Saving Plans :- What you might not have heard ? – Part 1

Recently I read an article about how saving plans were not what they seem and have “ripped” off many innocent people of their hard earned money. This jogged my mind a little as I have purchased a few saving plans of my own and even recommended them to friends. Am I part of an elaborate scam? I decided to do some digging. I found out that fundamentally regardless what product it is, there will be critics and there will be advocates. Most likely if it profits someone they will support it, otherwise chances are they will criticize it. Don’t believe me? Just ask a top salesperson in any insurance company what they think about their company’s saving plan then ask a top unit trust salesperson which is better, investing in unit trust or getting a saving plan? You are bound to get two differing views on the same product.

Nonetheless the purpose of this article is not to debate whether you should get a saving plan or not. But rather let’s first look at reasons why saving plans are getting a bad rep. Then in part 2 let us consider some of the benefits that saving plans really bring to the table.

Whether you already have a saving plan or planning to get one, I sincerely hope that this information will be useful for you to do a review.

So why are saving plans getting a bad rep? Here are my top reasons:

The sales script!
 Most saving plans are sold using sales script that compares it to fixed deposits and then exaggerating how much better it is than fixed deposits. The aim is obviously simple; to transfer the funds of the client from the fixed deposits to the saving plan and in the process some to the pockets of the agent. What is so devious about the script is that it capitalizes on the greed of the prospect, that they forget all about the risk involved if they terminate the plan early. To make it more deceptive, the returns from saving plans are often not represented in % but in ringgit values which changes over the years. This makes a straight forward comparison deceptive to prospects. Even if they are expressed in %, chances are it’s not based on the amount saved but rather on the sum assured. This catches many off guard when they are promised a high return. How do you know if have
been a victim
experienced this script? Did the person suggesting you a saving plan use terms like FD transfer program? Or did he start off with how low interest rates in banks are then illustrating how insanely great the returns would be in a saving plan? If he did then chances are you experienced –
the script! Remember the script targets greed.

The sales person!
 Sad to say no some are selling saving plans to gain a quick buck, other are simply ignorant and following orders. Nonetheless they give the industry a bad name. Not surprising there are many cases of fraud linked to saving plans due to this. Their gimmick is simple. Get you in first, and then worry about it later. Hence they tend to over promise and not worry about the consequences. To make a stronger case they will cite that they have a number of high profile clients to gain credibility. The typical duration of a saving plan is at least 5 years. Commissions for saving plans are highest around the first to third year. If they over promised, most likely that is how long they will be around. Signs to watch out for: – were you promised and annual return of approx 10%-30%? Were you told that you can get X amount for X number of years and at the end of it you are guaranteed all of your capital back with interest? If you have, might be time to get a third opinion.

Misrepresentation of saving plans!
If you have purchased a saving plan make sure that the plan you have bought is indeed a saving plan. Better safe than sorry. Remember the Latin phrase “caveat emptor” – let the buyer beware! I have seen cases where clients were under the impression that they were saving in a saving plan but what they actually have is a life plan or an investment linked plan. Whether this is a bad case of miscommunication or untrustworthy sales person I let you decide. Here is how a traditional saving plan works: – You save for X number of years, then the plan matures and you cash out. A portion of the returns are also guaranteed in a saving plan. If the person has to save indefinitely then it’s not a saving plan – it’s a life plan. Over the years people have also began to sell investment linked plans as saving plans. These plans most likely is linked so some fund and marketed with fancy terminology such lock in period, lock in price etc which makes it seem like its offering some guarantee. My question is this: – if someone is buying investment link products for returns instead of protection, obviously he can accept the risk associated with it, why doesn’t he just engage a broker and buy the investment straight? Would be cheaper I reckon.

Critics with an agenda!
Once I told a friend, a financial advisor that I have invested in a saving plan for my future. He continued to chastise me on what a silly decision to I have made. According to him I was sold by some smooth talking agent to part with my money and better returns could be found elsewhere. I defended by saying I know that the returns were not spectacular but it’s better than placing it in fixed deposit and I get a little protection as well. He remarked that I should have bought term insurance which is cheaper and invested the balance with him! Sounds familiar to anyone of you? That’s only half the story. While term insurance is indeed cheaper it does not cover critical illness without additional riders. Secondly when a financial advisor asks someone to give up the saving plan guess where the money is going? He will probably suggest a fund to invest in. If the fund performs well, everyone is happy. If it doesn’t who stands to lose? The financial advisor is getting paid either way. Bottom line is this I have heard many people going broke making bad investments, haven’t heard anyone going broke saving yet.

Continue reading
Saving Plans :- What you might not have heard ? – Part 2
. to find out the other side of the coin. How can saving plans really benefit the policy holder

Article contributed by a good friend, Jerry Low. For more information, feel free to mail him at: wenghigh@gmail.com

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Saving Plans :- What you might not have heard ? – Part 2

In part one of
Saving Plans: – What you might not have heard?
 we looked at the possible reasons why saving plans might be getting a bad rep. In part two let us look at the other side of the coin? Does saving plans have any merit then? Sure it does. Really it does! If we weigh in the facts properly it honestly does have its place. After all it’s a product that is controlled and approved by Bank Negara.

It’s a good alternative to fixed deposit.
 It offers higher interest rate compared to fixed deposit, the trade off is that the
funds are locked for a long duration
.
Premature termination of saving plans means that the customer will make a lost
. So be sure to check that there is enough funds to last until the saving plan matures. A common mistake is to think that since the saving plan last only 5 years, I need only to save for 5 years and get a big windfall the following year. Not true. Saving plans do not make a person rich; they primarily function as reserves for the future. A good saving plan can give about 4.5% returns if compared apple to apple with FD over the long run. This will of course differ from plan to plan, just putting it out as a general reference. Moral of the story, if you are just parking money in the bank, moving from fixed deposit to fixed deposit, and do not like risk whatsoever, consider a saving plan.

Able to peg in the returns.
 If you believe that fixed deposit rates are going down as the year’s progresses then you can consider a saving plan. In a saving plan you are guaranteed a certain sum each year regardless of how the economy performs. If you like the returns the plan is offering and would like to enjoy it in the future, saving plans are worth considering. After all if the returns from fixed deposits are higher in the future, you can always put the returns from the saving plans there.

It promotes force saving
. We all know saving is a good habit to practice. Easy to say, hard to do. Everyone knows that they should take a portion of their money, first save it up and then only spend the rest. But in a world where cash is moving so fast that is not easy to practice. This takes discipline. No discipline? Try a saving plan. They will gladly deduct it from you salary before you know it.

It can’t be frozen.
Saving plans like all insurance plans are protected under the Financial Service Act 2013 (previously Insurance Act 1996) and Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia PIDM. Meaning upon death of the life assured the money cannot be frozen and goes to the nominee straight. Just make sure there is a nominee! PIDM role is equally as important as it protects the policy owner’s benefits in the unlikely event of the failure of the insurance company.

The payer waiver rider.
 This feature is what I feel makes saving plans a good consideration for a child’s education. Sure there are investments that offer higher returns? But does it have a guarantee or a waiver rider. This basically means that if a father purchases a saving plan for a child and along the saving years a mishap (death, total and permanent disability, 36 Critical Illness) happens to the father, the insurance company pays for the plan. Some company even refunds all the premiums paid!

