We bought a P5 million worth of property from Crown Asia's Ponticelli Hills Subdivision located along Daang Hari, Molino 4, Bacoor, Cavite last December 2008. Prior to availing of the said property, we were very impressed with the enticing model houses on the said subdivision. Of course, we can't help but to convince my father to check out the model houses since it looks really nice and it feels like you're living in a dream home. The tripping was then set, my father sees the model houses, he was very impressed himself, so with that we availed of one of their packages which is worth P 5,001,400.00.
Upon availing of the property, my father asked the interviewer a lot of questions during the briefing for purchase of the property, asking what is actually included in our package? The interviewer on the other hand told my father that excluding the interior furnishings and the drop down ceilings, all is included. My dad then asked, including the granite countertops, the overhead and countertop cabinets, and the moulded border tiles in the toilets? The interviewer agreed to all and said that all of that is included, quoting, "Yes sir, of course sir kasama po yan." Knowing so, we finally decided to push through with availing of the property.
Things and negotiations were going smooth at first. Everyone was very accommodating both in their site and their office. Staff there were addressing our concerns quite well. But problems started to arise when we were asked to sign the Contract to Sell and their connoted "Specifications" of the house that is going to be built. Our agent asked my father and mother to sign the contract already to process the application swiftly. My father then noticed that the contract's details is empty, so he then asked if he could bring it home for a while to read it through. But our agent has been very persistent and said that "wala yan sir, okay lang po yan, paki-pirmahan na lang po para ma-process na kaagad yung account nyo." So, left with no other choice, my parents signed the contract and it was submitted to Crown Asia's Marketing Department for verification. Then we were told that we're going to be back in their office for us to be briefed with the "Specifications" for our house unit. During the briefing, everything was same as usual. They explained to us what was in the "Specification" sheet that this shall be going to your house and so...blah blah blah. So, being expectant that everything would turn out well, my father then signed the "Specification" sheet.
Despite the fact that my father works in Japan, he has been very hands on in the development of the house. He sent us to take pictures for the Laying of Foundations for the house, and for every milestone that was reached during the construction phase of the house. Lots of problems then started to pop up as the construction of the house is ongoing. The house has been constructed halfway and yet we still didn't have the Contract To Sell that we signed. My father was also requesting for specific plans and the bill of materials from their Planning Department yet what he received is just a set of drawings specifying the layout of the house, the general electrical layout of the house, and the general plumbing layout of the house. After receipt, my father then complained that why are these the only drawings that he received. Quoting the email that he sent to the Sales Admin Personnel in charge of our account:
Dear Ms. Sanchez,
I was in receipt of the copy of drawings handed-over to my wife during
their last visit
in your office and thank you very much for those.
Following my checking and review of the drawings, I found that some
information are
not available nor being shown on the drawings which are as follows.
1) The drawing for intersecting view of Section-A and Section-B as
indicated in the
Dwg. No. AR-2 is not included.
2) No available drawings for foundation and rebar works & sizing details.
(please note
that this is one important information I need to verify).
3) No legend on Electrical drawings to identify each devices shown to be
provided.
(which one is socket, switch, outlet, etc.). Cables & Conduit size are
not shown.
4) Information on the MCB (main circuit breaker) location, outline and
capacity are
not provided. The electric meter location is also not shown. Any
electrical schematic
drawing or single line diagram available?
5) Some of the documents/drawings I have requested were not included.
Please provide
material list and specification for the following;
1. Civil construction materials
2. Finishing materials schedule
3. Electrical materials
4. Plumbing and Sewerage materials.
Please kindly forward the above inquiries to your related
engineering/planning department
and be requested to provide those as may deem appropriate.
Moreover, may I also request to have the full copy of the official Contract
of Purchase
for our reference and information.
I was also informed that I need to select the finishing tiles variations
and colors hence,
please kindly send me the sample photos (or catalogues?) for this purpose.
Would appreciate to have your reply to all of the above by return.
Apologies for any sort
of inconvenience caused.
Thanks and regards,
R. Manalo, from Japan
Re: Ponticelli II-Request for Plan
Drawings
Good day Sir,
I forwarded already your requests to planning dept. and i'l get back to
you again sir as soon as i get any feedback from them.For the construction
of the house as per advised by the Engr.,the lay-out was done in advance
that's why now, they are just waiting for the materials, but dont worry
sir, materials will be delivered on time as we requested..
Thank you and God bless.
Mary Sanchez
I was in receipt of the copy of drawings handed-over to my wife during
their last visit
in your office and thank you very much for those.
Following my checking and review of the drawings, I found that some
information are
not available nor being shown on the drawings which are as follows.
1) The drawing for intersecting view of Section-A and Section-B as
indicated in the
Dwg. No. AR-2 is not included.
