time to update our beloved residents concerning the happening in Vista Condo...
1) the job for replacing the faulty under ground conceal main pipe at blk k parking area already completed, it took abt one week to finish, now we are monitoring the water flow rate at the main drain besides the blk k, the full payment will be made only after we are sure that the job is indeed done properly.
2) new office clerk Ishak has reported to work, he is replacing the the previous clerk Ah Lai, hope he is an efficient worker, just for resident's info, another veteran staff Mr Rahman's role is building supervisor, so most of the time he will check on our common area, attends to residents' complaint, also to monitor the work of other vendor like guards, housekeeping staffs, renovators, etc.
3) we have sent the letters to all the unit owner of the foreigners hostel to ask them not to convert their unit to be hostel and if they insist then new rate of service charge RM500 will be imposed starting May 2015, so far some of them responded & still negotiating of moving out the tenants but most of them just don't bother, well, let's see how it goes in May....
4) some residents suggested in the previous posts that should put the defaulters' unit number & outstanding amount at the notice board (or other places which many peoples will pass by), we thought this this is workable idea, so from next month onward, defaulters' detail will be up at the notice board at every middle of the month, hope this will create some pressure for them to pay SC promptly.
thanks.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Friday, April 17, 2015
challenges of prolonging Vista Condo life span (part 2)
last article we mentioned abt if based on our regular monthly collection on the SC (Service Charge), as long as we can maintain 85% collection rate, then we should have enough fund to maintain our existing facilities, even to upgrade it, but for those major items like building repainting, water tanks replacement, lifts upgrade, major PBA & sewerage pipe replacement then gov't financial aid is definitely needed, for most of the cases, state gov't will absorb 80% & residents will bear the 20% of the total cost, for Vista Condo we are consider fortunate as state gov't recognise s as LMC (low medium cost) apartment which open door for us to approach state gov't for help :)
our challenge now is how to get ourselves ready for the 20% whenever gov't is willing to fund the 80%. 2 years ago when state gov't approved our request to upgrade blk k lift, where we need to deposit abt RM34k as 20% so that the upgrade work can be commenced, it also took us awhile to gather enough money for that purpose, so this time when gov't willing to absorb the 80% of the total cost for 10 water tanks replacement, we can't produce the 20% which is RM81K, so the project has been delayed until now :(
the water tank vendor is kind enough to let us trade in our existing water tanks with high price at 40K, even willing to channel in the money in advance so that our side only need to contribute RM41K to get the project started, but sad to say, we don't even have 41K at the moment but only 20K.
well, we believe in another 2 months' time we will have that 41K, but now what interest us more is, how abt future project? as we are planning to get gov't to help on main pipe replacement, building repainting, blk j lift upgrade, etc. we should always have the money ready to pay the 20% when gov't is ready to bear the 80%.
if possible, we would like to suggest in the coming AGM to collect RM10 every month from each unit as Vista new sinking fund (the old sinking fund still pending on further legal action), but pls understand this is jz a suggestion, we can't proceed with this without residents' approval.
we will like to see every month to collect abt RM2750 as Vista have 275 unit & deposit into sinking fund account, then in a year's time should have RM33000, 2 years is RM66000, 3 years RM99000, if FD rate is 4% then after 3 years the figure should hit RM100000 :)
the whole purpose is so that when gov't say yes to our future request for building repainting, or blk j lifts upgrade, or other major project few years from now, we can deposit our 20% straight away & the new project can start immediately, and our residents can enjoy it's benefit without the unnecessary delay.
what do u think?
thanks.
our challenge now is how to get ourselves ready for the 20% whenever gov't is willing to fund the 80%. 2 years ago when state gov't approved our request to upgrade blk k lift, where we need to deposit abt RM34k as 20% so that the upgrade work can be commenced, it also took us awhile to gather enough money for that purpose, so this time when gov't willing to absorb the 80% of the total cost for 10 water tanks replacement, we can't produce the 20% which is RM81K, so the project has been delayed until now :(
the water tank vendor is kind enough to let us trade in our existing water tanks with high price at 40K, even willing to channel in the money in advance so that our side only need to contribute RM41K to get the project started, but sad to say, we don't even have 41K at the moment but only 20K.
well, we believe in another 2 months' time we will have that 41K, but now what interest us more is, how abt future project? as we are planning to get gov't to help on main pipe replacement, building repainting, blk j lift upgrade, etc. we should always have the money ready to pay the 20% when gov't is ready to bear the 80%.
if possible, we would like to suggest in the coming AGM to collect RM10 every month from each unit as Vista new sinking fund (the old sinking fund still pending on further legal action), but pls understand this is jz a suggestion, we can't proceed with this without residents' approval.
we will like to see every month to collect abt RM2750 as Vista have 275 unit & deposit into sinking fund account, then in a year's time should have RM33000, 2 years is RM66000, 3 years RM99000, if FD rate is 4% then after 3 years the figure should hit RM100000 :)
the whole purpose is so that when gov't say yes to our future request for building repainting, or blk j lifts upgrade, or other major project few years from now, we can deposit our 20% straight away & the new project can start immediately, and our residents can enjoy it's benefit without the unnecessary delay.
what do u think?
thanks.
Friday, April 10, 2015
challenges of prolonging vista condo life span (part 1)
we always told each others (haha! most of us in our 40s already) our generation are consider very fortunate, as many of us are capable to purchase an apartment in Penang, because many graduates who although have worked for few years, but still can't afford to buy an apartment due to the skyrocketing of property value in the past few years, now in Penang, a 700sqft apartment (like Vista Condo) with reasonable facility worth easily 280k, imagine those days when most of us purchased the property in late 1990s' until late 2000s', only cost abt 100k.
while federal govt & state govt busy introducing some cooling measure trying to control property value (such as increase real property gain tax, stricter loan condition, affordable housing, etc), we still don't expect property value will drop, especially those in range of 250k to 400k may still increase in the much slower pace, perhaps the high end one like more than 600k will have little bit problem to push their unit, anyhow price won't drop, unless the bubble burst in future, which is quite unlikely....
latest statistic shows that Penang will see increase of population 100,000 person per year, which needs abt new 25,000 house in every year, this speak of house/apartment still in demand, especially those in 250k to 400k are in shortage, so for Vista Condo, your unit still sell-able in future, as long as our facilities still in good shape.
so now the challenge is, how to maintain the facilities in good shape in order to make Vista Condo remain attractive in the market? basically for condo living, some critical area need to pay more attention to, for market value and also residents' living, the lifts, the water tanks, various pumps, major electrical items found in the switch rooms.....
Vista Condo as a 20 years old apartments, understandably that many facilities have reached the end of life span, so we are slowly replacing these facilities, in the past few years, 2 lifts in blk k have been upgraded, 2 swimming pool pump & filter replaced, 1 residential pump also changed, some important but no so critical items like gutters, underground pipes also replaced in some area...
at the moment if based on our monthly collection of Service Charge, as we find way to maintain it at 85% collection rate, then we still able to replace the aging facilities, but for the future replacement of the more major items such as water tanks, lifts at blk j, bomba & residential pumps, bomba pipes, PBA common pipes, then govt's help is needed, but as their financial help only 80%, our future challenge will be how to produce the 20% even when the govt has agree to contribute 80%.
this is the situation we are facing now, the gov't willing to bear 80% of the water tanks project, which is abt 320K, residents suppose to contribute the 20% or 81k, but as the vendor is kind enough to absorb our existing tanks at 40K, but we still can't produce the remaining 41K to order the get the project started, and it's delay until today....
we will share more next week on few options to tackle this, pls also contribute your opinions so that hopefully at the end we will be able to start the govt funded-projects as soon as possible whenever govt's fund is available, for other project as well.
thanks.
while federal govt & state govt busy introducing some cooling measure trying to control property value (such as increase real property gain tax, stricter loan condition, affordable housing, etc), we still don't expect property value will drop, especially those in range of 250k to 400k may still increase in the much slower pace, perhaps the high end one like more than 600k will have little bit problem to push their unit, anyhow price won't drop, unless the bubble burst in future, which is quite unlikely....
latest statistic shows that Penang will see increase of population 100,000 person per year, which needs abt new 25,000 house in every year, this speak of house/apartment still in demand, especially those in 250k to 400k are in shortage, so for Vista Condo, your unit still sell-able in future, as long as our facilities still in good shape.
so now the challenge is, how to maintain the facilities in good shape in order to make Vista Condo remain attractive in the market? basically for condo living, some critical area need to pay more attention to, for market value and also residents' living, the lifts, the water tanks, various pumps, major electrical items found in the switch rooms.....
Vista Condo as a 20 years old apartments, understandably that many facilities have reached the end of life span, so we are slowly replacing these facilities, in the past few years, 2 lifts in blk k have been upgraded, 2 swimming pool pump & filter replaced, 1 residential pump also changed, some important but no so critical items like gutters, underground pipes also replaced in some area...
at the moment if based on our monthly collection of Service Charge, as we find way to maintain it at 85% collection rate, then we still able to replace the aging facilities, but for the future replacement of the more major items such as water tanks, lifts at blk j, bomba & residential pumps, bomba pipes, PBA common pipes, then govt's help is needed, but as their financial help only 80%, our future challenge will be how to produce the 20% even when the govt has agree to contribute 80%.
this is the situation we are facing now, the gov't willing to bear 80% of the water tanks project, which is abt 320K, residents suppose to contribute the 20% or 81k, but as the vendor is kind enough to absorb our existing tanks at 40K, but we still can't produce the remaining 41K to order the get the project started, and it's delay until today....
we will share more next week on few options to tackle this, pls also contribute your opinions so that hopefully at the end we will be able to start the govt funded-projects as soon as possible whenever govt's fund is available, for other project as well.
thanks.