In the end I don’t think there is a bad plan or a good plan, but rather did the plan suit your need? Everyone has different needs and goals and risk tolerance, so the right information needs to be applied correctly. Hopefully with more insight customers get the right product that they need and the fraud cases related to saving plans are reduced. Thanks for reading this lengthy article and have a great day!

Article contributed by a good friend, Jerry Low. For more information, feel free to mail him at: wenghigh@gmail.com

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Saving up for your baby’s future? How about ‘saving’ via property?

A colleague asked me about advice on some
education savings fund
. I told him, honestly, whatever fund you intend to start saving for your new baby’s education, it should be complemented by a property strategy. Then, I asked him, how much do you think is enough for an education fund? He said if overseas, half a million should be the minimum by the time the fund is needed. Assuming it’s RM500,000 how much would you need to save monthly for the next 18 years? Well, RM500 per month is definitely not enough. RM1,000? Assuming
inflation does not kill

everything that the fund gives you as dividend, well, perhaps you may hit RM500,000 by the end of 18 years. Savings is a very good way to achieve your financial goal and it is also quite safe and low risk too. Once you do the calculation, you would note that saving RM1,000 can indeed give you RM500,000 easily in 18 years. However, I asked him to also consider buying a
property instead as a hedge
 as well as a form of ‘savings’ for his current baby and perhaps babies in the future.

Okay, coming back to education funds, well, it may not necessary be for education. If your kid is really an amazing student, more often than not, a scholarship awaits. Or else, play sports, get into national team and scholarship awaits too. My sister got quite a good deal because she was a state player for softball. Okay, if your kid is not the top end ones, then it is ok to get just a degree. These days, there are many colleges or universities that you can enrol your children into and even if it is one of those dual award ones, one degree by the local university college and another one from the overseas university, the total cost would not reach RM100,000 for a 3 year course. In fact, the last I heard, it’s just RM60,000. During my time, it was just RM35,000. So, should you not save? Please, you must save but a property strategy can also be done in tandem.

Get a property which you can rent out easily. Even if the
mortgage could just

barely cover the rental.
 Note that if property prices do not rise, the rental would soon give you great returns based on your capital investment. If however the property prices rise a lot and your rental return is bad in terms of %, it’s even better right? Sell your property and repeat the process. What if
you can’t rent out your property
? Well, today if you still buy a property that could not be rented out, I think the ‘wrong’ is on you. Go online, search the ones which can be rented FIRST. Then only look at the current prices. If it’s secondary, more often that not, you can still find. For new ones, sorry, the prices have gone way too high for any rental to be self-sufficient. As for capital appreciation, considering that your property price is just RM300,000, a 2% up every year is still RM6,000 per year! This is already RM500 / month.  Remember your savings in the first paragraph? 🙂

written on 11 Nov 2014

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If savings is the base of everything, we need a strong one.

My mother has never failed to remind me time and again that savings is a must. I agree but I think that call to save is no longer as strong for
my generation and perhaps a few more generations
 down the road. My father still could not understand why I could pay RM10 for an Americano. Materialism is the ‘in-thing’ today. However, I would like to remind all of us that things that we do could affect the money that we could save for other investments. Not a lot, just three.

Technology gets cheaper. Remember those days when 32 inch LCD TV was the craze? My brother-in-law paid RM3,800 for it. Perhaps I was stingy but I used my 29 inch Samsung Slim-TV for just 1.5 years more and the LCD TV’s price dropped, a lot. He bought a new 40 inch LED TV for the same price he bought his first, RM3,800 because he said LED TV is better and it will last longer. 3 years ago, I changed to a 51 inch PLASMA TV for RM1,300 (clearance sale). Within just these few years, the savings would have been easily a few thousand if we control our emotions a little. Reminder, no one goes and touch your TV, admire it, ask you what’s the brand and so on…….  It’s what is shown that will glue them to your TV.

Forget about it. Of course, it’s not always easy for me to think objectively before I buy something. So I do one extra thing which
 limited my spending
. I bought a few savings cum insurance plans. Those where you either save on monthly or half yearly or yearly and after a period of say 20 years, you get some returns plus during that period, you get some form of insurance coverage. If you look at the return, it’s small but every month, my credit card will be debited and thus I ‘forced’ myself to save that amount automatically. It is not a habit but the effect is the same. By the way, I have not noticed all these ‘missing’ money for many years.

Planning is key.
  Everyone loves a holiday. Last minute decisions are always costly, when it comes to holidays. Unless you have a boss who will kill you whenever you take leave, I am very sure you can tell him 4 months in advance that you are going on a holiday. It’s not just Air-Asia, you can get cheaper MAS fares when you buy ahead. We can also create an itineary and then book accommodation nearby to minimize our transportation costs. The last I counted, two of such planning saved me thousands. (Yes, for a family of 2 adults and 2 kids).

We may fail to see but actually just a few thoughts would save us much more money that what we get for our bonuses.
Investment needs a conscious effort, of savings.
 Else, we do not have enough to build our wealth faster. Value of money will get smaller and stop thinking that in this whole world, only ringgit is getting smaller. Look at the average salaries of fresh graduates in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and many other countries including Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Then, compare it to the property prices. Everyone is also facing the same pressure. However, what we do would return us different results. Cheers.

written on 30 Dec 2016

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How much savings is enough in future? RM3 million?

How much savings is enough in future? Ever wondered who could save us if we did not save enough?

Malaysians are definitely saving less these days

I think everyone knows that Malaysians are saving less today, right? We are saving less. Some say it’s because we are earning less. Erm… One major reason is also because we have more temptations today. We have better marketers who could do so many more things to tempt us to buy, buy and buy. We are now pressured by even more peer pressure. When the whole office have new smartphones, how could we continue with our 5 year old phone?

Cost of living, that’s why we are saving less

Some would say, but we spend more because cost of living is increasing, how to save? Erm… If that’s right, then everyone in Malaysia should be suffering and domestic consumption of goods and services would keep going down. In fact, new restaurants would stop to open because there’s just no demand… New car sales should also drop, right?

Surveys should be done in cafes instead

Perhaps in the future, all these surveys about savings should be conducted inside cafes and the few BRANDED smartphone retailers. As soon as any customer comes into a cafe or intends to buy a smartphone, do a survey about saving money with them. If their answer is that they do not save and did not save, ask them on the spot WHY were they drinking a RM15 latte or a buying a new smartphone of thousands of ringgit then?

Plus remind them to stop saying high cost of living, please. Anyway, for reference, here is a survey before the arrival of CoviOkay, now for the actual survey from Ringgitplus Malaysia Financial Literacy Survey 2019.

Article in themalaysianreserve.com
 Ringgitplus Malaysia Financial Literacy Survey 2019 revealed the following:

21% of Malaysians do NOT save their money

89% believes EPF savings are not enough for retirement

34% says they could not save because they have to pay debts

For those who did not save, 30% says essential expenses are just too high, 25% says they will save if they have balance at the end of the month.

