JEDDAH, 12 September 2006 — With the rapid increase in Jeddah’s population, apartment blocks are mushrooming across the city with construction companies buying land and building villas and flats for sale.
Buyers, however, say that most new buildings are badly built with developers adopting shortcuts and using cheap materials to ensure high profits, according to Al-Madinah newspaper.
Omar Al-Shebani bought an apartment in a newly constructed building. After having lived there for three months he began experiencing some problems. His bathroom began to leak and the electric wiring was faulty.
He said, “When I spoke to the original owner of the building, he told me that I was the problem. He said that he handed me the apartment in a perfect condition. I brought an electrician who examined the wiring and told me that the wiring was done erroneously and that cheap quality material was used.”
Al-Shebani said, “The owner cheated on me and lied to me. Who is responsible for such fraud and where do I go to complain?”
Fahd Al-Jizani, who bought a villa recently, feels he was duped.
“I had to paint the entire villa after the original paint began to peel off. Not to mention the air-conditioning units, which began to leak water inside,” he said.
Al-Jizani said that he had experienced one problem after another and had paid SR15,000 on repairing the house.
He said, “After all that, I discovered that the water tank on the roof was badly damaged. My question is why there is no authority that we can complain to on such fraud. I was not warned about the problems before I bought the house.”
One prospective homebuyer was Sami Al-Muwala who says that he has heard and experienced a lot about the problems that many buyers face when buying furnished apartments and villas.
“I’ve gone out looking at houses and always noticed that something in the house was damaged or of low quality. The buildings have been badly built and done quickly because the people that build them look for fast bucks,” he said.
Al-Muwala said he finally bought a piece of land and was now in the process of building his own home. He decided to do so because it was the only way he can ensure that his house was built properly and to a high standard.
Real estate agent Muhammad Afif said owners of apartment buildings want to sell their properties at cheap rates. “In my opinion these building constructors don’t invest much money and use cheap materials,” he said.
“To be honest anyone wanting to buy such a building should take a plumber and an electrician to see the house and ensure there are no defects. That’s the best way to avoid getting swindled,” he said.