2) No available drawings for foundation and rebar works & sizing details.
(please note
that this is one important information I need to verify).
3) No legend on Electrical drawings to identify each devices shown to be
provided.
(which one is socket, switch, outlet, etc.). Cables & Conduit size are
not shown.
4) Information on the MCB (main circuit breaker) location, outline and
capacity are
not provided. The electric meter location is also not shown. Any
electrical schematic
drawing or single line diagram available?
5) Some of the documents/drawings I have requested were not included.
Please provide
material list and specification for the following;
1. Civil construction materials
2. Finishing materials schedule
3. Electrical materials
4. Plumbing and Sewerage materials.
Please kindly forward the above inquiries to your related
engineering/planning department
and be requested to provide those as may deem appropriate.
Moreover, may I also request to have the full copy of the official Contract
of Purchase
for our reference and information.
I was also informed that I need to select the finishing tiles variations
and colors hence,
please kindly send me the sample photos (or catalogues?) for this purpose.
Would appreciate to have your reply to all of the above by return.
Apologies for any sort
of inconvenience caused.
Thanks and regards,
R. Manalo, from Japan
Re: Ponticelli II-Request for Plan
Drawings
Good day Sir,
I forwarded already your requests to planning dept. and i'l get back to
you again sir as soon as i get any feedback from them.For the construction
of the house as per advised by the Engr.,the lay-out was done in advance
that's why now, they are just waiting for the materials, but dont worry
sir, materials will be delivered on time as we requested..
Thank you and God bless.
Mary Sanchez
Since then, Ms. Sanchez haven't responded to the emails of my father, leaving my father hanging on the status of his requests from Crown Asia's office. Quoting another email:
Dear Ms. Sanchez,
I'm wondering why you are not responding to my previous e-mails regarding some of the requested items awaiting to be received from your side.
Please kindly correspond accordingly ASAP so that I can be aware on what are the actions being taken by your company on this matter.
Your immediate reply by return is urgently requested.
Regards,
R.Manalo, from Japan
No action was taken by Crown Asia at this point. They only moved when my father contacted the Marketing personnel that handled our account during it's processing stage, quoting:
Dear Ms. Jasmine,
Thanks for your time during my today's phone call.
Actually I wish to apologize for sparing some of your time because I know
that what I was claiming is not your matter in the first place however, as
informed to you that we are not getting any response from the person in
your admin dept. (Ms. Mary Sanchez) who's in charge of our account.
By the way, attached below are the copies of all my previous correspondence
to Ms. Sanchez but unfortunately, it was apparently ignored by her.
In conclusion, we are totally disappointed now on how CAPI concerned staff
is handling this matter and in fact, we are almost done on the downpayment
process (by June) and on the way to commence the mortgage payment on
July but still, we have no idea on the progress of the house construction
which
is supposedly to be completed this month (April) and the worst is, there is
no
update on the status nor any information on the bank financing matter. We
do not have any single document (e.g. contract papers) in hand which I
found
to be very strange since no info nor advise is being received.
Looking forward for a corrective action from CAPI to rectify all these
issues.
Thanks in advance for your kind assistance and extended concern to help us
on this matter.
Best regards & God bless!
R.Manalo
Thanks for your time during my today's phone call.
Actually I wish to apologize for sparing some of your time because I know
that what I was claiming is not your matter in the first place however, as
informed to you that we are not getting any response from the person in
your admin dept. (Ms. Mary Sanchez) who's in charge of our account.
By the way, attached below are the copies of all my previous correspondence
to Ms. Sanchez but unfortunately, it was apparently ignored by her.
In conclusion, we are totally disappointed now on how CAPI concerned staff
is handling this matter and in fact, we are almost done on the downpayment
process (by June) and on the way to commence the mortgage payment on
July but still, we have no idea on the progress of the house construction
which
is supposedly to be completed this month (April) and the worst is, there is
no
update on the status nor any information on the bank financing matter. We
do not have any single document (e.g. contract papers) in hand which I
found
to be very strange since no info nor advise is being received.
Looking forward for a corrective action from CAPI to rectify all these
issues.
Thanks in advance for your kind assistance and extended concern to help us
on this matter.
Best regards & God bless!
R.Manalo
Ms. Jasmine then responded:
Good day!
I hope that you receive this E-mail in good condition. We apologize for our delayed response, and would like to assure you that apology from your end is not necessary.
I spoke with Engr. Rey, Ponticelli's site engineer, and have learned that your house have been recently completed, and is now ready for punch listing and house inspection. Also, as per Ms. Mary, your Contract to Sell is currently being notarized, and would be available on Monday, at the latest.
I am including Ms Mary in our mail loop, so that she would be aware of this correspondence. For any other concerns or questions, please feel free to contact me or Ms. Mary.
Thank you, and Godbless!