The number of people who do not save are further segmented into three; second highest being 29.2% who believe that essential expenses are too high, leaving with too little amount to save; followed by 25.2% of respondents stating that they only save when there is enough balance at the end of the month. 12% meanwhile said it’s due to their lifestyle including shopping and entertainment.

For those who save, 35% saves less than RM500 per month, 23% saves between RM501 to RM1,000 and 13% could save between RM1,001 and RM2,000. 9% could save more than RM2,000 per month.

‘RinggitPlus’ CEO Liew Ooi Hann

said, “The lack of awareness on personal finance is an ongoing challenge for us all. What’s more alarming is that people are in denial of their financial reality.” He added, “For example, we found that 54.6% of respondents aged 20 to 29 do not have a retirement plan.”

Where food spending is concerned, 54% of Malaysians spend RM20 or less per day, followed by RM20 – RM30 and 13% have no budgets for their meals. 3% spends RM30 – RM50.

For smartphone purchases, 52.7% of Malaysians would be willing to spend for a new phone with their credit card due to features like Easy Payment Plan and cashbacks, followed by 40.5% that would use cash instead. There are a lot more findings. Do read it here:
Article in themalaysianreserve.com

Savings is just a starting point. What happens if we did not even start?

Saving is no longer enough.  We need to save in order to invest wisely. Here’s an earlier article:
Are we saving, earning, investing and preserving?
  We need to help more Malaysians understand that without financial planning, they are planning for financial ruin. Else, everyone continue to think of all the short cut ways; personal loans, more credit cards, renting better than buying and many more misconceptions.

Now, let’s look at life expectancy and retirement basis

In fact, if we look at it from a life expectancy and retirement basis, we will know why savings alone will not be enough. Retirement was 55 years old very long time ago.  Life expectancy in 1960 was 60. It meant that savings needed to be enough after our retirement is just cover 5 years, averagely. Today, we may retire at 60 but are expected to live till 75 or older. Probably 80 years old in the very near future too. Savings now needed to be enough for 15 – 20 years. This is also why just savings alone is not enough, what more of those without any savings.

Please start saving today. That item you want to buy can wait.

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Scam. Please do not hand over your bank information.

This is another public reminder not to fall to scams. Recently, this was published.
Macau Sam. Be Aware and Beware
 Now, we have the below latest case. Very sad because lifetime savings could have been lost forever. Scammers are really taking this as their ‘career.’ Do read about it below.

Article in thestar.com.my
   Johor police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat shared about the case of a 60-year-old businessman losing RM600,000 from his savings after being duped in a Macau scam.

He said, “The caller told the victim that he was from the bank and the victim had allegedly owed the bank RM5,000 and demanded immediate payment. The caller then requested the victim to hand over his account information which the victim did.  More details here.
Article in thestar.com.my

It’s a business or a career for scammers

It’s a big business for scammers. The people involved are treating this as their ‘career’ too. So, we really do need to take even more precautions and keep reminding all our loved ones about many of these potential scams. This is especially aimed at those who simply believe any viral news as well. There are many things which are not real and it’s best to verify versus just believing it totally and then doing something we will regret for life.

Banks will NOT ask for your login info.

Police will NOT ask you to transfer any money to any account.

Your good friend who suddenly Whatsapped you and wanted to borrow some money may not be that good friend.

Share and help prevent more cases.

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Scam case: Musang King seller cheated of RM414,932

Musang King seller cheated of RM414,932.

Readers of kopiandproperty.com, I small-small-sound (hokkien) tell you okay. Today, anything can be faked easily due to technology. So, everything needs to be verified before we can decide if it’s true or not. Plus… all those attachments you receive in Whatsapp which is a video of someone telling you some exclusive news… those are definitely the work of someone too free…

Plus the recent news / image about Pandelela winning the first gold medal that people forwarding in Whatsapp… that’s fake too and I know immediately because that particular diving event starts only in August… how to win gold even before the actual Olympics event yeah. However, many continue to be cheated. So, I have to keep writing to remind everyone to always be vigilant. Else, it may be a huge loss.

Article in edgeprop.my
   A fruit wholesaler was cheated of RM414,932 by a man who pretended to be the buyer of his Musang King durians.  Pahang Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Supt Mohd Wazir Mohd Yusof said that the victim was approached by the suspec to buy 10 baskets of durians.

He said, “The victim claimed that the suspect had shown him a copy of an online transaction receipt as proof of payment, then his employee came to the shop to pick up the fruit on the same day. This caused the victim to trust the suspect and continued to sell durians to him from July 1 to 27 and payment was made directly to his company’s bank account.” Do read the full article here:
Article in edgeprop.my

Many more will happen, just keep telling everyone about these cheating stories

Sometimes, people just did not know about these cases, thus they got cheated. This is why it’s really important to keep sharing. These scammers will continue to try new tricks and it will get ever more elaborate too so that the level of believability is higher than previously. Perhaps it’s always good to go back to the basics again.

Just three good questions that we should always ask ourselves.

#1 – Why do I have this good deal? Am I really that lucky?

#2 – Why was this good deal given to me? Do I have something special which everyone else does not have?

#3 – Have I verified and do enough due diligence to ensure I am not cheated?

Happy reading and hopefully, all these scammers could be arrested quickly and receive the appropriate punishment by law.

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Just got cheated. No end in sight

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Scam. Retiree. RM400,000 parcel?

Scam. Retiree. RM400,000 parcel?

Always be aware of all the tricks which scammers are using to scam people these days. We recently have a scam related to
the king of fruits, durian and the seller actually lost over RM400,000.
Today, we have another scam which happened to a retiree and the amount lost is RM400,000. Most of the time, money lost will be hard to get back. Let’s be aware of all these different scams.

Article in thestar.com.my
  A 78-year-old retiree was cheated of RM400,000 after meeting a person on Facebook claiming to be an American.

State Commercial Crime Investigations Department chief Supt Aibee Ab Ghani said, “The individual, who identified herself as Velostin Tina, told the victim that she wanted to send a parcel containing US$1.5mil (RM6.24mil) to Malaysia and if it was possible if she could send it through him.”

He added that the widower met the person on June 20 and said that the victim was told that he would get 30% of the cash once she arrived here.

Supt Aibee said after some time, the victim received a message on WhatsApp from the suspect telling him that the parcel has reached the Customs Department at KL International Airport (KLIA).

“However, the victim was told that he would have to make some payments for tax and duties to get it. He was told to make the payments into several local bank accounts,” he said, adding that the victim then banked in cash amounting to RM400,000 into several local bank accounts. Do read the full story here:
Article in thestar.com.my

While ignorance is one big cause, it’s important for us not to be tricked by our greed

The reason why I continue to share all these different ways which the scammers are using and innovating is hopefully to stop at least some future potential victims from losing their hard earned money.

However, it’s also very important for us to stop thinking about earning fast money and start understanding that there are definitely reasons why these easy money was not given to someone the scammer knows instead. Why must the scammer find a stranger and offer some big money to the stranger?

