Sentosa condo's repair costs lower than claimed: Ho Bee

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http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/...o-bee-20130911

Sentosa condo's repair costs lower than claimed: Ho Bee

Published on Sep 11, 2013

By Jonathan Kwok


THE developer of The Coast at Sentosa Cove yesterday said that the cost to rectify genuine defects in the upscale condominium would be much lower than claimed, even as it faces a lawsuit for alleged defects.

Singapore-listed Ho Bee Investment said in a statement that the repair works "would not exceed $200,000", according to a building expert it engaged.

This is much less than the sum of over $2 million that the Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST) council is seeking, Ho Bee said.

The MCST had filed the suit on behalf of 108 owners at the condominium, alleging problems at the common areas such as termite infestation, flooded staircases and a rotting timber pool deck.

Three contractors were also named in the suit.

But Ho Bee said yesterday that the MCST's claim, which was based on its own building expert's estimate, included many defects that Ho Bee's consultants, main contractor and building expert assessed as "not construction defects... but due to fair wear and tear or the lack of adequate and proper maintenance".

"Further, Ho Bee is of the view that the claims estimated at more than $2 million were grossly inflated," the company said.

Ho Bee added that "it is responsible and committed to the MCST to rectify genuine defects", but that the MCST had been "non-responsive and non-committal" to its offers.

Meanwhile, one of the contractors being sued has said that the financial impact of the legal claims will be minimal.

Mainboard-listed KSH Holdings said its subsidiary, Kim Seng Heng Engineering Construction (KSHEC), was the main contractor of The Coast.

KSHEC has filed a "comprehensive defence in response to the suit", which "will not have any impact on the business and financial positions of KSHEC or (KSH)", the firm said.

Ho Bee's shares slipped one cent to $2.06 yesterday while KSH fell half a cent to 49 cents.

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http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/prem...mates-20130911

Published September 11, 2013

Ho Bee challenges condo repair estimates

It criticises defect claims by home owners as frivolous

By Grace Leong [email protected]


THE developer of The Coast at Sentosa Cove has criticised construction defect claims brought by more than 100 home owners of the oceanfront luxury development as "frivolous", and their estimates of repair costs "grossly inflated".

Ho Bee Investment, in a statement to Singapore Exchange (SGX) yesterday, said that lawyers for the Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST) sent its unit Ho Bee Cove a letter on Feb 26 demanding that it rectify defects in the common areas of the 249-unit development, which were estimated by the MCST's building expert to cost more than $2 million.

Calling those estimates "grossly inflated", Ho Bee said that it had its own building expert, Robinson Jones Associates (RJA), assess the alleged defects. According to RJA's estimates, the costs of repairs would not be more than $200,000.

But Monica Neo, secretary of the MCST council disagreed.

Calling the assessment of the MCST's professional engineering consultants "quite conservative", Ms Neo said that the costs to repair defects in the entire estate could now be as high as $5 million.

"The quote we received recently to paint the facade to address the cracks (which is just one item in the long list of defects) is already almost $1.2 million," Ms Neo said.

But Ho Bee argued that its main contractor and consultants, including RJA, have reviewed the list of alleged defects and found that many of these were "not genuine building defects, but due to fair wear and tear or the lack of adequate and proper maintenance".

"Despite our repeated offers to rectify genuine building defects, the MCST had been non-responsive and non-committal to our offers," Ho Bee said.

Instead, the MCST served its construction defect lawsuit on Ho Bee and three contractors on Aug 5, it said.

But Ms Neo argued that "most of the owners in The Coast are investors, and it is definitely not in our interests to announce to the whole world there are defects in the estate".

"However, we have to resort to legal action given the repeated excuses for the past two years of blaming the MCST, and the few half-hearted fixes that only addressed symptoms, but not the causes.

"How can the defects be due to fair wear and tear and/or lack of maintenance when they occurred almost immediately after completion of the estate?"

The Coast was completed in April 2009.

Further, some of the defects are issues of design, Ms Neo pointed out. She said that these include the incorrect installation of the electrical fittings, inadequate drainage or no provision for the discharge.

Meanwhile, in its SGX statement, the company said: "Ho Bee Cove will vigorously defend (against) the MCST's claims as many of the alleged defects are, in their and RJA's view, frivolous and the alleged cost of rectification is simply inflated."

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Dr Tan Cheng Bock also has a unit there.

http://news.omy.sg/News/Local-News/Z...Suo-Pei-203065