-----------------------------------------------------------
Hi Mary,
Kindly update Mr. Manalo of future developments re. his account.
Thanks so much po!
Jasmine Sarah Victoria B. Galon
Marketing Department
Crown Asia Properties Inc. - South
Since then, we only have in hand the incomplete drawings that my father requested.
Ms. Sanchez also told us one time that we are going to select the floor tiles for our Ground Floor. She sent an email to my dad making him select the floor tiles to be mounted on our Ground Floor. Quoting from their email conversation:
Mary Sanchez:
Sir attached are the choices in ground floor tiles..Please choose and I
will forward it to Production Engr....
Thank you.
will forward it to Production Engr....
Thank you.
Dear Ms. Sanchez,
Good morning to you!
I have managed to convert the attachment in JPG file and seen it already.
We will opt for the STA. CRUZ-YELLOW color for the ground floor tiles of
40 x 40 cm. size.
Please proceed accordingly.
Meanwhile, awaiting your response to the other requested items sent in
my previous e-mails.
Thanks & regards,
R.Manalo, from Japan
Good morning to you!
I have managed to convert the attachment in JPG file and seen it already.
We will opt for the STA. CRUZ-YELLOW color for the ground floor tiles of
40 x 40 cm. size.
Please proceed accordingly.
Meanwhile, awaiting your response to the other requested items sent in
my previous e-mails.
Thanks & regards,
R.Manalo, from Japan
When we got to the construction site, I asked the contractor engineer what is the floor tile that they mounted. She responded that it was Liberty Ochre. I then told them that we selected Sta. Cruz Yellow. The contractor then replied that this was their standard tile, and they were never informed that we selected the said tiles, seconding that they only accept the buyer's requests prior to the construction phase of the property. From this stage on, it has been very disappointing for us since Crown Asia has been handling our concerns very poorly. Take note, up to this point we didn't have the CTS (Contract to Sell) in our hands.
The day came when the house was finished according to their Production Department and we will do a house inspection with the contractor and Site Engineer. We informed Ms. Sanchez that we will do the inspection on April 30 @ 10:00am. Awa ng Diyos, dalawang oras kaming nandoon sa bahay, yung contractor lang ang nandoon at hindi sumipot yung Site Engineer, tinaguan na yung father ko dahil alam nyang maraming aberyang makikita sa bahay. Tinanong namin si Ms. Sanchez kung nasaan si Mr. Rey Dauz, which is the Site Engineer, ang sabi nya naka-vacation leave daw si Engr. Rey kaya wala sya dun. Is this the professionalism that you'll expect from such a prestigious company? I don't think so...no one deserves to be treated like this.
Aside from the unprofessional treatment, eto pa ang kahihinatnan ng bahay at lupa mong nagkakahalagang limang milyong piso:
Mouldings na may tapyas:
Hindi malinis at maayos na pagkakapinta at pag-finish sa mga mouldings:
Sabit ng pintura sa kanto:
Sub-standard na toilet na parang pang-low cost housing
Maruming pagkakalagay ng floor drain:
Hindi maayos na pagkakalagay ng grout:
Hindi maayos na pagkakapintura sa kinalalagyan ng fire exit:
Tapyas sa pintuan:
Sabit ng masilya sa kanto ng kisame:
Maruming pagkaka-trabaho sa paglalagay ng bathroom fixtures:
Sabit ng pintura sa tiles sa toilet:
Hindi maayos na pagkakalagay ng weather stripping sa bintana:
Pagpako sa roof tiles na parang basta-bastang trabaho lang:
Hindi lapat na pagkakakabit ng roof tiles:
Pang-low cost na kusina at lababo:
Hindi lapat na pagkakalagay ng breaker switch sa dingding:
At eto, silicone na lang sa bintana, ganito pa ang kinalabasan:
Yan ba ang babayaran mo ng limang milyong piso na pinagpapaguran mo, dugo't pawis mo ang pinupuhunan mo para sa pambayad, tapos ganito ang itsura? Palagay ko meski sinong matinong tao, hindi papayag na ganito ang mangyayari sa kanila.
Ang malala pa nyan, pagdating namin sa opisina nila, kung sino sino ihaharap sayo, hinahanap mo yung decision maker at nakakataas sa kanila, hindi nila mailabas. Kesyo nasa vacation leave daw si ganito, at ang malupit pang dahilan, busy daw sa political activity para ikampanya si Senator Villar. Ang nangyayari tuloy ngayon, puro mga rank and file personnel nila ang ihinaharap sayo na wala rin namang magagawa upang maresolba ang isyu, instead they just keep on telling you, "Sige po sir, ido-double check po namin sa files namin" "Sige po sir, ire-relay ko po sa supervisor namin" "Sige po sir, ililista po namin yung mga concerns nyo tapos we'll follow up na lang po kung may decision na" blah blah blah...My god! People are sooo fed up of your excuses already! Kaya maraming buyer na kapag napunta sa opisina nila eh kulang na lang magwala at magsisigaw, may umiiyak sa pagmamakaawa pero ano ginagawa nila? WALA...it seems like they're immune to such scenarios already, it's as if seeing a complaining buyer is not a new sight for them. Is this how you'll expect your grievance to be addressed by a prestigious company in the real estate business? A big NO.