Friday, April 3, 2015
some updates on the foreigner hostel
before we share some updates on the hostel issue, we also wish to inform our beloved residents that the yr2015 insurance premium is RM215.30 & quit rent is RM9.60, pls do kindly proceed payment at the management office so that we can settle with insurance agent as early as possible :)
yes concerning the foreigner's factory hostel, last month we saw another 2 unit have jz moved in, so now the total is 12 units officially, what a frustration we have!!!
we have got the landlords' number from the management office & called them personally, there are few numbers can't get through, and one wrong number too. But we managed to talk to some of them, only one landlord give the positive response that he will try to ask the agent to move out the foreigners but ask for more time, but another few landlords display some uncooperative attitude, but we have made it clear to them that our residents have passed the resolution in EGM to increase their service charge (SC) to RM500 per month if they continue to keep the foreigner factory workers in their unit.
this coming week the management office will send the notice to the landlords informing them their SC will increase to RM500 effective May'15, we expect some big hoohaa from them after they receive the notice, but since they have chosen to ignore the verbal warning through phone calls so we got to send them some official notice, in fact we have also talked to lawyer & MPPP concerning this.
actually it's offense of the law by converting residential unit into hostel, for which we also will send the list of hostel detail to MPPP soon for them to act, in short, we try to corner these unit from whatever angle which is available, and hope that the landlord will have common sense to stop renting their unit to the foreigner workers.
we are collecting more quotations for the lift T&G scanner system, once our finance is more ready then the system will be installed in our 4 lifts, for which the access card would not be issued to the hostels, this is another way of discouraging these units to be turned into hostels.
do share with if you guys have good ideas to tackle this problem, thanks.
yes concerning the foreigner's factory hostel, last month we saw another 2 unit have jz moved in, so now the total is 12 units officially, what a frustration we have!!!
we have got the landlords' number from the management office & called them personally, there are few numbers can't get through, and one wrong number too. But we managed to talk to some of them, only one landlord give the positive response that he will try to ask the agent to move out the foreigners but ask for more time, but another few landlords display some uncooperative attitude, but we have made it clear to them that our residents have passed the resolution in EGM to increase their service charge (SC) to RM500 per month if they continue to keep the foreigner factory workers in their unit.
this coming week the management office will send the notice to the landlords informing them their SC will increase to RM500 effective May'15, we expect some big hoohaa from them after they receive the notice, but since they have chosen to ignore the verbal warning through phone calls so we got to send them some official notice, in fact we have also talked to lawyer & MPPP concerning this.
actually it's offense of the law by converting residential unit into hostel, for which we also will send the list of hostel detail to MPPP soon for them to act, in short, we try to corner these unit from whatever angle which is available, and hope that the landlord will have common sense to stop renting their unit to the foreigner workers.
we are collecting more quotations for the lift T&G scanner system, once our finance is more ready then the system will be installed in our 4 lifts, for which the access card would not be issued to the hostels, this is another way of discouraging these units to be turned into hostels.
do share with if you guys have good ideas to tackle this problem, thanks.
Friday, March 27, 2015
general updates as at 28/3/15
few matters like to update our beloved Vista Residents,
1) Foreigners hostel, the MC committees are all out to stop the any unit to be converted into foreigner factory hostel, at the moment soft approach are taken, office staffs have contacted owner to advice them not to rent their unit to be factory, in a short while committee members will be calling them too, also posters have been pasted at notice board for the same purpose, next we will do the banner to make it clear that factory hostel are indeed not welcome here. if these actions still ignored by the landlord then lift T&G system will be used to stop the trend.
2) Lift T&G system, we are at the moment getting more quotation & proposal for this, first round meeting on the system will be held this coming Sunday, besides the quality of devices & after sale service, we are also checking with vendor on the payment term, if the vendor is kind enough to give us longer term payment, ideally 12 installment spread throughout a year, then we can foresee this system will be installed very soon.
3) underground conceal pipe at car park, after few weeks of checking, getting vendors to quote, comparing quotations, negotiating the price & payment term, we are finally ready to replace the conceal main pipe which has collapsed a while ago, the location of the said main pipe is in between blk k & main rubbish room, this has caused water stagnant at the drain at the ground floor of blk k, work should be commenced early next week, slight delay of the earlier schedule of this week end, the whole project will cost us abt RM7000, warranty one year.
4) Fire insurance premium & quit rent 2015, as our residents have chosen the fire insurance coverage option during the EGM, and as the office is going to pay the 2015 quit rent early next week, the committee will meet this Sunday to decide how much is the total amount for insurance premium & quit rent which our resident need to pay, normally the office won't mark up the amount, but will round up the figure so that it will be easier for both our residents & office staff when payment is being made, we should be able to notify our residents on the figure next week, through the notice at the notice board.
Thanks.
1) Foreigners hostel, the MC committees are all out to stop the any unit to be converted into foreigner factory hostel, at the moment soft approach are taken, office staffs have contacted owner to advice them not to rent their unit to be factory, in a short while committee members will be calling them too, also posters have been pasted at notice board for the same purpose, next we will do the banner to make it clear that factory hostel are indeed not welcome here. if these actions still ignored by the landlord then lift T&G system will be used to stop the trend.
2) Lift T&G system, we are at the moment getting more quotation & proposal for this, first round meeting on the system will be held this coming Sunday, besides the quality of devices & after sale service, we are also checking with vendor on the payment term, if the vendor is kind enough to give us longer term payment, ideally 12 installment spread throughout a year, then we can foresee this system will be installed very soon.
3) underground conceal pipe at car park, after few weeks of checking, getting vendors to quote, comparing quotations, negotiating the price & payment term, we are finally ready to replace the conceal main pipe which has collapsed a while ago, the location of the said main pipe is in between blk k & main rubbish room, this has caused water stagnant at the drain at the ground floor of blk k, work should be commenced early next week, slight delay of the earlier schedule of this week end, the whole project will cost us abt RM7000, warranty one year.
4) Fire insurance premium & quit rent 2015, as our residents have chosen the fire insurance coverage option during the EGM, and as the office is going to pay the 2015 quit rent early next week, the committee will meet this Sunday to decide how much is the total amount for insurance premium & quit rent which our resident need to pay, normally the office won't mark up the amount, but will round up the figure so that it will be easier for both our residents & office staff when payment is being made, we should be able to notify our residents on the figure next week, through the notice at the notice board.
Thanks.
Friday, March 20, 2015
EGM report
our EGM concluded smoothly on the wednesday, ended at abt 10.30pm, counted more than 60 unit owners attended the meeting, some came early some came a bit late, we feel very encouraged by the participation by our residents during the discussion time.
3 major decision made during the EGM, first is the fire insurance policy, after some discussion among the residents, & briefing by the agent Mr Lee, the option of coverage up to 250K get the most of the votes, so the renewal of the fire insurance policy will be arranged according to this decision, very soon the management will come up with the notice to inform all the Vista Condo residents concerning the premium & quit rent for this.
second major decision is abt the lift T&G scanner system, for this matter, we see almost all the residents who attended the EGM would like to see the system installed in all of the lifts, once our finance is in the good position to do that. in fact residents even proposed & agreed that all the entry point of the ground floor staircase should install the similar system too, so that it will be more effective to block those hardcore defaulters, irresponsible renovators, unauthorized outsiders & foreign workers from entering the premises.
the last one is the most explosive issue, the foreigners' hostel, we can feel the concern of our residents abt this, as we can see now more & more units have converted into foreigners' hostel. after much discussion on the options, residents voted to increase the service charge of the units which have become foreigners' hostel to RM500 per month! the management will contact the landlord to inform them abt the decision, and we hope that the landlord will feel the pinch & stop renting their units to the factory agent. we will also considering other options which will help to get rid of factory hostel, like to put up notices to show our disapproval on the hostel, to arrange for the police operasi, etc.
some other matters also be mentioned, but mainly for info only, include sinking fund, water tank project & building repainting.
thanks.
