Public's building permit know-how very limited

Public's building permit know-how very limited

JAKARTA (JP): A city development control agency official says
many people remain poorly informed about the regulation requiring
them to obtain building permits to renovate houses.

Masjhudulhak told The Jakarta Post yesterday that many people
who seeking advice during the ongoing House and Interior
Exhibition are not aware of the regulation.

"Many of them really do not know about the regulation. And
they think it is difficult to get such permits," Masjhudulhak
said.

Masjhudulhak explained that the agency has done a lot to
inform the public of the regulation, including making public
presentations at district offices.

The exhibition, which is participated in by more than 100 real
estate developers from Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi offer
various types of housing, including apartments. The exhibition at
the Jakarta Convention Center is scheduled to wind up on Jan. 22.

The exhibition also has stands representing various
institutions which give free advice on architecture, interior
design and building permit processing.

Masjhudulhak said sometimes people seek assistance from
brokers who mislead them by saying that the processing of
building permits is too difficult to handle by themselves.

"The brokers are the ones who make things look difficult," he
added.

He said it takes only 25 days for the agency to process a
building permit once all of the proper documents, such as land
certificates, the blueprints for the house and other pertinent
documents, are submitted.

Many participants of the expo told the Post that the second of
the display was still too early to expect transactions, although
a lot of people were visiting the stands and taking brochures.

"Today is the second day and people are still checking the
prices and the types of houses offered. They cannot just make a
quick decision and close a deal immediately," Abdul, who was
tending a stand promoting apartments, said.

Most of the developers have been marketing their houses for
some time and are using the exhibition to speed up the sales of
the homes they are constructing.

"We had sold 80 percent of a total of 140 units before the
exhibition and up until now there are five prospective buyers who
are going to look at the location," said a stand attendant for PT
Cipta Muzurinda Utama, a developer offering wooden house.

Andy, an official from Pantai Mutiara real estate, said that
his company has not yet sold a single site, worth between Rp 1.65
million (US$753) and Rp 2.5 million per square meter, during the
exhibition.

However, they are optimistic that by the end of the exhibition
people will buy houses or apartments.(yns)