Quick returns way above anything we know is usually a scam too…

If someone were to tell you that if you invest into what they are offering, you will get returns every month and even assuming it’s just 5% per month, that’s 60% per year. If this person can offer a 60% return per annum, they will NOT OFFER YOU. They will offer to the all banks because the banks would be able to invest billions and not hundreds or thousands like most of us. So, there is a reason why they did not offer to the banks… okay?

Stay safe everyone.

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Scammed and lost RM5 million

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Scammed by a man. Love, money and over RM900k.

Cheated by man. Love, money and over RM900k.

Ladies, scams happen everyday. The scammers are also getting ever better by the day.  Instead of just sending you an email, they now spend time to speak to you. They spend time to know you. They spend time to get you to love them too. This is the reason why it’s so important to know about all these scam cases.

First thing I would like to remind you is this. Your money is YOUR MONEY.  Please just use it for YOURSELF. If you found a man who loves you and tells you he loves you and showers you with gifts, that’s great for you. However, be reminded that if he could give you gifts, he could use his own money for whatever reasons he has. Stop believing that money buys love or love buys money.

Your money is for you to spend on yourself. Occasionally treat your good friends a cup of coffee or a dinner, that’s a great gesture. NO MAN deserves your lifetime savings. Yes, this comes from a man.

This happened and just got reported.
Article in nst.com.my
   An accounts clerk fell victim to a love scam syndicate. She befriended a man through Instagram in April 2019. They exchanged numbers, continued the Whatsapp communication and formed an online love relationship. The man then asked the single mother for financial assistance for a petrol exploration business.

He PROMISED to return the victim’s money along with commission. The victim then conducted 50 transactions into five different bank accounts totallying RM927,400 between April 9, 2019 to February 2021.  After depositing the money, the victim tried to contact the man several times but to no avail. She then realised that she had been cheated and lodged a police report. For more details, please do read the article here:
Article in nst.com.my

Scams continue to happen and emotions are not easy to control

By the way, I can only continue to write and hopefully more people could read these reminders. Truth is, when it comes to emotional appeal, many would fall prey to such a trick. Just look at those shopping sites and then you look at the credit card debts and you realise that many people also got tricked to buy that ‘Must-Have’ item, that ‘Only-Today’ promo and last but not least the ‘Final 5 units’ attraction.

Everyone wants to look better or as good as their peers. Everyone loves a great deal and of course everyone thought that last few units must meant it was good, thus it’s down to last few units.  Everyone ah… if it’s a manufactured goods, it can be manufactured again and again. As for peer pressure, just remember that the new smartphone which your peer is showing off, by the end of the week, no one will be talking about it already.

Let them buy what they want. It’s their money, it’s their choice. For us? We buy smartphones when we really need to buy a smartphone. Period.

Be careful because once lost, it’s forever

If the money has been transferred, it is likely that it will not be returned. By the way, even if we transfer the money wrongly to someone, getting it back is also not as straightforward or easy. Now imagine transferring our hard-earned savings to someone who’s extremely far away. Again, a good man does not ask for your money for his business. He should be responsible enough to go get a loan and take on the risks by himself.  This is especially true if you have never met the man in person as well as his family. Thank you for listening.

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Anyone can get scammed by similar tactics. One person lost over RM5 million.

Read, Learn and then Share

Please do read and know how people got scammed. Learn from it and tell all your loved ones and your friends. The scammers are getting ever more sophisticated and realistic! Please do not be greedy with any potential windfall from someone you do not know. Why you?! I mean, if the deal is so good, why give to you and just you?

Here’s another one of the scam cases and it happened in Singapore. Someone posed as Singapore Police Force (SPF). Quite amazing right that they could pull this off. The victims were told they were being investigated for money-laundering activities.

Recent scam case

More details as per the
Article in thestar.com.my
 16 people were cheated by scammers who posed as officers from the Singapore Police Force (SPF) between January and July 2021. One of them lost S$1.7mil (RM5.30mil).

How it worked is the the victims received unsolicited robocalls purportedly from the Singapore High Court. The calls were supposedly transferred to a police officer, who informed the victims that they were being investigated for money-laundering activities.

After this call, the conversations are then moved onto messaging apps
Line
 or
WhatsApp
, with non-users instructed to download either of them. After being shown a fake SPF warrant card, the victims would be instructed to surrender their money for investigation by transferring their money to various bank accounts controlled by the scammers. Full report in the article here.
Article in thestar.com.my

A few important points whether it’s the police in Singapore or here in Malaysia

No police force would tell you to send them money via online…

No police force would request for your personal details over the phone and even automated voice machines.

A police officer will not be going to your social media account and tell you they are so and so and tell you that you are being investigated…

I also tell my wife to just ignore all these calls. End the call, call the nearest police station, give them the details. This will help any investigation they need to do and they definitely will not ask you to add them as FB friend or LI friend too. Get serious yeah.

Last but not least, please do tell everyone you know so that they would not lose their life savings. It’s a very pitiful case if 30 years of savings were all conned by these scammers. Yes, I have received many of these calls and my father has received a call saying that his son was caught and now needs money in order for the release.

Seriously, even if one is arrested, one can still make the call and it does not need to be the police making the call and asking for money. Stay safe everyone. Now we have to worry to just about the Covid-19 but also these scammers. One affects our life the the other our livelihood. Both are deadly. Stay away.

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Musang King seller cheated of RM414,000

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Scammed due to love. Losing RM3.9 million!

I seriously do hope that everyone understands that a typical and standard man would not keep asking for money from a woman for love. There are those kind of man but majority are not like that. Thus, the first sign of a scam is when someone kept asking you for money and then more money and then even more money. Emotional appeal is indeed extremely dangerous and this is why it’s important to get some advice from close friends if someone you met start asking you for money for whatever valid reasons. Below is another scam case. Victim lost RM3.9 million!

Article in malaymail.com
   A 63-year-old woman lost RM3.9 million to a love scam syndicate. The widow met a man posing as a South Korean on social media in December 2021. She had made 184 transactions transferring various sums totalling RM3.9 million to the man before she realised she was scammed.

Penang police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the woman realised she was scammed after she found out the photos the man sent her were edited using another individual’s photo. He added, “She transferred small sums of between RM9,000 and RM50,000 between December last year and March this year.” The suspect asked the victim to invest in an oil rig business and promised the victim that he will take care of her for the rest of her life. Do refer to the details here:
Article in malaymail.com

Some other scams which has happened

Scam. Please do not hand over your bank information
 (click for full article to read and learn)

Lifetime savings can be gone just like that. Scams happen all the time
 (click for full article to read and learn)

Macau Scam. Be Aware and Beware
 (click for all article to learn)

Scam. Retiree. RM400,000 parcel?
   (click for all article to learn)

Scam case: Musang King seller cheated of RM414,932
  (click for all article to learn)

Scammed by a man. Love, money and over RM900k
   (click for all article to learn)

Stay safe. Once we lose the lifetime savings, it’s usually lost forever. Please forward to those who may be in danger of being scammed too.

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It’s something illegal! Of course we should be worried, no?

