Anger is brewing amongst some clients who have purchased lands from the NTHC Properties Limited, a real estate company, following the former’s unsuccessful attempts to access their properties.
These clients, whose plight has been confirmed by an insider, claim they had been left to their fate by the company.
They are calling on the company to ensure they have access to their properties, or refund the money they paid.
The NTHC has, however, denied the claim by the purchasers of the properties, saying nobody had approached them (NTHC) to say that he or she did not have access to the land sold to them.
But some of the clients told The Chronicle that since the land had been sold to them with the necessary documents, they do not need the consent of the seller before visiting the site and work on their properties.
According to these clients of the estate company, no communication was forthcoming despite their pushing, hence, their resorting to the media to draw the attention of the seller, NTHC Properties Limited, to their plight.
During an investigation which spanned months, this reporter spoke to several victims whose names were verified from official records of the seller.
Some of the victims told this reporter that they bought their lands in 2015, but it was handed over to them in 2017.
Unfortunately, according to them, they could not freely visit properties they had bought through their own toil and sweat.
The Chronicle has been informed that schedules given by the company for clients to have access to their lands had not been complied with by the company itself. It was being alleged that the real estate company had collateralised the land to a bank, which name the victims did not mention. They believed the collateralisation was the reason they were being denied access to their own properties.
The victims claimed that though the company did not open up to them as to why they could not have access to the land, they got to know about it at the point of registering their lands.
The Chronicle was informed, upon a query, that a 80×90 size of land located at Santeo Hills in Accra was sold to them at US$4,500 at the time of purchase.
Another victim paid over US$38,000 for a 100×75 sized land. The victims are demanding from the company access to their lands, for them to start developing them, especially as they had paid fully for them.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was revealed during The Chronicle investigations that some of these clients got to know about the sale of the lands at their workplaces. The real estate company, this reporter learnt, approached the companies some of the victims were working for to advertise that it had lands for sale. When the workers were informed about the offer, some of them opted for it.
CURIOSITY
Reading through documents in relation to the purchase of the lands, it was observed that NHTC Properties Limited was not the only company in the picture. Another company by name Ericdai Enterprise Limited (EEL) also popped up.
Investigations revealed there was a joint venture between NTHC Properties LTD and Ericdai Enterprise Limited (EEL). Two partners from both NTHC Properties Limited and EEL and one independent person make up the Board for the joint venture.
A very reliable source told this paper that the owner of EEL was allegedly dead. The source, however, denied the allegation that the children of the partner were creating confusion over the property, leading to a fence wall constructed around it.
Further informations picked up from within the company did not confirm or deny the collateralisation allegation by the victims, but established that the arrangement with then HFC, now Republic Bank, has been settled by the company, which was confirmed by the management in their response.
OFFICIAL RESPONSE
In an official response to questions from this reporter, management of NTHC Properties Limited denied that some of its clients were unable to access their lands at Santeo Hills, also known as East Legon Hills.
As such, it could not give the reason why the clients were unable to access the lands they had purchased from NTHC, for, at least, three years now.
In their written response, management of NTHC Properties Limited denied having any knowledge of the collateralisation as alleged by the victims, but swiftly added that EEL took the responsibility for payment.
“We have no idea of any collateralisation. Joint Venture Partner Ericdai Enterprise Limited (EEL) took responsibility for the repayment of the debt owed Republic Bank, and the Joint Venture Company has reimbursed EEL with parcel of Joint Venture land, with equivalent value,” the official response captured.
Responding to the walling and locking up of the property, NTHC Properties Limited said this was done to prevent encroachment and sand winning. It added that “the aim was to secure the place very well. Again, the scheme/project was designed as a gated estate. Unit price was equivalent of US$4.50 per sq. ft. service plot then.”
However, the company said if a client could not locate his or her plot after visiting the site, they could also make prior arrangement with the JV/JV Surveyor to help them identify their plots. The management debunked allegations that the company had not been responsive to clients’ enquiries, stating that on the contrary, the company had been responsive.
Meanwhile, “the position of the company would be to assist the client to resell to another purchaser to recoup money paid.”