3 major decision made during the EGM, first is the fire insurance policy, after some discussion among the residents, & briefing by the agent Mr Lee, the option of coverage up to 250K get the most of the votes, so the renewal of the fire insurance policy will be arranged according to this decision, very soon the management will come up with the notice to inform all the Vista Condo residents concerning the premium & quit rent for this.
second major decision is abt the lift T&G scanner system, for this matter, we see almost all the residents who attended the EGM would like to see the system installed in all of the lifts, once our finance is in the good position to do that. in fact residents even proposed & agreed that all the entry point of the ground floor staircase should install the similar system too, so that it will be more effective to block those hardcore defaulters, irresponsible renovators, unauthorized outsiders & foreign workers from entering the premises.
the last one is the most explosive issue, the foreigners' hostel, we can feel the concern of our residents abt this, as we can see now more & more units have converted into foreigners' hostel. after much discussion on the options, residents voted to increase the service charge of the units which have become foreigners' hostel to RM500 per month! the management will contact the landlord to inform them abt the decision, and we hope that the landlord will feel the pinch & stop renting their units to the factory agent. we will also considering other options which will help to get rid of factory hostel, like to put up notices to show our disapproval on the hostel, to arrange for the police operasi, etc.
some other matters also be mentioned, but mainly for info only, include sinking fund, water tank project & building repainting.
thanks.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
another flat 88?
a committee member reported that just in last week, another group of foreigner factory workers moved into Vista Condo, by the size of the group, he estimated maybe another 2 units in Vista Condo have turned into factory hostel :(
according to the unofficial statistic we have, there's abt 10 units now foreigners hostel in Vista Condo, our concern is it may increase if we don't stop the trend now, especially our location & rental are very ideal for factory worker to stay here, distance to their work place is short, even to amenities also convenient, like queensbay, BJ complex, metropolitan park, air port, market, makan place & pasar malam...etc.
few days ago chit chatting with the Chinese day guard, he stays in the apartment behind the Relau Public bank, the white color one, he said now in his place, most of the unit have turned into factory hostels, just like another flat 88 near our place, as all of know that, flat 88 and it's around apartments are full of foreigner factory workers & their hostels, one reason why their property value are much lower than other apartments, and needless to say, safety is another issue.
Vista Condo need to do something now before it's too late, we would like to invite as many residents as possible to come for the EGM this coming wednesday (18/3/13) 8pm to discuss how to tackle this problem, at the moment some idea in our mind includes to install T&G system in the lifts but not giving the card to the foreigner hostels, also to increase service charge on those units which become foreigner hostels, to sign petition and send to the hostel landlord to urge them stop renting their unit to the factory, to report to the government on these cases because Vista Condo as LMC (low medium cost) apartment should not rent it out as foreigner hostel.
so, if you are reading this, pls do come for the EGM, and bring your neighbors too, hopefully together we will find a good solution to overcome this challenge.
thanks.
according to the unofficial statistic we have, there's abt 10 units now foreigners hostel in Vista Condo, our concern is it may increase if we don't stop the trend now, especially our location & rental are very ideal for factory worker to stay here, distance to their work place is short, even to amenities also convenient, like queensbay, BJ complex, metropolitan park, air port, market, makan place & pasar malam...etc.
few days ago chit chatting with the Chinese day guard, he stays in the apartment behind the Relau Public bank, the white color one, he said now in his place, most of the unit have turned into factory hostels, just like another flat 88 near our place, as all of know that, flat 88 and it's around apartments are full of foreigner factory workers & their hostels, one reason why their property value are much lower than other apartments, and needless to say, safety is another issue.
Vista Condo need to do something now before it's too late, we would like to invite as many residents as possible to come for the EGM this coming wednesday (18/3/13) 8pm to discuss how to tackle this problem, at the moment some idea in our mind includes to install T&G system in the lifts but not giving the card to the foreigner hostels, also to increase service charge on those units which become foreigner hostels, to sign petition and send to the hostel landlord to urge them stop renting their unit to the factory, to report to the government on these cases because Vista Condo as LMC (low medium cost) apartment should not rent it out as foreigner hostel.
so, if you are reading this, pls do come for the EGM, and bring your neighbors too, hopefully together we will find a good solution to overcome this challenge.
thanks.
Friday, March 6, 2015
EGM on 18/3/15
in last MC meeting, committees decided to call an EGM on 18/3/15, 8pm to decide on few matters.
first is the fire insurance, we have mentioned much in the last post concerning, so won't touch much on this topic now at this post, just to recap, it's to let residents to decide what kind of coverage they wish to have, higher coverage will come with higher premium, so most likely we will present to residents package of 200K, 250K and 300K for residents to decide.
second one will be the lift T&G scanner system, for we have checked around (especially in the blog) and found out most of the residents prefer to have the scanner system in our lifts, mainly due to safety issue as it will help prevent outsider to come to our blocks easily, but it also will help to force the hardcore defaulters to pay their outstanding service charge, especially those staying at 4th flr & above.
another benefit is to make sure the renovators to behave better, with this system in place, the management can bar the card which given by the house owner to the renovator for their house renovation if the renovator keep breaking our house rules. at the moment we only rely on security guard & management to do spot check & advice them if they break our rules, but very hard to stop them from entering into our place, so with the lift scanner system, we just need to bar the card then they can't function anymore.
we will also touch on the foreigners hostel topic, to find the way together with residents on how to deal with it, because according to law the owner of the unit can rent to anyone they like, but from our side we also need to do our part to protect local residents' welfare, some of the method we would like to propose to residents including not to issue lift T&G scanner card to those unit which have been rented out as factory hostel, but for doing that we will need to include it into our house rules, for that purpose we will need residents to approve in the EGM......
so, see you all in the coming EGM, thanks.
first is the fire insurance, we have mentioned much in the last post concerning, so won't touch much on this topic now at this post, just to recap, it's to let residents to decide what kind of coverage they wish to have, higher coverage will come with higher premium, so most likely we will present to residents package of 200K, 250K and 300K for residents to decide.
second one will be the lift T&G scanner system, for we have checked around (especially in the blog) and found out most of the residents prefer to have the scanner system in our lifts, mainly due to safety issue as it will help prevent outsider to come to our blocks easily, but it also will help to force the hardcore defaulters to pay their outstanding service charge, especially those staying at 4th flr & above.
another benefit is to make sure the renovators to behave better, with this system in place, the management can bar the card which given by the house owner to the renovator for their house renovation if the renovator keep breaking our house rules. at the moment we only rely on security guard & management to do spot check & advice them if they break our rules, but very hard to stop them from entering into our place, so with the lift scanner system, we just need to bar the card then they can't function anymore.
we will also touch on the foreigners hostel topic, to find the way together with residents on how to deal with it, because according to law the owner of the unit can rent to anyone they like, but from our side we also need to do our part to protect local residents' welfare, some of the method we would like to propose to residents including not to issue lift T&G scanner card to those unit which have been rented out as factory hostel, but for doing that we will need to include it into our house rules, for that purpose we will need residents to approve in the EGM......
so, see you all in the coming EGM, thanks.
Friday, February 27, 2015
EGM in March (for fire insurance)
we will call an EGM (extraordinary general meeting) in March, mainly for the renewal of fire insurance, at the same time, may also bring up other matters for residents to consider, or approval for implementation.
our current fire insurance policy will expire at the end of March, at this time we feel we should let resident to decide what kind of coverage they wish to have, especially for the last few years, our property value has jumped up so much!
in year 2009, when JMB jz took over the management from the developer, the insurance premium per unit was abt RM95, as those days the property value per unit in Vista was abt RM140k, then the following few years we kept it at the same rate but later on we forced to rise to RM105 as property value increased to abt 180k per unit, the reason of the rise of the insurance premium is to provide bigger coverage for resident's apartment shall fire happen in the unit, but early last year as property value has reached 220K per unit, we forced to increase the premium to RM125 per unit, this has caused some complaint from residents as they don't understand the reason of the increment on the premium, worse still, some residents have even speculated some hanky panky may have taken place in our dealing with the insurance matter.
so as now, property value has further increased to abt RM300k per unit, inevitably, the coverage need to be up again, in another words, premium will increase too. so this time we have got the insurance agent to quote us the coverage at few level, from 150k, 200k, 250k and 300k. Each level of coverage will come with different amount of premium, we will present the packages to residents for them to choose, and during the EGM we will try our best to explain to our residents the detail of the plan, we also may invite the insurance agent to attend the EGM, and if it's needed then we will get him to answer the question.
the MC will meet on this Sunday to discuss abt this, once finalized then the notice of meeting will be sent to our residents, we trust that our residents will make the best decision during the EGM.
thank you.
our current fire insurance policy will expire at the end of March, at this time we feel we should let resident to decide what kind of coverage they wish to have, especially for the last few years, our property value has jumped up so much!
in year 2009, when JMB jz took over the management from the developer, the insurance premium per unit was abt RM95, as those days the property value per unit in Vista was abt RM140k, then the following few years we kept it at the same rate but later on we forced to rise to RM105 as property value increased to abt 180k per unit, the reason of the rise of the insurance premium is to provide bigger coverage for resident's apartment shall fire happen in the unit, but early last year as property value has reached 220K per unit, we forced to increase the premium to RM125 per unit, this has caused some complaint from residents as they don't understand the reason of the increment on the premium, worse still, some residents have even speculated some hanky panky may have taken place in our dealing with the insurance matter.
so as now, property value has further increased to abt RM300k per unit, inevitably, the coverage need to be up again, in another words, premium will increase too. so this time we have got the insurance agent to quote us the coverage at few level, from 150k, 200k, 250k and 300k. Each level of coverage will come with different amount of premium, we will present the packages to residents for them to choose, and during the EGM we will try our best to explain to our residents the detail of the plan, we also may invite the insurance agent to attend the EGM, and if it's needed then we will get him to answer the question.
the MC will meet on this Sunday to discuss abt this, once finalized then the notice of meeting will be sent to our residents, we trust that our residents will make the best decision during the EGM.
thank you.
