Many residents of Benhil apartments transfer ownership<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The new apartments in Bendungan Hilir, or
\nBenhil, continue to attract interested buyers.<\/p>\n
Those who ask to speak with the management are told to deal
\ndirectly with residents as units in the ten-story apartment
\nbuilding in Central Jakarta are not supposed to be for sale.<\/p>\n
"Visitors come every day, and on Sundays they come from
\nmorning until the evening," Sani, a resident, said yesterday.<\/p>\n
"I just watch them going up and down and looking around," the
\nmother of three said.<\/p>\n
Many residents living there now feel that they cannot afford
\nto pay for the apartments, many of which are already being resold
\nfor up to Rp 50 million (US$21,394.95) -- only two weeks after
\nGovernor Surjadi Soedirdja inaugurated the apartments on May 30.<\/p>\n
Surjadi has told residents not to transfer the ownership of
\ntheir apartments, which are strategically located close to Jl.
\nSudirman, Jl. Gatot Subroto and the Slipi area.<\/p>\n
Two signs sit in front of the complex, stating that the units
\nwere built by the municipality only for victims of the fire which
\nrazed 400 slum homes in 1994.<\/p>\n
But the signs have largely been ignored. Residents say that
\ntransactions began taking place long before the neatly built
\nstructures with pink roofs were built.<\/p>\n
Many former residents sold the rights to their apartments
\nbased on land prices and not the market price for the
\napartments.<\/p>\n
"My neighbor sold her ownership right for only Rp 3 million
\n(US$1,283.70)," one woman said.<\/p>\n
"Even if they had looked at the apartment plans, people here
\nwouldn't have understood the value of the land. But they wouldn't
\nhave sold their apartments at such a price if they had known the
\nplots would be like this," she said, looking up at the apartment
\ncomplex.<\/p>\n
The government has subsidized 50 percent of the apartment
\ncosts, which are priced on average between Rp 20 million and Rp
\n30 million.<\/p>\n
Monthly installments range from Rp 88,000 to Rp 191,000 with
\nservice charges totaling up to Rp 39,000.<\/p>\n
Sani said her husband has already sold their 21-square-meter
\nunit. His salary as a generator repairman, she said, cannot cover
\nthe monthly installments and living expenses. However, trains at
\nthe station near Bendungan Hilir make it easy for her to reach
\nher husband's place of work and her daughter's school, Sani said.<\/p>\n
She said she did not know how much her husband earns, but that
\nhis salary is divided between the five members of her husband's
\nfamily.<\/p>\n
Sani said she can usually earn money by selling food. Such
\nactivities, however, are not allowed on the grounds unless
\nresidents buy additional space to set up businesses on the ground
\nfloor.<\/p>\n
Because the units are not for sale officially the ownership
\ndocuments are still under her husband's name, though the monthly
\npayments are now being paid by the new buyer.<\/p>\n
She said that many others have not paid service charges due to
\nthe upcoming school year. In the end, she said, her family has
\nalready bought a home in Sudimara, Tangerang, where other
\nneighbors have also built new homes.<\/p>\n
City housing officials have said that they plan to begin
\nkeeping ownership records of the Benhil apartments in order to
\nprevent residents from transferring the ownership of their
\napartments.<\/p>\n
Despite the city's efforts, prospective buyers continue to
\ndrop by. Yesterday, a young couple on a motorcycle came by to ask
\nif the units were for sale. They were then allowed to take a look
\ninside. After a tour, the couple was surprised to hear that the
\napartments were only 18 to 21 square meters without rooms, and
\nthat the 36-square-meter units had yet to be built. (anr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/many-residents-of-benhil-apartments-transfer-ownership-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}