The happiness people felt about buying an apartment in Al-Safa District was spoiled recently when the ceiling of an apartment came falling down and almost killed some members of the family in less than a year of its occupation. The accident this week raises the issue of the quality of apartments offered for ownership in Jeddah. A large number of apartments in new and old districts of Jeddah were transformed into apartments for ownership and they became an alternative for middle-income class as prices of homes went up manifold Apartments have been offered for ownership in districts including Al-Haramain, Al-Naseem, Al-Waziriyah, Mushrifah, Baghdadiyah and Al-Safa. Jeddah residents have several concerns about this development. Buildings in several districts have no space between them, which causes overcrowding because streets are narrow and there are not enough parking lots, some residents said. Okaz/Saudi Gazette teams visited several districts, met several people and heard complaints about the crowds, lack of maintenance in the buildings, the absence of a committee made up of apartment owners to deal with the conditions, situations and problems with apartments offered for ownership. Ahmad Saleh, an architecture engineer, wonders about how apartment owners share charges for maintenance services in the building. Who bears the costs of common defects or shortage of water? What are the facts about plumbing and electricity problems that appear after a person buys an apartment? Abdullah Ali, an investor, said that these residences are far better than rented apartments, whose prices have skyrocketed. The Jeddah Court has received more than 35 complaints regarding poor maintenance services in these apartments. Muhammad Al-Shehri, a real estate employee, said apartments for ownership were unpopular for some time, but that has changed. Mohsin Al-Attas, a real estate expert and supervisor of the Jeddah Real Estate Network, said, “Apartments for ownership are not restricted to middle-income group. Buyers include businessmen who have recently begun to live in apartments overlooking the sea and the price of apartment ownership has reached around SR7 million. “Many factors have contributed to reviving the market of apartments for ownership. These factors include the investment growth in real estate sector, the focus by investors on the demands of different sectors of society, loans provided for the middle-class and the change in lifestyles of many Saudi families.” Abdullah Al-Ahmari, chairman of Real Estate Committee, said laws regulating apartments offered for ownership are not effective. “It is important that a council for the residents of apartments for ownership is formed,” he said. __