Monday, February 23, 2015
no posting...due to CNY holidays
hi guys, no posting this week, busy bringing our family members for CNY holidays function :)
Friday, February 13, 2015
some interesting facts abt water tanks installation
for past few weeks, we have been working like crazy for the water tank matters, checking around for the regulation concerning installing new waters, negotiating with vendor abt the trade in price for our existing tanks, even talked to him to see possible to install bigger tanks for our blk k (bigger than the unit quoted by him earlier), also try to anticipate possible situation during the installation of bew water tank....
after talking to experts & relevant authorities, some interesting facts like to share with our beloved residents...
- PBA & other authorities don't have right to instruct us what kind of tank or the volume of the tank we are going to install, at first we were quite concern abt do we need their approval for project like this, but after checking with few dept, we found it's MC & residents' right to choose what type (and size) of tank they want to use.
- the size of the tanks is not as important as the performance of the water pump in regard of making sure continuing supply of water to our residents, earlier on we did have concern that the new tanks may not be big enough compare to the existing tank, but after talking to few specialists who are well verse in this line, they said as long as the pumps are running smoothly, then we should not worry too much abt the size of the tanks, but of course we still prefer bigger tank for blk k as more units there, so now we are still pushing vendor to provide bigger tanks for blk k, but it also depend on how much is the additional cost, if we can afford then we should go ahead with the idea.
- fiberglass tank is consider new idea in Penang, at first we thought many apartments have already installed fiberglass tank, because recently we heard a lot abt this, but as we check around wish to see the real fiberglass tank, we found out so far only one apartment project in Jelutong has done so, most of the apartment in Penang still using the the traditional steer type or PV type, anywhere we were told by the vendor & our specialist that fiberglass tank are equally good as steer type, haha...hope so :)
still many things need to be finalized before the installation take place, this is to make sure smooth process when the work is commenced, for this is a big project indeed.
thanks.
after talking to experts & relevant authorities, some interesting facts like to share with our beloved residents...
- PBA & other authorities don't have right to instruct us what kind of tank or the volume of the tank we are going to install, at first we were quite concern abt do we need their approval for project like this, but after checking with few dept, we found it's MC & residents' right to choose what type (and size) of tank they want to use.
- the size of the tanks is not as important as the performance of the water pump in regard of making sure continuing supply of water to our residents, earlier on we did have concern that the new tanks may not be big enough compare to the existing tank, but after talking to few specialists who are well verse in this line, they said as long as the pumps are running smoothly, then we should not worry too much abt the size of the tanks, but of course we still prefer bigger tank for blk k as more units there, so now we are still pushing vendor to provide bigger tanks for blk k, but it also depend on how much is the additional cost, if we can afford then we should go ahead with the idea.
- fiberglass tank is consider new idea in Penang, at first we thought many apartments have already installed fiberglass tank, because recently we heard a lot abt this, but as we check around wish to see the real fiberglass tank, we found out so far only one apartment project in Jelutong has done so, most of the apartment in Penang still using the the traditional steer type or PV type, anywhere we were told by the vendor & our specialist that fiberglass tank are equally good as steer type, haha...hope so :)
still many things need to be finalized before the installation take place, this is to make sure smooth process when the work is commenced, for this is a big project indeed.
thanks.
Saturday, February 7, 2015
early challenges of the water tanks
after few rounds of discussion with the tank vendor, through face to face meeting & phone conversation, now we realise that to replace all the water tanks for Vista Condo is indeed a very tough job.
and the toughest one, is to replace the water tank at the ground floor of each block, for info, the ground floor water tank serve the purpose of keeping the water from PBA, before it's sent to the roof top tanks through the water pumps, in our case, our residents are using the water directly from the roof top tanks.
here the tricky part is, to replace one tank will take abt one week, so when the vendor is taking the one week for the ground floor tank, no water will supply to the roof top tanks, and the roof top tanks can only keep the water good for 2 to 3 days for our residents usage...headache!
one of the solution suggested by vendor seems more workable for our situation here is to put a temporary tank at the ground floor while installing the new tank, so that this temporary tank will do the job of keeping the water from PBA, and to this, the size of temporary tank should be similar to our existing tank, which is 8 ft(height) by 8 ft(length) by 12 ft(depth), if the size is too small then it can't keep up the pace of the water consumption by our residents, and in fact, the vendor is willing to provide the temporary tank to solve this problem, well, it will lead to another challenge ;)
where to place the temporary tank?
our existing pump room's space at the ground is just enough to cater for one tank, which means while the vendor is dismantling the old tank, the temporary tank got to be in place to take over the job, but as there no more space in pump room, we got to place the temporary tank outside the pump room, and bear in mind of the size, now we got find a right place for it....
it got to be somewhere very near to the pump because it need to connect to the pump & the control panel, another headache!
as we look at it, it will be most likely using the motorcycle parking area, or the air well next to the pump room, but we will wait for vendor to come and check again if these places is feasible for the purpose, hope that it's the right place for the temporary tank :)
let's continue to pray for the smooth process for the tanks installation, thanks.
and the toughest one, is to replace the water tank at the ground floor of each block, for info, the ground floor water tank serve the purpose of keeping the water from PBA, before it's sent to the roof top tanks through the water pumps, in our case, our residents are using the water directly from the roof top tanks.
here the tricky part is, to replace one tank will take abt one week, so when the vendor is taking the one week for the ground floor tank, no water will supply to the roof top tanks, and the roof top tanks can only keep the water good for 2 to 3 days for our residents usage...headache!
one of the solution suggested by vendor seems more workable for our situation here is to put a temporary tank at the ground floor while installing the new tank, so that this temporary tank will do the job of keeping the water from PBA, and to this, the size of temporary tank should be similar to our existing tank, which is 8 ft(height) by 8 ft(length) by 12 ft(depth), if the size is too small then it can't keep up the pace of the water consumption by our residents, and in fact, the vendor is willing to provide the temporary tank to solve this problem, well, it will lead to another challenge ;)
where to place the temporary tank?
our existing pump room's space at the ground is just enough to cater for one tank, which means while the vendor is dismantling the old tank, the temporary tank got to be in place to take over the job, but as there no more space in pump room, we got to place the temporary tank outside the pump room, and bear in mind of the size, now we got find a right place for it....
it got to be somewhere very near to the pump because it need to connect to the pump & the control panel, another headache!
as we look at it, it will be most likely using the motorcycle parking area, or the air well next to the pump room, but we will wait for vendor to come and check again if these places is feasible for the purpose, hope that it's the right place for the temporary tank :)
let's continue to pray for the smooth process for the tanks installation, thanks.
Friday, January 30, 2015
general update as at 31/1/15
hi, few updates for our beloved Vista residents,
1) concerning the new water tanks, we have discussed abt this in the MC meeting & decided to visit the chosen vendor's facility first before we give him the ultimate go ahead for this project. the purpose of this visit is to make sure that the company is truly capable of handling this big project, and at the same time to discuss with him in detail abt the plan & schedule of installing the new tanks, the visitation will take place next week, we don't foresee any big issue here, furthermore they are kind enough to let us trade in our old tanks with some good value, which will be a great help for us to deposit into the gov't account for the 20% of total cost as per requirement.
2) last night, the blk k residents hit by water shortage problem, we have first received the complaint at abt 9pm, then few MC members rushed to the pump room to check the pumps, found that the 2 pumps & their control circuit were functioning, but ground floor water tank got less than half tank of water. then we went quickly go to the roof top to check, all the tanks were almost empty. we concluded that the inflow water of the ground water tank is too slow, causing the pump didn't manage to send enough water to the roof top tanks for blk k residents to use, so we quickly called the swimming pool vendor to get his contact to help, they both came at abt 11pm, did the checking, found out a rubber at the ground floor tank inflow area was out of position, it blocked the water & causing the mentioned problem. then the vendor adjusted the rubber into the position it suppose to be, so immediately inflow water back to normal pressure level, hence problem rectified. the vendor will come back again in a day or two, to replace the rubber if it's needed.
3) we have engaged a new electrician & his company to do general maintenance & repair for Vista electrical facility, this is due to the new company is with all the proper registration with the relevant authority, and manpower is sufficient for serving the facility. but anyhow we also want to thank the former electrician for helping us all these while, especially during the few big crisis in past 2 years, where he really show some good commitment for the job, but too bad as his business grows, he also found it hard to attend to our requests, so as he also voiced out to us his desire to focus more on his other business, so we thought it's a right time to replace him, then with the management lady recommendation, we have interviewed the new vendor & decided to use him, trust that the new electrician will provide good service.
thanks.
1) concerning the new water tanks, we have discussed abt this in the MC meeting & decided to visit the chosen vendor's facility first before we give him the ultimate go ahead for this project. the purpose of this visit is to make sure that the company is truly capable of handling this big project, and at the same time to discuss with him in detail abt the plan & schedule of installing the new tanks, the visitation will take place next week, we don't foresee any big issue here, furthermore they are kind enough to let us trade in our old tanks with some good value, which will be a great help for us to deposit into the gov't account for the 20% of total cost as per requirement.
