SINGAPORE: After Zhu Xiuhe paid for a condominium unit in Johor Bahru, he and his wife looked forward to having a nice place with a sea view for short getaways. Instead, almost a decade later, they’re still waiting.
Mr Zhu, a Singaporean swim coach also known as “Coach Penguin,” first saw a brochure for the development in Johor in 2016 and was instantly attracted by the sea views the project offered, according to a report in Shin Min Daily News.
“My wife saw the photos on the flyer and liked them very much. We had always wanted to buy a unit in Johor Bahru so we could go on holiday and stay there, so we decided to buy it right away,” he told the Chinese-language daily.
They then proceeded to mortgage their executive condominium in Sengkang for S$300,000 and buy a unit on the 13th floor of the Johor development. The dual-key unit had a studio on one side and a two-bedroom flat on the other.
The purchase made the couple very happy, given the unit’s location near the coast. Unfortunately, the 64-year-old paid RM1 million (S$304,800) for a unit that he has yet to make use of, because the project remains unfinished.
For the couple, the wait has been especially cruel because they were initially informed that the project would be completed by 2018. After the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the developers told them, as well as other buyers, that it would be completed by 2022.
In 2025, nearly a decade since Mr Zhu and his wife’s purchase, they are still waiting for their keys to be given to them because the condominium has not been completed.
A report in Oriental Daily says that Mr Zhu crosses the Causeway almost every week to check on the progress of the unit, to see if his and his wife’s “dream home” is nearing completion. However, it appears that he goes back home with his hopes dashed every time.
The property agent who had sold the couple the unit even told them in 2016 that he could get them a tenant who would pay S$1,500 a month for a room in the unit, which means a lost income opportunity for the swim coach and his wife.
Mr Zhu, however, is no longer concerned about that, but just wants the keys to the unit.
The report added that at least a third of the building’s unit owners are said to be Singaporeans. /TISG