Suddenly, we noticed that police officer under the overhead bridge a few hundred metres ahead. He has a gun; speed gun lah. What do we do? Quickly look at the speed which we were driving and quickly slow down? Haha. If we had followed the speed limit, why need to be worried or scared and having to take immediate actions? Alternatively, just keep speeding and just pay the speed fine later on lah. 🙂 It’s just a few hundred ringgit anyway.

Well, what happens then if someone were to call us and tells us that we owe him some unpaid fees and he is going to sue us to bankruptcy unless we pay them back soonest possible?  Would we transfer money to his bank account or do we get some proofs first? What if he’s angry and threatened us back when we ask for more details? Are there people whom we could ask? At least some friends who are more knowledgeable then us? Surely there are many. Anyway, some chose to just pay and pay and well, pay.

Article in freemalaysiatoday.com
  A 66-year old woman was duped by scammers pretending to be police officers. According to the police (the real ones), she lost RM618,302.58 to the scammer. Basically, the scammer managed to get her to apply for an ATM card as well as an online banking password. Three weeks later, the money in the account was emptied. She actually sent the ATM card to the scammers earlier.

How it happened:  Central Seberang Perai police chief Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid said the victim received a phone call on Dec 11 from a “Pos Laju officer” in Kuantan, claiming that her parcel to Miri, Sarawak, had been quarantined. She was then connected to a woman who’s a high ranking officer in Kuantan police headquarters who told her that she would be investigated for money laundering. The victim did everything that she was told… More details in the
Article in freemalaysiatoday.com

By the way, the article in freemalaysiatoday.com did not explain very clearly. However, this is not even the main point. The main point is this, how could the scammers be so good with their game plan?  Actually, it’s a probability game for them. They do their best to keep calling. Once they hit a victim who is willing to do what they say, they get a few hundred thousand ringgit and they will continue their calling and fooling.

Secondly and more importantly, why did the victims become the victims? Surely they would have read somewhere about all these scams? Well, that’s why I kept writing and doing my best to keep telling people that all these are purely scams and nothing more. Any formal notifications will have be done formally. It cannot be through a call where they guided us to give them our password or even to apply for an ATM card and to send it to them… Perhaps it’s even better NOT to do something which we know is illegal yeah. Happy understanding.

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Scamming in property. Haha.

When a deal is too good to be true, ask ourselves, why was it given to us. If our parents are the ones offering it, then surely it would be true. If it came from someone whom we have trusted our whole lives, it may be true. If it came from someone we barely knew or some banners in some sites which we were visiting, then it’s highly likely that it’s fake. How many of you walk down the street and offer your wallet to a stranger?

Well, if it comes via SMS with some real sounding company brands, it’s really best to call that company and ask instead of replying the SMS by following instructions. Stop being greedy or foolish. What about a scam which preys on people who are less knowledgeable? As they say, humour is the best medicine. Please read on about something a friend shared in his FB today. By the way, this is NOT a good deal okay. What if the former Thailand Prime Minister sends us a SMS?

There are also those advertisements telling you that there are just a few units left. If it is true, the staffs could have sold them easily. Assuming it’s true that there are few units left, you will still have to know whether those units are what you want or not.  Do not be emotional. Just because it is the last few packs of instant noodle does not mean it is the flavour you like. Furthermore, this is a property which may be a few hundred thousand ringgit.

What about advertisements promising returns beyond our wildest dreams? Yeah, you are right, it must be a dream. Please wake up. All businesses must work in order to make money. Everyone must work to get salaries. If something seems to be falling down from the sky, don’t go pick it up. RUN! Happy skipping scams.

written on 28 Jan 2019

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Rich people do not say these. Let’s not too

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Scared of RPGT but willing to wait and risk?

An old friend called me up the other day. He had just got the keys for his brand new condo and he was thinking if he should sell or rent. To escape from paying Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT), it is 3 years away. To sell now, the agent was telling him that he could get RM500,000, maybe slightly more. He called up his bank who told him that based
on current valuation
, the property is worth over RM400,000. He said his main worry is that he would have to pay RPGT which could be as high as RM30,000. I laughed and I told him that if it is up to me, I would sell IF what the agent told me is true.

To rent out will not be easy, it would take some renovations not to mention the possibility of lower rental because now nearly every of the completed units may be put up for rent as well. Renovations would certainly need more money which would never be on top of the price that he could sell in future. To rent out empty unit meant that the type of people renting is more often the ‘lower’ end instead of those willing to pay
premium for a fully furnished unit
. I have never rented empty unit thus far, preferring to rent out fully furnished.

To wait for three more years to skip RPGT is likely to yield nothing, much. Assuming RPGT is RM30,000 and the wait is three year, it meant RM10,000 per year. Assuming the property is now valued at RM400,000 by the bank and it appreciates 5% per year, after three years, it would be valued at RM460,000. This is still lower than what the agent told him the condo could sell for. If he is willing to pay that RM30,000 he could sell it for slightly over RM500,000 and the proceeds could have been
reinvested into another property
 or any other investment instruments. No idea what would happen but three years later, it should easily have exceeded what he paid for in the RPGT.

He also said he was worried the buyer would not be able to obtain the loan since the bank said the said
condo’s value

is merely RM400,000 instead of the RM500,000 potential sale price. I told him that buyers of today may not be buying it by himself. My Penang’s condo was sold to a lady whose father paid cash for her. My brother’s lawyer friend told me that she had just handled a RM300,000 property where the father was buying in cash for his son. If the agent is honest and it could be sold at RM500,000 the last person to worry should be my friend. I said, there are LOTS of other reasons why people are willing to buy at RM500,000 too. Those OTHER reasons is not for him to worry or know. He laughed and agreed.

I have no idea what would be his final decision but based on the above scenario and I am the one deciding, I would sell. There’s a saying that a bird in hand is worth more than two in the bush. Plus, the surplus money from selling can easily help us to earn more money. There’s no need to keep thinking of the ‘loss’ but think of what’s the potential ‘gain’ instead. Disagree? Well, one can continue to keep and save that RM30,000. No losses, just a different decision, that’s all. Happy deciding.

written on 21 June 2015

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Scary for many?  Current house prices still too high for Malaysians.

Property prices look scary? Just today, I was discussing with a property magazine writer on the younger generation (including her) and how they are all finding it hard to buy a property. She fully agreed and says that the house prices seem very high. I said, while this is true but the current generation has also changed tremendously. Savings is no longer something urgent, vacations are.

Inconvenience is no longer something to tolerate and everyone wants a property in a place where all the amenities they want including their offices are located. When all the criteria are met, guess what happens to the price then?  So, yes, when it comes to numbers, our Bank Negara Malaysia has also released their Financial Stability Review and it shows that relative to income, Malaysian house prices remain seriously unaffordable. We will see what ‘seriously unaffordable’ meant later on in the article.

Article in theedgemarkets.com
 .  Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said that Malaysian house prices are still under the serious unaffordable category when compared to the income. This is because of a pronounced (means very apparent) and prolonged (means has been some years…)  mismatch in demand and supply of residential property. This is despite lower average transacted house prices in 2019.

