Housing and You…V-roofs versus the bungalow roofs

Aug 24, 2014 News

By Leonard Gildarie
This week I want to touch on something a few readers have been raising.

Examples of what a V-roof (top) and bungalow-roof look like.

What would be better…a V-roof or a bungalow? I will attempt briefly to weigh the pros and cons and you be the judge.
In terms of cost, V-roofs are less expensive. It requires less material and is pretty simple. It is far less to maintain also.
The bungalow roof is much more complex. I must say that in the recent years, my experiences have been with the stylish, bungalow roofs. I like them…they are more my taste.
The many angles of a bungalow roof require patience and care by the contractor and if done correctly is a beautiful sight. But my home initially proved a problem.
There were a few leaks. We finally discovered after a few painstaking checks, that it was one or two nail holes that needed some clear silicone. The leaks stopped, temporarily.
Then the rains came. There were some leaks. It was maddening. Try as we might, we could not discover the source. I eventually told them to nail down the ridge caps. These are the small sheets that cover the edges of the roofing at the different angles. That solved the problems…temporarily.
The rains came with a vengeance and I found a few leaks. Angry, I told my contractor he did a crappy job and I want back some of my money. He patiently explained to me that this is one of the “sickness” of bungalow roofs. We have to live with it.
So yes, I still like the bungalow roofs. It seems very Caribbean to me. But it may be better to opt for the V-roof if you don’t have a lot of money and have taken a mortgage from the bank, and know that when the payments are due, you don’t have a lot left to conduct routine maintenance.
So choose and choose well.
Last week, we spoke about one newly-wed couple who reportedly said that they were defrauded while buying a home from a real estate agency. I am tempted to name the agency now but legal considerations have barred me from that.
One of the questions the couple has asked me is what happens next. They want to move forward. They are not rich people. They took some of their hard-earned life’s saving and made a down-payment towards a home being advertised by the agency for sale.
Months and a court case later, a judgment handed down cannot be effected because the couple cannot find any assets belonging to the wife of the real estate agent, the person who sold them the home under the pretext she was the owner.
I spoke to a number of lawyers and even officials from the Registry. There isn’t really any particular body that can sanction a real estate agency. Lawyers have the Bar Association. Doctors have the Medical Council. Real estate agencies, I am being told, have nothing.
They, however, have to comply with tax and other commitments to the local NDCs and City Councils and GRA. That is it. So there is no fear that anyone or anybody can sanction them.
So we have two young Guyanese who were robbed, went to court and won. However, they can’t collect their down-payment because the defendant has no assets.
Where is our monitoring? Who checks what happens to the hundreds of ads each week in the newspapers and online where the sellers or agencies are basically left unattended and in an open field?
I will be posing this question to the Housing Minister and his team.
As to the way forward for the couple, I think that you have to engage the services of a lawyer on how to move forward. You can also make an official complaint to the GRA. I am sure they would be interested in hearing how the lady collected $2.5M. Were any taxes paid? There are some angles. Write the Commissioner General. He has always said publicly that reports of wrongdoing should be made.
Please continue to send those comments and questions to [email protected] or call weekdays on 225-8491 or 682-1256.

1 thoughts on “Housing and You…V-roofs versus the bungalow roofs”

clear viewwa June 2, 2016 at 10:02 am

It will be great to anyone who is trying to have a home to reconsider each aspects.Make sure that the said asset that you purchase is in well conditioned and on legit dealer or owner.