2) last night, the blk k residents hit by water shortage problem, we have first received the complaint at abt 9pm, then few MC members rushed to the pump room to check the pumps, found that the 2 pumps & their control circuit were functioning, but ground floor water tank got less than half tank of water. then we went quickly go to the roof top to check, all the tanks were almost empty. we concluded that the inflow water of the ground water tank is too slow, causing the pump didn't manage to send enough water to the roof top tanks for blk k residents to use, so we quickly called the swimming pool vendor to get his contact to help, they both came at abt 11pm, did the checking, found out a rubber at the ground floor tank inflow area was out of position, it blocked the water & causing the mentioned problem. then the vendor adjusted the rubber into the position it suppose to be, so immediately inflow water back to normal pressure level, hence problem rectified. the vendor will come back again in a day or two, to replace the rubber if it's needed.
3) we have engaged a new electrician & his company to do general maintenance & repair for Vista electrical facility, this is due to the new company is with all the proper registration with the relevant authority, and manpower is sufficient for serving the facility. but anyhow we also want to thank the former electrician for helping us all these while, especially during the few big crisis in past 2 years, where he really show some good commitment for the job, but too bad as his business grows, he also found it hard to attend to our requests, so as he also voiced out to us his desire to focus more on his other business, so we thought it's a right time to replace him, then with the management lady recommendation, we have interviewed the new vendor & decided to use him, trust that the new electrician will provide good service.
thanks.
Friday, January 23, 2015
new water tanks in sight :)
lastly, lastly, lastly, we have got the letter from Jabatan Kewangan Negeri to confirm on the water tanks!
on THURSDAY we have received a phone call from the department, ask us if we want them to send the letter to us or we will drop by Komtar to collect from them (as earlier on we have told them to call us once the letter is ready), without second thought we asked them to keep the letter for us & we will go there on the same day to take from them, so after the long wait, we have seen the letter on that day!
in fact the deal is much better than what we first expected, we must thank God for His help, also thank the state gov't for their generosity...., the proposal they have picked for us is for 10 new water tanks, fiber glass type, total cost is RM405K, wow!!!!
out of this 405K, 80% or RM324K will borne by state govt, whereas 20% or 81K will need to be paid thru management fund, for this is the arrangement for low medium cost apartment (LMC) project funded by state gov't, it's got be based on 80% / 20% arrangement.
(we are fortunate enough to be considered as LMC apartment, as the first selling price by the developer those days was RM80K, which qualifies us to be LMC, many apartments in the neighborhood can't be considered as LMC, which make it very very very difficult to get the state gov't to fund projects like us,we also want to thank God for this LMC status. yeah must thank YB Yeoh Soon Hin too, because he also helped to send a letter to the kewangan to confirm Vista Condo is a LMC project)
concerning the 20% or 81K which to be borne by Vista Condo, we have talked to the contractor who is chosen to handle this project, he is willing to let us trade in our existing 10 water tanks (blk j roof top 4x, blk k roof top 4x, blk j pump room 1x, blk k pump 1x) to him with the price very close to RM80K, and the best is that he will try as much as possible to pay us in advance some big portion of the money so that we are able to get the bank to issue banker cheq for 81K, because by procedure we need to deposit this 20% into the state treasury for them to issue the work order to the contractor, but all these proposal must be approved by the MC in this coming meeting, haha...! hope that no one will object this :P
so....., even now we are still very happily digesting this piece of great news, and thank God for His favor upon Vista Condo....
on THURSDAY we have received a phone call from the department, ask us if we want them to send the letter to us or we will drop by Komtar to collect from them (as earlier on we have told them to call us once the letter is ready), without second thought we asked them to keep the letter for us & we will go there on the same day to take from them, so after the long wait, we have seen the letter on that day!
in fact the deal is much better than what we first expected, we must thank God for His help, also thank the state gov't for their generosity...., the proposal they have picked for us is for 10 new water tanks, fiber glass type, total cost is RM405K, wow!!!!
out of this 405K, 80% or RM324K will borne by state govt, whereas 20% or 81K will need to be paid thru management fund, for this is the arrangement for low medium cost apartment (LMC) project funded by state gov't, it's got be based on 80% / 20% arrangement.
(we are fortunate enough to be considered as LMC apartment, as the first selling price by the developer those days was RM80K, which qualifies us to be LMC, many apartments in the neighborhood can't be considered as LMC, which make it very very very difficult to get the state gov't to fund projects like us,we also want to thank God for this LMC status. yeah must thank YB Yeoh Soon Hin too, because he also helped to send a letter to the kewangan to confirm Vista Condo is a LMC project)
concerning the 20% or 81K which to be borne by Vista Condo, we have talked to the contractor who is chosen to handle this project, he is willing to let us trade in our existing 10 water tanks (blk j roof top 4x, blk k roof top 4x, blk j pump room 1x, blk k pump 1x) to him with the price very close to RM80K, and the best is that he will try as much as possible to pay us in advance some big portion of the money so that we are able to get the bank to issue banker cheq for 81K, because by procedure we need to deposit this 20% into the state treasury for them to issue the work order to the contractor, but all these proposal must be approved by the MC in this coming meeting, haha...! hope that no one will object this :P
so....., even now we are still very happily digesting this piece of great news, and thank God for His favor upon Vista Condo....
Friday, January 16, 2015
alamak!!! no letter yet :(
waiting is torturing, as we always said.
we have been pulling our neck & hope for the official letter concerning the water tank replacement for one whole week already, but still see no sight of it :(
almost everyday we check with the office to see if postman drop to them any letter from state gov't, every time got disappointed, for we are waiting eagerly for the letter so that we can talk to the chosen vendor for them to get ready for the project, and hope to see it start as early as February, but....
perhaps we are just a bit impatient, so such letter needs some signature from those high ranking officers, like YB or EXCO member, common sense tells us it will definitely take awhile to get them to sign, so to expect the letter to arrive in the past one week maybe is too optimistic.
yesterday contacted the EXCO office, the reply is we should receive it on this Friday, if not then the following week will get it, it gives us an impression that the letter has been sent out but hasn't reach us yet, as we didn't get the letter yesterday (Friday), we hope that on Monday or Tuesday we will see the letter, then we should inform our residents so that all of us can rejoice together :)
waiting....waiting...waiting...real torturing.... :P
we have been pulling our neck & hope for the official letter concerning the water tank replacement for one whole week already, but still see no sight of it :(
almost everyday we check with the office to see if postman drop to them any letter from state gov't, every time got disappointed, for we are waiting eagerly for the letter so that we can talk to the chosen vendor for them to get ready for the project, and hope to see it start as early as February, but....
perhaps we are just a bit impatient, so such letter needs some signature from those high ranking officers, like YB or EXCO member, common sense tells us it will definitely take awhile to get them to sign, so to expect the letter to arrive in the past one week maybe is too optimistic.
yesterday contacted the EXCO office, the reply is we should receive it on this Friday, if not then the following week will get it, it gives us an impression that the letter has been sent out but hasn't reach us yet, as we didn't get the letter yesterday (Friday), we hope that on Monday or Tuesday we will see the letter, then we should inform our residents so that all of us can rejoice together :)
waiting....waiting...waiting...real torturing.... :P
Friday, January 9, 2015
good news for water tanks is near?
now we are a bit anxious, and impatient too, after we heard some reply from the EXCO office :)
but it's good problem if these considered as problem :P
few days ago when we checked with the EXCO office concerning our request on the new water tanks, to be more exact, 8 new water tanks for Vista Condo, to replace the existing water tanks which located at the roof top of blk J & K, total cost for the project is more than RM350K, and their reply really get us unsettled.
they said YES, our request is approved & pls wait for the official letter!!! Wow, thank God for His blessing for Vista Condo!
but waiting is torturing...., how we wish we can get the letter now and share the good news immediately with our beloved residents by putting it at the notice board, for indeed this is the biggest allocation of fund we have received all these years!
we understand that many residents are hoping the building to be painted soon, but in committee we know well that unless the water tanks are in good condition, or else the water leaked from the water tank will soon damage the new paint at the building wall, and it's not the best option to paint the building without having the new water tank. So now as we receive news abt the new water tanks approval, we just want to thank God for this arrangement.
we have looked at our account, talked to various vendor & even some residents concerning the 20% of the cost which we need to absorb, and we are in the good position to pass this money to govt for them to issue the work order to the chosen vendor to start the work, and we hope that state treasury will soon forward us the letter concerning this project so that we can trigger the process to bring the new water tanks for our Vista Condo.
waiting....waiting...waiting...
but it's good problem if these considered as problem :P
few days ago when we checked with the EXCO office concerning our request on the new water tanks, to be more exact, 8 new water tanks for Vista Condo, to replace the existing water tanks which located at the roof top of blk J & K, total cost for the project is more than RM350K, and their reply really get us unsettled.
they said YES, our request is approved & pls wait for the official letter!!! Wow, thank God for His blessing for Vista Condo!
but waiting is torturing...., how we wish we can get the letter now and share the good news immediately with our beloved residents by putting it at the notice board, for indeed this is the biggest allocation of fund we have received all these years!
we understand that many residents are hoping the building to be painted soon, but in committee we know well that unless the water tanks are in good condition, or else the water leaked from the water tank will soon damage the new paint at the building wall, and it's not the best option to paint the building without having the new water tank. So now as we receive news abt the new water tanks approval, we just want to thank God for this arrangement.
we have looked at our account, talked to various vendor & even some residents concerning the 20% of the cost which we need to absorb, and we are in the good position to pass this money to govt for them to issue the work order to the chosen vendor to start the work, and we hope that state treasury will soon forward us the letter concerning this project so that we can trigger the process to bring the new water tanks for our Vista Condo.
waiting....waiting...waiting...