This is what BNM said with regards to potential risks. “Nevertheless, risks of a sharp correction in house prices will continue to be mitigated by firm demand for housing, particularly for properties priced below RM500,000. For the first nine months of 2019, these properties accounted for 83% of total transactions.”  BNM also said this about the risk exposure. “Debt-at-risk or the property sector remained at a manageable level of 5.5%, with banks’ excess capital buffers sufficient to cover three times the estimated potential losses.” to read that comprehensive article do read it here:
Article in theedgemarkets.com

Actually, what do BNM meant by ‘seriously unaffordable?’ Please do refer below. If your income is currently RM100,000 per year, then the home which you should buy is RM300,000 if you like to buy an ‘affordable’ home based on your salary. So, if you intend to buy a RM500,000 property but still want it to be affordable to you, please try and earn an income of RM167,000 per year.

So, you see the home price is not just a function of the home price but also depend on the yearly income we are earning today. So, are our salaries too low or property prices too high then? Now, before we start to go crazy as to why property prices are so high and if Malaysia is the only place in the whole world which is facing such a situation please do refer to the next image right after. House Price-to-Income Ratio as below.

Source:
https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/uploads/files/7_Publication/Technical_Paper/MyStats/2017/2(b)-5_Dr_Jason_Ng_Wei_Jian%20(1).pdf

https://www.newgeography.com/content/006201-15th-annual-demographia-international-housing-affordability-survey-2019

I guess the numbers at the end should already tell you that the central banks in all these other countries are also saying something similar and is also trying to do something about it too. No idea if their government is forcing developers to build affordable units though. So, we have two choices. One is to reduce our expectations and to buy something much more affordable. It does not take a lot of research to realise that there are certainly more affordable choices in some further away areas too. Or, we could choose to work very hard and earn a higher income. Else, work two jobs… Hoping for property prices to drop to the level we want is actually not an option. Happy understanding.

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Double-storey landed homes in Penang for less than RM250,000? Developed by Scientex.

If you think this double-storey landed home is within the Penang island, then you may now skip this article. It’s in Tasek Gelugor and this is NOT the same as Gelugor where USM campus is situated. Tasek Gelugor is in mainland Penang and it’s under Majlis Perbandaran Seberang Perai. (MPSP) By the way, the reason for this article is because the price is really cheap and I do think if there are people looking for landed homes in Penang, then this represents an opportunity.

According to Scientex, the developer this Phase 1 launched in October 2020 is 90 percent sold. The name of the development is Lily. The photo is as per below and as for the actual specs of the home, do refer to the image right after.
 Article in nst.com.my here.
 The below is a photo from the developer’s website.

By the way, you go get a clue from looking at the photo about the width of the home yeah. Nevertheless, parking two cars is certainly possible as the width is 16 ft and this is still the typical car park lot x 2. To put this into perspective, Proton Saga’s width is 1,689mm (5.5 ft). So, on paper, it’s possible to park two Proton Sagas side by side with the space in-between both cars at 2 ft and space for the cars with the wall to be 1.5 ft. Granted, it’s NOT that spacious but please look at the price again. Thank you.

3 Bedrooms meant that it’s sufficient for a family of 4. 3 Bathrooms also meant no one needs to share unless all 4 needed to go to the bathroom at the same time. 🙂 Actual built-up is 1,123 sq ft. However, the plus here is that you get to park your car and walk just a few steps to reach the front door. If you like
to download their brochure, this is the place at their website.

This is not a sponsored post

When the property is really an affordable one, there’s no need for the developer to pay to post. I am happy to post this if it benefits anyone looking for an affordable LANDED HOME in Penang which really do seem like a dream? Yes, I sold my condominium of 1,258 sq ft maybe 8 years ago for RM640,000 and the selling price is enough to buy 2 units of Lily by Scientex and one could still have RM140,000 for renovations.

This is NOT beside the Penang Bridge

Please be realistic yeah. If this is beside the Penang bridge, this article will not happen. It’s also not actually in the middle of nowhere. Please do take a look at what’s nearby. You do have schools, universities, fastfood restaurants and malls too. They have forgotten to list one more which is the Kulim High Tech Park. That’s also just about 20km away. So, probably can also be another target market. While there may be homes of similar pricing in Kulim but do note that those homes would not be within 20km away from the Penang bridge.

Again, no need to mention kopiandproperty.com

No extra discount yeah. Hope you found a landed home which is within your budget. Remember yeah, it’s not the home which makes the people happy. It’s the people who will turn a home into a home sweet home.
THIS IS ALSO NOT A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY
. If you like, you proceed to buy. That’s all. I also do not own any property in mainland Penang today.
Oh yeah, this is Scientex’s website.
Take care and stay safe.

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Selangor Dredging Bhd (SDB) and Rumah Selangorku

It’s always a big thing; affordable housing. Somehow, everyone just want something new and hopefully in an area they like plus the prices should be affordable enough. There are many variations to affordability but according to the one in Selangor, called Rumah Selangorku. Please refer to the chart beside. The prices ranges from RM42,000 to RM250,000. In fact the RM250,000 is pretty attractive as it is a landed property!

Besides the usual salary guidelines, there are also other requirements too. The application process is as per the image with a blue background. Some may say that the requirement that one could not sell the home for 5 years is restrictive but I think this is necessary because everyone knows how creative Malaysians could be without these clear black & white terms. It’s also only for own stay and should not be rented out. This would be a good thing to have but enforcement is likely to be extremely tough. No penalties were stated though as a deterrent.

There are many private developers who are building these affordable homes. There would be one development in Gombak, Selangor which will have within it one component of Rumah Selangorku. The developer is Selangor Dredging Bhd (SDB). Total gross development value is RM450mil including the affordable housing units under the Rumah Selangorku scheme. In an announcement to Bursa Malaysia, SDB said that total units to be built would be 588 units of which 176 would be properties under the Rumah Selangorku together with common facilities.

No dates of commencement and completion are available yet. SDB’s unit SDB Properties Sdn Bhd just inked an agreement to buy two pieces of freehold agricultural land measuring 4.097 acres from Alam Palma Development Sdn Bhd (APDSB), a unit of Ebic Development Sdn Bhd, for RM67.5mil. This would be the land for the development. APDSB has already submitted an application to increase the existing density of 8 units per acre to 60 units per acre. The approval is pending and this purchase agreement will be valid if APDSB gets the approval for the density change. Please do not be too alarmed about the density because if the affordable project is in KL, the density can be even higher. Read here:
Affordable units? 1,000 people per 44,000 sf

I think Gombak is definitely an area which is considered close enough compared to places like Rawang or Sungai Buloh. This is why I think many applications would be coming once this project is confirmed. As for now, just have to wait for the approval for the density change. Hopefully, everything will go smooth. Happy buying affordable homes for OWN STAY, okay.

written on 27 Jan 2016

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South East Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) – Who are the potentials?

I always think awards help to highlight the efforts from developers. Since most of the time the judges are considered the who’s who in the industry, the nominees are painstakingly chosen from all the entries. Buyers benefit too because the award winners definitely have something special to offer when compared to the industry. Let’s be very real here, award winning developments are normally not the usual affordable projects. Unless of course the award is for the best affordable development. Then again, if they won such an award, we may not be able to buy one. Well, there is another one coming. This is the second annual South East Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) 2015.

