Home sweet home?<\/p>\n
Some 200 people, claiming to represent 3000 prospective
\nbuyers, staged a noisy demonstration last Monday at a local
\npolice precinct in East Jakarta. Unfortunately, they failed to
\ncatch up with the director of a housing developer who was being
\ndetained there. Dissatisfied, the group went to the House of
\nRepresentatives to lodge their complaint.<\/p>\n
The protesters claimed they were cheated by the developer
\nwhen, after paying down payments from Rp 700,000 to Rp 2 million,
\nthey found out that the housing development project was a hoax.
\nThe developer is believed to have pocketed at least Rp 3 billion
\nin the scam.<\/p>\n
Similar reports surface from time to time and always the same
\npattern emerges: Eager prospective buyers of low-cost and medium-
\ncost housing pay a down payment to the developer, who lures them
\nwith \"model\" houses. When delivery time comes, however, it turns
\nout that the houses are nowhere to be seen. Nine such cases have
\nbeen reported so far.<\/p>\n
Much-improved economic conditions, particularly over the last
\ndecade, have spawned a boom in the country's real estate
\nbusiness. As we can see, new housing and apartment projects are
\nsprouting up in almost every city as the demand grows to
\nunprecedented levels. So big is the boom that last year monetary
\nofficials called on banks to slow down their granting of credits
\nand to be more selective in giving out loans for housing
\ndevelopment for fear of overheating the economy.<\/p>\n
Faced with such a lucrative market, some slick operators have
\nseen the opportunity to grab some easy money. A lack of
\ngovernment control, poor supervision and possible collusion
\nbetween officials and developers allow them to operate easily.<\/p>\n
One striking fact is that most of the victims are prospective
\nbuyers of low and medium-cost houses. Obviously, it is easier for
\nthe swindlers to attract the lower classes of our society, as
\nmiddle and upper-class people usually are more cautious and only
\nwilling to deal with bona fide developers.<\/p>\n
We welcome President Soeharto's order instructing the State
\nMinister of Public Housing to step up efforts to reduce the
\nincidence of housing fraud. To let those slick developers
\ncontinue cheating low and middle-income people is not only
\noutrageous, but immoral and inhuman.<\/p>\n
Tightening measures against dishonest developers, however, is
\nnot sufficient. The Association of Real Estate Companies,
\npossibly with the help of the Indonesian Consumers Protection
\nAgency and the media, could help prevent prospective buyers from
\nfalling into these traps. The media, which has enjoyed the real
\nestate sector's lucrative advertising funds for years, could help
\nby investigating dubious housing developers.<\/p>\n
We also should hail President Soeharto's order, which enforces
\nthe balanced-housing concept by requiring developers to build six
\nlow-cost and three medium-cost houses for every one luxury house.
\nBecause many developers have chosen to ignore this rule, luxury
\nhousing complexes have mushroomed throughout Jakarta.<\/p>\n
What those developers seem to forget, however, is that by only
\nbuilding luxury houses, which are undoubtedly more profitable,
\nthey have planted a time-bomb. Many homeless people believe the
\nnew houses are built only for \"the haves\". History has shown that
\nsocial envy and social gaps can trigger explosions of turmoil and
\nunrest. And we certainly do not want such things to happen here.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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