The sinking fund

The sinking fund is a very important fund for us. It is like our saving for the rainy days or for the old age.It can only be utilized for an upgrading jobs like replacing old equipments or a new painting job.

I would like elaborate a little on why the sinking fund is such an important fund for us . By the time we receive our strata titles that enables us to set up our management corporation to manage our own properties, wear and tear to the buildings are beginning to set in. Certain equipments in the lifts need to be replaced and these equipments are very expensive. We may need to carry out a repainting job. This is the time when we have to dig into the sinking fund. Without the sinking fund, the conditions of the building will definitely deteriorate to the extent that the values will depreciate. The developer is not going to bail us out. This is the reason why I said the sinking fund is a very very important fund . It can add values to our properties. Just look around K.L., how many buildings have a new coat of paint? Hardly any, simply because they don't have sufficient fund to do it.

We are very fortunate that our sinking fund is growing. It is untouched and to date, it stands at about RM700,000. It is the R.A.'s job to monitor the sinking fund. In our meeting with the management, I always emphasized the importance of the sinking fund. The management had given us an assurance that they would inform us should they need to utilize the sinking fund.

There is no room to celebrate and there is no time to rejoice. The fund is not in our account but in the developer's account. When the fund gets too large , the temptation gets greater. The developer may carry out some hanky-panky job to dig into the account. It happened to so many other condos. Hopefully, it does not happen to us. We just have to trust UOA. Under the new S and P agreement ( amendments 2002 ) the developers are only trustee to the fund. It would have to be returned to the owners when they have set up their management corporation. Hopefully, this provision applies to us too. In the meantime, we just have to wait for our strata-titles.

I have published quite a number of posts. I really don't know how the residents would react to my comments and views. I may be wrong or I may have offended some people. Anyway, if you think you do not agree me on certain issues, do let me know.

You can e-mail me at sqssee@yahoo.com

You can also skype me at benson8288