In the past six months, the judges’ panel meticulously reviewed each entry and conducted thorough site visits across Malaysia to ensure that the entire nomination process was fair and transparent.

With a total of 20 award categories, the South East Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) – which was free to enter – promises to be the biggest industry event and most competitive yet, with the top and emerging names in real estate, architecture and design celebrating the best developers and projects in North, South, Central and East Malaysia. They are as follows:

Full shortlist of the South East Asia Property Awards (Malaysia) 2015:

DEVELOPER

Best Developer

Dynasty View Sdn Bhd (Subsidiary of UM Land Berhad)

Mah Sing Group Berhad

Sime Darby Property Sdn Bhd

S P Setia Berhad

Best Boutique Developer

Trinity Group Bhd

Best Green Development

Dynasty View Sdn Bhd (Subsidiary of UM Land Berhad)

KL Eco City Sdn Bhd (Subsidiary of S P Setia Berhad Group)

Special Recognition in CSR

Dynasty View Sdn Bhd (Subsidiary of UM Land Berhad)

Sime Darby Berhad

DEVELOPMENT

Best Luxury Condo Development (North Malaysia)

Ferringhi Residence by Mah Sing Group Berhad

Tropicana Bay Residence by Tropicana Ivory Sdn. Bhd

Best Mid-Range Condo Development (North Malaysia)

The Arena by Golden Virtue Capital Sdn Bhd

The Latitude by Ivory Properties Group Berhad

Best Housing Development (North & Central Malaysia)

Sierra 6 @ 16 Sierra by IOI Properties

One Residence by Ideal Property Development Sdn Bhd

The Terresse by IOI Properties

Best Luxury Condo Development (Central Malaysia)

Mirage by the Lake by OSK Property Holdings Berhad

Vogue Suites 1 – KL Eco City Sdn Bhd (Subsidiary of S P Setia Berhad Group)

Best Mid-Range Condo Development (Central Malaysia)

H2O@Ara Damansara by Epoch Property Sdn Bhd

The Véo, Kuala Lumpur by Sime Darby Property Berhad

Vina Versatile Homes @ Cheras by Mitraland

Best Luxury Condo Development (South & East Malaysia)

Astaka @ Bukit Senyum by Astaka Padu Sdn Bhd

SilverScape @ Hatten City by Hatten Group Sdn Bhd

The Republic by Elica Sdn Bhd

Best Housing Development (South & East Malaysia)

Foresta Precinct by SP Setia Berhad

Senibong Cove by Front Concept Sdn Bhd

Taman Rimba Phase 3, Ramindah Sdn Bhd (Wah Mie Group)

Best Commercial Development

Capital City by Capital City Property Sdn Bhd

Pacific Parade by Pacific Sanctuary Holdings Sdn Bhd

WOLO Bukit Bintang by Mammoth Empire

DESIGN

Best Residential Architectural Design

Astaka @ Bukit Senyum by Astaka Padu Sdn Bhd

Mirage by the Lake by OSK Property Holdings Berhad

Senibong Cove by Front Concept Sdn Bhd

Vogue Suites 1 – KL Eco City Sdn Bhd (Subsidiary of S P Setia Berhad Group)

Best Commercial Architectural Design

Atria by OSK Property Holdings Berhad

WOLO Bukit Bintang by Mammoth Empire

Best Landscape Architectural Design

Mirage by the Lake by OSK Property Holdings Berhad

Senibong Cove by Front Concept Sdn Bhd

Setia Sky Residences by Exceljade Sdn Bhd (Subsidiary of S P Setia Bhd Group)

Best Residential Interior Design

Mirage by the Lake by OSK Property Holdings Berhad

Senibong Cove by Front Concept Sdn Bhd

Setia Sky Residences by Exceljade Sdn Bhd (Subsidiary of S P Setia Bhd Group)

Best Hotel Interior Design

WOLO Bukit Bintang by Mammoth Empire

Note:
 The ‘Best of the Best’ accolades for
Best Commercial Development (Malaysia)
,
Best Housing Development (Malaysia)
and
 Best Condo Development (Malaysia)
will be announced on the gala night.

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SEAPA Malaysia 2014 – Best Developer Award – Sunway Berhad

If you ask me what are the top three criteria I would consider before I buy a property, none of it would by the awards that the property developer has won. Seriously, I have not heard of many friends who buy a project because the developer has won lots of awards. If this is the case, then I think only the projects from the award winning developers would sell. Most of the time, smaller developers would find it tougher to even qualify and compete against bigger ones. If however you ask me, if both projects are similar, then how would I choose, I would tell you that I would choose the one with awards. Especially the international ones. I have not bought any properties by Sunway Berhad yet but congratulations to them for winning this and representing Malaysia.

The more recent one was South East Asia Property Awards. (SEAPA). The developer awards are judged based on a total of five criterias, which includes reputation image and CSR, quality of projects, track record, innovation and major achievements. The development awards on the other hand are judged based on seven criteria including design and amenities, location, value for money, use of space, construction and materials, unique selling points, state of completion and sales success. The Award recognizes the high calibre work within the Asian real estate industry, encompassing construction, architecture and interior design. Started in Thailand in 2005, the Asia Property Awards have since expanded to reward developments, consultants, architects and designers in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

One developer stood out as the winner of the “Best Developer’ at SEAPA Malaysia 2014. Sunway Berhad bagged a total of four awards at the Southeast Asia Property Awards Malaysia 2014 at its Gala Dinner held at Westin Kuala Lumpur recently.  Sunway Berhad came out on top for the Best Developer category, Sunway Wellesley Penang received Best Housing Development (North Malaysia) category. Sunway Montana received Best Housing Development (Central Malaysia) category while Sunway Lenang Heights Southern Region received the Highly Commended under the Best Housing Development (South Malaysia) category.

Sunway Wellesley is Sunway Property’s first residential development in mainland Penang. The 82 acre development with stunning contemporary homes adorned with lush feature-rich landscape is located in Bukit Mertajam with a total gross development value of RM 800 million.

Sunway Montana is a freehold green development in the pristine Desa Melawati with a 14 acre park inclusive of a skywalk and a RM 10 million clubhouse. Merely 13km away from KLCC, each abode is designed with the latest sustainable innovation.

Sunway Lenang Heights is an exclusive gated freehold 88 acre residential development situated at Taman Molek, Johor Bahru. With 60% green, the development features lush landscaping with extensive parks and an ultramodern clubhouse.

Sunway Berhad will join the winners from Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam to compete at the grand finale South East Asia Property Awards on October 16 in Singapore.

written on 31 Aug 2014

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Expert Series: South East Asia Property Awards 2015, for better developments

Terry Blackburn is one of the founding partners of Ensign Media in 2003 and was the founding editor of Property Report magazine. He oversaw the title’s expansion to become Asia’s leading media platform for luxury real estate, architecture and design. Remaining committed to Southeast Asia’s vibrant and emerging markets, he started in 2006 the highly successful Asia Property Awards series in Thailand, and over the years has expanded to Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam as it celebrates its tenth year in 2015.

1) Based on your experience, why are these awards very important to both the developers as well as the potential buyers?