Saturday, January 3, 2015
year 2014 review, highlights
year 2014 just concluded, as we look back, it was a year which we got more reason to be happy than despair :)
no doubt there were sad incidents which have caused same anxieties, like blk J lift rope problem which came so suddenly, and for more than 3 weeks the lift was out of order until the new rope was installed & get it run again, so as we learn from this experience & in the future we got make sure all rope will be checked on the more regular basis.
another unfortunate incident was a blk k water pump problem, was somewhere at September, we can recall that that eventful evening when we received calls from blk k residents abt no power supply, we went to rooftop to check all the water tank, and to our shocking that all the water tank were empty, then we quickly reset the pump & let it run manually until all the tank were filled, then vendor was called immediately to attend to the problem, and the faulty component was replaced, so the problem was rectified.
of course there were some good news to celebrate too, in year2014...
the most significant one not other than the blk k lifts upgrading completion, it was finally done in first quarter of the year, it was the long process, started in year2013 and dragged until last year, we thank blk k residents for their patience, and pray & hope that with this upgrading the both lifts at blk k will serve our residents well.
another highlight of year2014 is the residents gathering, where the recorded number of 230 residents have signed up but actual number of peoples who attended this function is higher than that. It was a biggest gathering in Vista Condo, furthermore we have 2 VIP graced this occasion, YB Jagdeep Singh & YB Yeoh Soon Hin.
In year2014 we also held the AGM and more importantly we have a group of new committee joining the existing ones to serve our Vista Condo residents, the new committee indeed have brought new strength to the MC and with their contribution, we know that the Vista Condo future looks even brighter :)
last but not the least, 2 projects completed in year2014 which have help us to save cost & generate revenue, the T5 light tube which completed beginning of the year have helped us to save at least RM1200 per month on the electricity, with the return of investment in just 6 months' time. Another one is new rental parking lot, for it generates RM300 per month as 6 lot have been created & rent to residents.
here we also want to thank our beloved residents' support & cooperation in every area, particularly paying the service charge promptly & observing the house rules, in fact if without residents' support, there won't be any successful story to be told, so, really thank you so much!
no doubt there were sad incidents which have caused same anxieties, like blk J lift rope problem which came so suddenly, and for more than 3 weeks the lift was out of order until the new rope was installed & get it run again, so as we learn from this experience & in the future we got make sure all rope will be checked on the more regular basis.
another unfortunate incident was a blk k water pump problem, was somewhere at September, we can recall that that eventful evening when we received calls from blk k residents abt no power supply, we went to rooftop to check all the water tank, and to our shocking that all the water tank were empty, then we quickly reset the pump & let it run manually until all the tank were filled, then vendor was called immediately to attend to the problem, and the faulty component was replaced, so the problem was rectified.
of course there were some good news to celebrate too, in year2014...
the most significant one not other than the blk k lifts upgrading completion, it was finally done in first quarter of the year, it was the long process, started in year2013 and dragged until last year, we thank blk k residents for their patience, and pray & hope that with this upgrading the both lifts at blk k will serve our residents well.
another highlight of year2014 is the residents gathering, where the recorded number of 230 residents have signed up but actual number of peoples who attended this function is higher than that. It was a biggest gathering in Vista Condo, furthermore we have 2 VIP graced this occasion, YB Jagdeep Singh & YB Yeoh Soon Hin.
In year2014 we also held the AGM and more importantly we have a group of new committee joining the existing ones to serve our Vista Condo residents, the new committee indeed have brought new strength to the MC and with their contribution, we know that the Vista Condo future looks even brighter :)
last but not the least, 2 projects completed in year2014 which have help us to save cost & generate revenue, the T5 light tube which completed beginning of the year have helped us to save at least RM1200 per month on the electricity, with the return of investment in just 6 months' time. Another one is new rental parking lot, for it generates RM300 per month as 6 lot have been created & rent to residents.
here we also want to thank our beloved residents' support & cooperation in every area, particularly paying the service charge promptly & observing the house rules, in fact if without residents' support, there won't be any successful story to be told, so, really thank you so much!
Saturday, December 27, 2014
pls help the flood victims
hi,
would like to urge our beloved Vista residents to give generously to the flood victims, for at the moment our nation are going the worst flood crisis in history.
for us in Penang, we are so fortunate for not experiencing those suffering the flood victims are going through right now, but from the news & photos we have seen in the media, all of us see how bad is the situation....
just quote some of the unthinkable situations which we have received from some friends from those badly affected area, run out of clean water so forced to use rain water to make milk for infants, hospital emergency ward electrical power cut but patients need oxygen tank & it can't function due to no power, many areas have no water & food supply but there's no sign of rescuer reaching them, some areas even though need help urgently but helicopter can't land there due to the flood....
believe that there are still many more other things which are worse than that... :(
after reading this, can you pls check around for those relief collection center, at the moment items like instant noodle, diaper, panadol, milk powder....etc are badly needed, but if you can't find any relief collection center then do kindly check with Malaysiakini website, they do compile a list of organization with necessary info for the relief works for the flood victims.
thanks.
would like to urge our beloved Vista residents to give generously to the flood victims, for at the moment our nation are going the worst flood crisis in history.
for us in Penang, we are so fortunate for not experiencing those suffering the flood victims are going through right now, but from the news & photos we have seen in the media, all of us see how bad is the situation....
just quote some of the unthinkable situations which we have received from some friends from those badly affected area, run out of clean water so forced to use rain water to make milk for infants, hospital emergency ward electrical power cut but patients need oxygen tank & it can't function due to no power, many areas have no water & food supply but there's no sign of rescuer reaching them, some areas even though need help urgently but helicopter can't land there due to the flood....
believe that there are still many more other things which are worse than that... :(
after reading this, can you pls check around for those relief collection center, at the moment items like instant noodle, diaper, panadol, milk powder....etc are badly needed, but if you can't find any relief collection center then do kindly check with Malaysiakini website, they do compile a list of organization with necessary info for the relief works for the flood victims.
thanks.
Friday, December 19, 2014
some brief outlook on next year high priority project
we are in the last phase of finalizing next year's budget, committee do decided only in January 2015 for setting the time line for those project we plan to carry out next year.
some of bigger will be as follow,
1) Bomba under ground piping, we have found out awhile ago that the underground conceal piping for supplying water from Bomba pump to blk k have been leaking, at the area near the swimming pool foyer, few months ago we received the quotation from vendor for replacing the pipe, but couldn't go ahead as we haven't fully recovered financially speaking, after spent on some other big project earlier on, especially IWK matter & main pipe for blk j, for info the bomba pipe replacement project will cost abt 16K, but we in the committee have agree that should give this project highest priority in 2015, so it should be done in first quarter of 2015.
2) Switch room calibration, we also give this project high priority, and target at first quarter of 2015, beside the safety concern, we also hope through this exercise, we will be able to find out why the TNB bill of blk j is double of blk k consumption, as both meter are supporting the same facilities of each sides, namely lifts, pumps, common lights, etc, so it's hard to accept the huge gap of the bills. In the past we did approach TNB & other technical ppl help to rectify but none of them can tell the reason of this big gap, but during the calibration, as we are going to switch off all the supply & check all the component one by one, we should be able to rectify that.
3) Lift T&G system, from the feedback, found most of our residents prefer to have the system to be installed in all our lifts, security is the main reason, besides that, it should be able to help to get those hardcore defaulters to pay, especially those who thought can escape by parking their vehicles but happily using Vista facilities, for by implementing this system, they either pay the outstanding or climb staircase to go home, of course we understand those stay at lower floor still can be stubborn, but let their kids asking their parents why can't use lift...... ;)
Pray & hope that God will enable us to complete all these in the first quarter of 2015 :)
some of bigger will be as follow,
1) Bomba under ground piping, we have found out awhile ago that the underground conceal piping for supplying water from Bomba pump to blk k have been leaking, at the area near the swimming pool foyer, few months ago we received the quotation from vendor for replacing the pipe, but couldn't go ahead as we haven't fully recovered financially speaking, after spent on some other big project earlier on, especially IWK matter & main pipe for blk j, for info the bomba pipe replacement project will cost abt 16K, but we in the committee have agree that should give this project highest priority in 2015, so it should be done in first quarter of 2015.
2) Switch room calibration, we also give this project high priority, and target at first quarter of 2015, beside the safety concern, we also hope through this exercise, we will be able to find out why the TNB bill of blk j is double of blk k consumption, as both meter are supporting the same facilities of each sides, namely lifts, pumps, common lights, etc, so it's hard to accept the huge gap of the bills. In the past we did approach TNB & other technical ppl help to rectify but none of them can tell the reason of this big gap, but during the calibration, as we are going to switch off all the supply & check all the component one by one, we should be able to rectify that.
