Many property buyers across the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah are growing increasingly wary of fraudulent real estate developers as more and more developments are launched using shoddy building materials in order to lower costs and maximize profits.
According to reports in Al Madina published in Arab News, the phenomenon is growing at an alarming rate as Jeddah’s population mushrooms and land developers rush to invest in potentially lucrative projects. Construction companies are buying land and building villas and flats with considerable haste, while cheap materials are used at the expense of the structures’ quality and safety.
Many tenants have complained after moving in to brand new apartment units that an odd number of facilities are sub-standard.
“When I spoke to the original owner of the building, he told me that I was the problem,” explained Omar Al Shebani, who bought an apartment in a newly constructed building recently.
After having lived there for three months he began experiencing some problems with electric and water facilities; his bathroom began to leak and the electric wiring was faulty.
The owner “said that he handed me the apartment in a perfect condition. I brought an electrician who examined the wiring and told me that the wiring was done erroneously and that cheap quality material was used,” Omar said he was told.
“The owner cheated on me and lied to me. Who is responsible for such fraud and where do I go to complain?”
In the meantime complaints mount, authorities look into the cases of fraud charges, and new residents continue to stream into the city.
