.
I am interested to know, really, what my rights are. I will be consulting the admin on some stuff and want to know the details. I pity them because I know they are caught in the crossfire. But then, this is the job that they signed for.
In my opinion, the money that I paid for this area is just what I am getting. I mean, if you buy a condo in Makati, that will cost you PHP4M a pop! But the service is incomparable. I also didn't do a due diligence when buying this unit. Besides, I work in Eastwood Cyberpark - the building where I am working got flooded 2 weeks after Ondoy!!! Wait 'till you hear this - there are 3 elevator shafts in the office building, one elevator is always out most of the time of year for repair considering that it's a 30-story building! Guess what, the developer for our condo area and Eastwood is the same - Mega World. East Empire Land Holdings is the developer for low-cost housing project. I mean, there's no difference between buying a cheap condo unit from buying a made-in-China products - they are cheap, alright, and there are undesirable consequences.
I am sure worse will happen to this area. I am not an expert on land development, but I know when some facilities are out of place - in engineering course, they thought you to be logical and practical, and not where the money is. And this is not the case here.
This community is simply unsustainable from what I am observing.
Lesson that I learned - don't attend the homeowners meeting! =P
Welcome to the world of adults who wants to have a house of their own...
I wasn't suprised to see that the host (not even an officer, if my guess is right) had an emergency light lying on the floor, just beside him; the lighting was poor; half of the attendees were standing; and the speaker taped his manila paper presentation on the wall. It's barely a homeowners meeting, if I may say.
I signed the log book and took my place just behind the rest. The topic was about the flooding and how the developer, Empire East Land Holdings, should do it. As what I already surmised watching the flood water drain through our area from the rice field beside us, the speaker (from what I found out, he's an attorney, but I didn't get his name) claimed that our area is a catch basin. Thus, when the perimeter fence was swept by the flood water, our water level didn't subside immediately. He (the speaker) claimed that there should be a drainage that is 5m by height and 5m by width, I am not sure where he got the specs, going to the tributary on the other side of the compound. He claimed that having such facility (or lackthereof), the buyers should not be paying PHP30,000/sqm, but should not be more than PHP10,000/sqm. Where he got that figure is another matter.
Another point that was raised (which I've seen the copied document, but no idea if it's real), is the Cease-and-Desist Order from the housing board. What it says is that the buildings are not compliant. According the speaker's explanation, the development is only allowed to build 2-story buildings; however, the developer kept on adding more levels, reaching the current 6-story buildings. He made an example of Ruby Tower this is the building that collapsed during an earthquake in 1960s, I am familiar with this because my mom told me the story more than a couple of times.
I could feel the interests of the participants were increasing. Me, I was just there to observe - I haven't attended any homeowners meeting yet. Besides, I know for a fact that when I decided to purchase the unit, I was attracted by the model unit and never investigated it. Now, I (and the rest of my family) have to suffer my stupidity.
Questions started to pop up, like what can the buyers do. One possibility that the speaker raised is to file a damage suit to the developer. Two howeowners claimed that they are not paying anything to the developers, except for the association dues (which goes to daily ops of the compound). When the parking fee was raised, everyone agreed that what we are paying is unfair since the parking area doesn't offer any kind of security. I really don't know if this is the case, I haven't put too much thought on what I am paying for except for compliance sake.
And what about those who paid cash? According to the attorney, they have the rights to take their payment back.... with interest! The way it was said, it sounded quite attractive (at least in my perspective). So there's hope alright. And what about those who doesn't want to pay, but are paying via PDCs (post-dated cheques)? They can stop paying; according to the attorney, there's a law allowing them to avoid the bouncing check law.
There were harrasments, like people with unpaid parking bills were not allowed to go inside (police and barangay officials were not allowed to join in because it's a civil case, whatever).
What I found out, that I will clarify with the admin, is that the regular officer election is May 5 of the year. According to those who lived here for 3 years now, no election was seen or called upon. However, there's a list of officers posted on the bulletin board (I saw this, one last name caught my attention was "Tan").
My hunch was confirmed - the group who organized it wasn't allowed to use the clubhouse's facility. Thus, the lights were not turned on, except those that are turned on at nights regularly. Mosquitos were everywhere!
Anyway, the mosquitos won! I left the area when I couldn't stand them punching through my skins. The discussion was just starting, but I have a good feeling where it will lead to.
I am interested to know, really, what my rights are. I will be consulting the admin on some stuff and want to know the details. I pity them because I know they are caught in the crossfire. But then, this is the job that they signed for.
In my opinion, the money that I paid for this area is just what I am getting. I mean, if you buy a condo in Makati, that will cost you PHP4M a pop! But the service is incomparable. I also didn't do a due diligence when buying this unit. Besides, I work in Eastwood Cyberpark - the building where I am working got flooded 2 weeks after Ondoy!!! Wait 'till you hear this - there are 3 elevator shafts in the office building, one elevator is always out most of the time of year for repair considering that it's a 30-story building! Guess what, the developer for our condo area and Eastwood is the same - Mega World. East Empire Land Holdings is the developer for low-cost housing project. I mean, there's no difference between buying a cheap condo unit from buying a made-in-China products - they are cheap, alright, and there are undesirable consequences.
I am sure worse will happen to this area. I am not an expert on land development, but I know when some facilities are out of place - in engineering course, they thought you to be logical and practical, and not where the money is. And this is not the case here.
This community is simply unsustainable from what I am observing.
Lesson that I learned - don't attend the homeowners meeting! =P
Welcome to the world of adults who wants to have a house of their own...
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