3) Lift T&G system, from the feedback, found most of our residents prefer to have the system to be installed in all our lifts, security is the main reason, besides that, it should be able to help to get those hardcore defaulters to pay, especially those who thought can escape by parking their vehicles but happily using Vista facilities, for by implementing this system, they either pay the outstanding or climb staircase to go home, of course we understand those stay at lower floor still can be stubborn, but let their kids asking their parents why can't use lift...... ;)
Pray & hope that God will enable us to complete all these in the first quarter of 2015 :)
Saturday, December 13, 2014
no posting this week, school holiday :)
hi,
no posting this week, busy bringing family for holiday :P
wish everyone, especially kids in Vista Condo happy school holidays :)
will be back next week.
best regards.
no posting this week, busy bringing family for holiday :P
wish everyone, especially kids in Vista Condo happy school holidays :)
will be back next week.
best regards.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Report on Meeting with EXCO
some brief report the mentioned meeting...
on Thursday, 3 MC members went to Komtar 53rd floor, to attend the meeting called by EXCO office, on the various projects (on water tanks & lifts only) presented by some apartments in Penang, the meeting was attended by 3 EXCO members, 4 YBs, COB, UPEN and representatives from abt 8 different flats and apartments, included Vista Condo.
some apartments do have their requests on water tank & lifts be granted financial aids, where some were told to furnish more detail to the gov't for further consideration, also some were told to put on hold.
we took the opportunity to present the our request to replace all the roof top water tank lining, total in 8 number (4 big tank & 4 small tank), we show them the photos of our tanks, together with the quotation/proposal by the contractor, and we tried our best to let them know that our water tank lining are indeed at the end of their life span, and should be replaced as soon as possible.
to our pleasant surprise, after the EXCO member saw the photos we presented to them, the advice is to replace the water tank lining is not the best option, as they also notice that the outer layer of the tank, the metal panels are not in very good condition too. so the EXCO YB was graciously suggesting to us to consider to replace all the tank with new tanks, he even mentioned the fiberglass type.
what he suggested, is really beyond our expectation, because we thought to request for the help (on the 80% cost shouldered by gov't) is something big, but he even thought of something bigger than that! so now we are busy checking around for the quotation of the fiberglass tanks to replace the existing tanks at the roof top, so far few vendors did mention they are able to do this job, but still waiting for their official quotation.
of course, just in case the EXCO agree to extend financial help for all the tank replacement, this will pose another financial challenge to us, as the rough estimation of 8 fiberglass tank is amounting to RM400K, for 20% of the total cost need to be absorbed by Vista Condo, or RM80K in this case :P
but let's not to worry abt this 80K now, we got to try our best to get their approval for this project first, once got the approval then let's find way to raise the fund.
thanks.
on Thursday, 3 MC members went to Komtar 53rd floor, to attend the meeting called by EXCO office, on the various projects (on water tanks & lifts only) presented by some apartments in Penang, the meeting was attended by 3 EXCO members, 4 YBs, COB, UPEN and representatives from abt 8 different flats and apartments, included Vista Condo.
some apartments do have their requests on water tank & lifts be granted financial aids, where some were told to furnish more detail to the gov't for further consideration, also some were told to put on hold.
we took the opportunity to present the our request to replace all the roof top water tank lining, total in 8 number (4 big tank & 4 small tank), we show them the photos of our tanks, together with the quotation/proposal by the contractor, and we tried our best to let them know that our water tank lining are indeed at the end of their life span, and should be replaced as soon as possible.
to our pleasant surprise, after the EXCO member saw the photos we presented to them, the advice is to replace the water tank lining is not the best option, as they also notice that the outer layer of the tank, the metal panels are not in very good condition too. so the EXCO YB was graciously suggesting to us to consider to replace all the tank with new tanks, he even mentioned the fiberglass type.
what he suggested, is really beyond our expectation, because we thought to request for the help (on the 80% cost shouldered by gov't) is something big, but he even thought of something bigger than that! so now we are busy checking around for the quotation of the fiberglass tanks to replace the existing tanks at the roof top, so far few vendors did mention they are able to do this job, but still waiting for their official quotation.
of course, just in case the EXCO agree to extend financial help for all the tank replacement, this will pose another financial challenge to us, as the rough estimation of 8 fiberglass tank is amounting to RM400K, for 20% of the total cost need to be absorbed by Vista Condo, or RM80K in this case :P
but let's not to worry abt this 80K now, we got to try our best to get their approval for this project first, once got the approval then let's find way to raise the fund.
thanks.
Friday, November 28, 2014
new development on gov't fund application & blk j theft case
there are some new development on the gov't fund & blk j theft case which we have mentioned in our last posting...
we have submitted our appeal for financial aid on both water tank lining & building repainting projects to the state EXCO office on 21/11/14, and were told by the special assistant of the YB that they will soon contact us for meeting on the mentioned projects, we read it as a positive sign.
but anyhow we have waited anxiously for their official letter to invite us for the meeting, then after 1 week, exactly 1 week, on the following Friday (28/11/14), we got the letter from the EXCO office that a meeting will be arranged on 4/12/14 (Thursday) morning, this meeting will be attended by committee members or their representatives from few housing project in Penang Island (where they have also submitted similar appeal of fund), respective state assemblymen from their area (according to the list abt 6 YB are invited), together with COB and EXCO member Jagdeep Singh, is a big meeting indeed.
we are not sure what will be the outcome of this meeting, of course we pray hard that they will grant us our wish that both projects will be funded by them :)
or if not, then at least one project will be approved, to be carried out this year, even though in that case we still need to forge out the 20% of the total cost, but we really wish it will happen this time.
concerning the blk j theft case, after the viewing of CCTV recording in blk j ground floor, lift & main entrance, we have now manage to see the 3 thieves' face clearly, all at their early 20's, came in abt 4am, cheated the new guard that they are residents here, but went to the bike parking area of blk j stealing parts from those old or abandoned bikes, and left at abt 4.45am.
They knew that there's a camera which covering the area they plan to steal, so that climbed up to turn the camera upward, without knowing all their action have been watched & recorded by other cameras, so now our cctv vendor have helped us to copy the files, compiled into video clips, saved into CD. we have viewed the CD, and passed a copy to the bike owner, which he will turn it over to the police station where he has lodged the report, we also passed those video clips to few voluntary patrolling body to locate the thieves, and tonight we will send another copy to the guard boss when he come over for meeting with the committee, we believe that soon these mentioned parties will nab the culprits soon.
will continue to update residents on these matters, thanks.
we have submitted our appeal for financial aid on both water tank lining & building repainting projects to the state EXCO office on 21/11/14, and were told by the special assistant of the YB that they will soon contact us for meeting on the mentioned projects, we read it as a positive sign.
but anyhow we have waited anxiously for their official letter to invite us for the meeting, then after 1 week, exactly 1 week, on the following Friday (28/11/14), we got the letter from the EXCO office that a meeting will be arranged on 4/12/14 (Thursday) morning, this meeting will be attended by committee members or their representatives from few housing project in Penang Island (where they have also submitted similar appeal of fund), respective state assemblymen from their area (according to the list abt 6 YB are invited), together with COB and EXCO member Jagdeep Singh, is a big meeting indeed.
we are not sure what will be the outcome of this meeting, of course we pray hard that they will grant us our wish that both projects will be funded by them :)
or if not, then at least one project will be approved, to be carried out this year, even though in that case we still need to forge out the 20% of the total cost, but we really wish it will happen this time.
concerning the blk j theft case, after the viewing of CCTV recording in blk j ground floor, lift & main entrance, we have now manage to see the 3 thieves' face clearly, all at their early 20's, came in abt 4am, cheated the new guard that they are residents here, but went to the bike parking area of blk j stealing parts from those old or abandoned bikes, and left at abt 4.45am.
They knew that there's a camera which covering the area they plan to steal, so that climbed up to turn the camera upward, without knowing all their action have been watched & recorded by other cameras, so now our cctv vendor have helped us to copy the files, compiled into video clips, saved into CD. we have viewed the CD, and passed a copy to the bike owner, which he will turn it over to the police station where he has lodged the report, we also passed those video clips to few voluntary patrolling body to locate the thieves, and tonight we will send another copy to the guard boss when he come over for meeting with the committee, we believe that soon these mentioned parties will nab the culprits soon.
will continue to update residents on these matters, thanks.
Friday, November 21, 2014
general updates as at 22/11/14
few matters to update our beloved Vista residents,
1) lift T&G system, so far the feedback from the blog readers is generally positive, we did also check with some of our residents personally, they too feel OK with the proposal, well, we will wait for more green light then if all condition are right, we should get something going at the beginning of yr2015.
2) blk j lift rope, the faulty lift rope was replaced awhile ago, performed some test run, then contacted the lift inspector to inspect the new rope (according to the requirement) & he too ok with the rope,so now at blk J, both lifts are running, but we are also budget for new rope for other lift in yr2015, and we asked the lift vendor to monitor the condition of the other ropes, and should not wait for the sudden breakdown case like this.
3) theft at blk j, few days ago we received a report that someone force-opened the seat of a bike & stole some parts of the bike at blk j ground bike parking area, we advised the owner of the bike to make police report & we did check the CCTV the next day. We found out the camera which suppose to cover the bike where the bike part was stolen, someone has purpose turned the camera faced the ceiling but not the bikes, so now we have contacted the CCTV vendor to use other cameras at blk j to check who's the person turned the camera, and bring him to police for further investigation, will update residents on this once more info available.