Isipin nyo na lang, natapos na ang bahay mo't lahat, saka lang ibibigay sayo ang CTS kung hindi mo pa sila pupukpukin para ibigay sayo. Pagka-tagal tagal nang nasa kanila ng pirmadong kontrata tapos ipapanotaryo lang nila kung kelan mo lang irerequest sa kanila ang kopya? Ganyan ba ang sistema ng isang kompanyang mataas ang reputasyon sa larangan ng real estate?Kung ganun man, eh di sana hindi na lang kami kumuha ng bato na ipupukpok namin sa ulo namin.
Tapos magre-request ka ng plans para sa bahay na pagma-may ari mo, para magkaroon ka ng kaalaman kung ano ang materyales na ginagamit sa paggawa ng bahay mo. Ano ang ibibigay nila? Kulang-kulang na drawings, hindi pa pirmado ng HLURB at ng Engineering Head nila. Kapag manghihingi ka ng specific drawings, ang ibabanat sa'yo, "Kasi po sir pagdating po sa structural, confidential po kasi yun" Paano naging confidential ang mga drawings na yan eh kami ang may-ari ng bahay? Dapat alam namin ang mga materyales na ginamit nyo sa bahay namin. Ano bang malay namin, inaccept namin yung bahay, tapos nagkadepekto, nakita namin na kawayan pala ang ginamit nyo sa bahay namin imbis na bakal, paano kami magrereklamo ngayon? Ang sasabihin nyo ngayon, "Sir, you already accepted the unit. So any liabilities from us are already waived." Kami ngayon ang dehado dito. Wala kami ngayong kalaban-laban bilang buyer. Ganito ba dapat ang sistema sa isang kompanyang pinoprotektahan ang pangalan nila? Malamang HINDI.
PROFESSIONALISM and COMMITMENT, these are the two main things that my dad was expecting from them, and yet they failed to meet those two.
And it doesn't end there yet...the more grave issues are just about to come. After a thorough review of the CTS after receipt, and after making observations throughout the development of the subdivision, it seems that Crown Asia has huge violations with the law, in particular with PD 957's provisions. In Crown Asia's part, it is stated in Section 11.23 of their CTS that they incorporated PD 957 and RA 6552 throughout their contract, yet if you read their CTS, the provisions in the contract are more favorable unto them, which is a clear violation of the two aforesaid laws.
Also, there is one provision in the contract that the buyer cannot in any way refund payments once the contract is defaulted. This is a clear violation of Section 23 of PD 957 which states that
No installment payment made by a buyer in a subdivision or condominium project for the lot or unit he contracted to buy shall be forfeited in favor of the owner or developer when the buyer
desists from further payment due to the failure of the owner or developer to develop the subdivision or condominium project according to the approved plans and within the time limit for complying with the same.
Another clear violation of Crown Asia in the law is that they are failing to comply with the items that they indicate in their brochures and leaflets. Like in our case, their brochure indicated that you have an option for your carport. If you have a 132 sq. m. and below, a one-car garage is provided, meanwhile anything above 132 sq. m. shall have a 2-car garage. We availed a 144 sq. m. lot, yet what the developer designed for our lot is only a one-car garage. This is a very clear violation of Section 19 of PD 957, whereas it says that Advertisements that may be made by the owner or developer through any media must reflect the real facts and must be presented in such manner that will not tend to mislead or deceive the public.
One more violation of Crown Asia is that they are selling units to buyers, and then turn them over even without a completed water supply. We availed of our property since December 2009 and up to now, the subdivision project still doesn't have a water supply. This is a violation of Section 20 of PD 957, which says
Every owner or developer shall construct and provide the facilities, improvements, infrastructures and other forms of development, including water supply and lighting facilities, which are offered and indicated in the approved subdivision or condominium plans
within one year from the date of the issuance of the license for the subdivision or condominium project or such other period of time as may be fixed by the Authority.
And one last violation, which I think is the worst violation of all, is that they have provisions in their CTS's that imposes waivers unto the buyers which violates PD 957. This imposes a violation of Section 33 of PD 957, which clearly states that
Any condition, stipulation, or provision in contract of sale whereby any person waives compliance with any provision of this Decree or of any rule or regulation issued thereunder shall be void. This then makes the buyer take legal action against the developer in whichever way he or she may desire.