4) building repainting matter, someone asked in the last posting any news on the repainting, well, as we have said earlier, we were advised by YB to apply next year, but anyhow, few days ago we brought the documents for fund application for both water tank & repainting to EXCO office for them to consider, and to our pleasant surprise we were told one meeting will be set in 2 weeks' time for the YBs in charge to have further discussion with us on the matter, we hope to hear some good news from them :)
but if (just in case) they agree to our request for the building repainting (abt 450K) or water tank lining (abt 220K for 8 tanks), then we need to contribute 20% of the total cost as soon as possible, so guys, any idea how to get the money ready :P
thanks.
1) lift T&G system, so far the feedback from the blog readers is generally positive, we did also check with some of our residents personally, they too feel OK with the proposal, well, we will wait for more green light then if all condition are right, we should get something going at the beginning of yr2015.
2) blk j lift rope, the faulty lift rope was replaced awhile ago, performed some test run, then contacted the lift inspector to inspect the new rope (according to the requirement) & he too ok with the rope,so now at blk J, both lifts are running, but we are also budget for new rope for other lift in yr2015, and we asked the lift vendor to monitor the condition of the other ropes, and should not wait for the sudden breakdown case like this.
3) theft at blk j, few days ago we received a report that someone force-opened the seat of a bike & stole some parts of the bike at blk j ground bike parking area, we advised the owner of the bike to make police report & we did check the CCTV the next day. We found out the camera which suppose to cover the bike where the bike part was stolen, someone has purpose turned the camera faced the ceiling but not the bikes, so now we have contacted the CCTV vendor to use other cameras at blk j to check who's the person turned the camera, and bring him to police for further investigation, will update residents on this once more info available.
4) building repainting matter, someone asked in the last posting any news on the repainting, well, as we have said earlier, we were advised by YB to apply next year, but anyhow, few days ago we brought the documents for fund application for both water tank & repainting to EXCO office for them to consider, and to our pleasant surprise we were told one meeting will be set in 2 weeks' time for the YBs in charge to have further discussion with us on the matter, we hope to hear some good news from them :)
but if (just in case) they agree to our request for the building repainting (abt 450K) or water tank lining (abt 220K for 8 tanks), then we need to contribute 20% of the total cost as soon as possible, so guys, any idea how to get the money ready :P
thanks.
Friday, November 14, 2014
are we ready for lift T&G?
as we are still finalizing the budget for yr2015, the lift T&G system was brought up again in the committee meeting, generally we feel that we are now more ready for it's implementation.
so decided to get residents feedback here, if our residents also give positive response then we are looking at early yr2015 to install the system at both blk j & k lifts.
we did bring up the same matter abt 2 years ago, those days even though the feedback was ok, but we felt that our blk k lifts were in bad shape, to install the T&G system may cause more problem to blk k residents, so we decided to put in on hold, until the lifts condition improved, so with God's help, we managed to upgrade the blk k lifts, so with 2 good condition lifts in blk k, and 2 reasonable condition lifts in blk j, perhaps now is the better time (can be the right time too) to install the T&G system in our 4 lifts.
some of the reasons we have cited in our previous meeting for this system are, first is for the security reason, this system will help to discourage the outsider with bad intention to try their nonsense in our place, shall they manage to get past the security guard post.
other important reason include to get hardcore defaulters to pay their SC (service charge), especially those stay at the higher floor, accordingly our record, quite a number of them rather to park their vehicles outside but still choosing not to pay the outstanding SC, well, this system will help to get them to pay.
we also can use lift T&G system to make sure the renovators to behave better, at the moment we still notice some renovators are not observing our house rules such as worked outside the time which they are allowed to do their renovation works, messed up the common areas, carry too much things in the lifts, etc, so with the T&G system, we can bar the access card until they behave well.
we also feel that the lift T&G system may able to help to reduce the number of foreigners hostel in Vista Condo, we actually can set in our house rules that the lift access card is not for foreigner hostel (for security reason), so by not issuing the card to these units, will force them to use the staircase for their in & out, this may produce a result which many vista condo residents like to see, control the number of the foreigner hostel to the lowest one!
someone also mention to us that the same access card can be used for swimming pool, we actually like the idea too :)
so pls give us your feedback, thanks.
so decided to get residents feedback here, if our residents also give positive response then we are looking at early yr2015 to install the system at both blk j & k lifts.
we did bring up the same matter abt 2 years ago, those days even though the feedback was ok, but we felt that our blk k lifts were in bad shape, to install the T&G system may cause more problem to blk k residents, so we decided to put in on hold, until the lifts condition improved, so with God's help, we managed to upgrade the blk k lifts, so with 2 good condition lifts in blk k, and 2 reasonable condition lifts in blk j, perhaps now is the better time (can be the right time too) to install the T&G system in our 4 lifts.
some of the reasons we have cited in our previous meeting for this system are, first is for the security reason, this system will help to discourage the outsider with bad intention to try their nonsense in our place, shall they manage to get past the security guard post.
other important reason include to get hardcore defaulters to pay their SC (service charge), especially those stay at the higher floor, accordingly our record, quite a number of them rather to park their vehicles outside but still choosing not to pay the outstanding SC, well, this system will help to get them to pay.
we also can use lift T&G system to make sure the renovators to behave better, at the moment we still notice some renovators are not observing our house rules such as worked outside the time which they are allowed to do their renovation works, messed up the common areas, carry too much things in the lifts, etc, so with the T&G system, we can bar the access card until they behave well.
we also feel that the lift T&G system may able to help to reduce the number of foreigners hostel in Vista Condo, we actually can set in our house rules that the lift access card is not for foreigner hostel (for security reason), so by not issuing the card to these units, will force them to use the staircase for their in & out, this may produce a result which many vista condo residents like to see, control the number of the foreigner hostel to the lowest one!
someone also mention to us that the same access card can be used for swimming pool, we actually like the idea too :)
so pls give us your feedback, thanks.
Saturday, November 8, 2014
sorry, water is not money :)
for some Chinese like to jokingly say, water is money, but for us once heard there's big water in our place, it's definitely not bring in money, but likely need to burn (spend) money :(
the two big source of water, namely rain water & water tank leaking water, have indeed cost us big fortune, just for the past few weeks, nearly 30K have been allocated or spent for the water related damages.
the rain water gutter at blk K can't stand the big volume of rain flowing through it & strong wind blowing against it, then it broke at the upper part, as we see that the whole gutter will fall at anytime, we have no choice but to remove the broken pipe & replace with new one, it was a high risk work, the project cost us 8K, we have seek claim from insurance company & hope that there will be good news soon.
the block J lift rope, according to vendor, also have been damaged by rain water, this really burn a big hole in our pocket,14K! we have already paid the robe supplier 7K so that the new part can be brought in, now the lift vendor have completed 80% of the work, hopefully another few more days we will see the lift running again, now the challenging part is how to convince the insurance company that the reason of the breakdown is due to rain water.....the adjuster have came in 3 times & called us many many times but still can't see the relation of lift rope damage & rain water :(
another headache of rain water is it took advantage of those crack at the wall & roof top, sip into residents house, in some cases, it is so serious until you can see water mark at the wall during the heavy rain! from our record, at least 10 unit reported this kind our water leaking problem, each case take abt 1k to 3k to patch the crack (by applying water proofing material at the affected area), so for total will amounting to abt 20K, the worst thing is, unlike the water gutter & the lift robe case, insurance company will not consider the claim for this, headache.....!!!
early on we wish for raining season so that Penang will not lack water, but now as the rain comes, we have new worries.... :P
sigh! life..... :)
the two big source of water, namely rain water & water tank leaking water, have indeed cost us big fortune, just for the past few weeks, nearly 30K have been allocated or spent for the water related damages.
the rain water gutter at blk K can't stand the big volume of rain flowing through it & strong wind blowing against it, then it broke at the upper part, as we see that the whole gutter will fall at anytime, we have no choice but to remove the broken pipe & replace with new one, it was a high risk work, the project cost us 8K, we have seek claim from insurance company & hope that there will be good news soon.
the block J lift rope, according to vendor, also have been damaged by rain water, this really burn a big hole in our pocket,14K! we have already paid the robe supplier 7K so that the new part can be brought in, now the lift vendor have completed 80% of the work, hopefully another few more days we will see the lift running again, now the challenging part is how to convince the insurance company that the reason of the breakdown is due to rain water.....the adjuster have came in 3 times & called us many many times but still can't see the relation of lift rope damage & rain water :(
another headache of rain water is it took advantage of those crack at the wall & roof top, sip into residents house, in some cases, it is so serious until you can see water mark at the wall during the heavy rain! from our record, at least 10 unit reported this kind our water leaking problem, each case take abt 1k to 3k to patch the crack (by applying water proofing material at the affected area), so for total will amounting to abt 20K, the worst thing is, unlike the water gutter & the lift robe case, insurance company will not consider the claim for this, headache.....!!!
early on we wish for raining season so that Penang will not lack water, but now as the rain comes, we have new worries.... :P
sigh! life..... :)
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