The awards are judged by an independent panel of judges who are all experts in real estate and overseen by BDO one of the world’s largest auditing firms. All shortlisted properties are guaranteed site inspections, so we believe that our system is the most rigorous and detailed awards process anywhere and can be a benchmark for quality real estate. Whilst a buyer should always be very diligent and detailed when making any property purchase, we do believe that they can have an extra degree of confidence in South East Asia Property Award award winning properties. Any developer that wants to win an award has to deliver an exceptional product, which is presumably a good thing for them and raising standards in the market.

2) Sometimes, It is said that these awards normally favour the bigger developers. In your experience thus far, do smaller developers have the same chance to win?

Absolutely. The awards are primarily focused on developments, rather than developers. The judges are looking at the quality and merits of each development and their is certainly no bias towards big developers in that process. If is inevitable that the biggest companies will be more represented at the awards in general, but that’s only because they have more developments. In all the markets we work in, we often find its the boutique developers working outside the capital city that have the most innovative and high quality luxury products.

3) With the focus now being on ‘mid-level,’ are the developers under pressure to give more quality for less money?

I think that’s true in any market, as standards have to raised all the time to stand out from the competition, which is good news for buyers. Most developers want to market their property as luxury, so that’s why we have clearly defined price bands to differentiate between mid-range and luxury to keep it clear.

4) If Malaysia should benchmark another more developed property market for further improvements and refinements, which country should it be and why?

Thailand, because developers there have long had to innovate and improve in order to introduce a whole generation to the idea of condo living and to attract foreign buyers and capital. Also I would love to see Malaysia have resort property markets as diverse and developed as Phuket, Samui, Hua Hin and Pattaya.

Thanks Terry. Wishing your SEAPA journey a continuous success.

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Second behind Hong Kong is still pretty amazing, really.

A report by Cushman & Wakefield said that Singapore is the second most preferred outbound destination in Asia by mainland Chinese investors. The main reasons include an abundant liquidity among wealthy investors, investment institutions and developers, coupled with the currently strong renminbi. Another reason was because of the slowing real estate market back home in China. A total of US$3.23 billion was poured into Singapore’s real estate market for 2008 to June 2014. Hong Kong was top in the same period with a total of US$3.84 billion being invested. It said that despite US and UK being a favourite as it was much more matured, Southeast Asia including Malaysia is now favoured too. Within the same period, a total of US$2.07 billion was invested into Malaysia as well.

I think we can see that Southeast Asia is likely to emerge victorious in the next few years when compared to Hong Kong. The main reason I feel so is because of the better potential in terms of returns. As it is today, Hong Kong’s property market is already way too expensive for its people when compared to Singapore or Malaysia. The median house price in Hong Kong versus the median income is close to 15 times! Comparatively, Singapore is 5.1 times and Malaysia is 5.5 times. This is based on a survey by US-based Demographia. In other words, assuming a China investor has all these information, it may be more prudent and potentially more profitable to invest in Malaysia or Singapore. Besides, investing a lesser amount in Malaysia is likely to yield them landed property while in Singapore, the China investors may live in a better condition with a really nice seaview at Sentosa island.

The China property market will not suddenly rebound because even its GDP growth has slowed down to less than 7.5% in the last quarter. As its property market has cooled down way too much to the government’s liking, it has even started to warm it up via loosening measures. Read here:
China Property Market Boost – All the measures
. Iskandar has shown the first decrease in house price for many years last quarter. Singapore property prices has continued to be erratic. Dropping in prices for both the HDB and luxury condos but demand remain strong as shown by a few very successful launches recently. Anyway, even if more buying come from the China buyers, It would not affect both markets too much currently as the % is still considered small compared to the overall market. However, it will provide another good support to both property markets. This is why, despite being ranked second (Singapore) or even Malaysia with a significant amount recorded, both markets should be happy. 🙂

written on 20 Nov 2014

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Second Penang Bridge, Second Chance for Batu Kawan

I drove past the second Penang Bridge today, from Batu Maung to Batu Kawan. Halfway through, I saw many cars stopping and I followed. Took a few photos and continued driving. It was a very nice experience. I felt proud that this is once again the longest Bridge in South East Asia. This is also where I would be running my very first full marathon. I completed a half-marathon before a few years ago. As I reached the end of the bridge and into Batu Kawan I felt that perhaps, with the second bridge, Batu Kawan may have a second chance.

My friend from Ipoh and in fact many bought into the fact that the second bridge may potentially be a catalyst and bought properties in Batu Kawan many years ago. Well, my friend has never stayed there yet because he had wanted to sell but the price was not right. I do not think the price may suddenly go up but I now have a positive feeling. If a reputable developer launches a proper condominium project at an attractive price, say Rm350psf for their first phase? I may just buy one, or at least I would make an effort to view their show unit, bringing along many friends as usual.

I saw large pieces of lands on my left and on my right and my father who was with me in my car said, ‘I think they will build here soon’. I told him, I seriously think they would. Many huge developers have planted their flags on Batu Kawan. Though very far away still but IKEA is coming in 2020. Before that we have a UK university, University of Southampton opening its doors first. Yes, this is the same Southampton in the English Premier League which has been doing pretty well this season. Any possibility for the final assurance? New Penang international airport? Triple its current size?

written on 2 march 2014

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Secondary condo, Secondary landed. Buying one.

A friend asked me the other day, ‘if I were to buy a secondary condo and it’s already 15 years, I think I have to do a lot of stuffs, the piping, the wiring etc.’ Then he said, better buy landed, not so problematic. Yes, it is true. For example, piping may not be easy to do if there are leaks from the unit above. You may need to talk nicely to the owner above you, persuade him, push him or by sharing the cost and if all fails, push by saying you pay for the cost but they will have to be without that toilet for many days. Still, potentially solvable. Coming back to piping and wiring for landed properties. Seriously, if you are buying a landed property of 15 years or higher, you have better include the piping and wiring as part of your compulsory to do items. Do not renovate the whole house and after staying there for a few months, the pipes burst or the wiring caused a small fire. Old houses…. These do happen.

Ok, since both of these may happen, which one should you choose then? As usual, look back at the three most important things.

Own stay. Staying with family, including your parents and babies? I think landed is better but only if you can find one which is single storey or there’s a nice room downstairs for your parents. Otherwise, if you expect them to move up and down everyday, it’s pretty taxing for them too. Another reason is because if you stay at condos, even at 5th floor you are bound to get worried if your kids runs around here and there or climbs. Before you say, yeah, landed is best for big families, let me add there are also huge condos on the ground floor or 1st floor which also meets these. Few though.

Budget. Truth is, this is not much of an issue. You can still buy landed, further away. Think Sungai Buloh. Think Bandar Sungai Long. Think Rawang? Not everyone can afford Desa Park City and I do not think everyone who’s rich MUST stay in Desa Park City. After all, the prices of Desa Park City also started from the prices of the landed properties in the faraway areas of today. If you can accept condos, then for the same price, you can definitely get somewhere closer to popular areas.

Investment. Majority of everyone whom I know said landed is better. I think I have to agree. Do be reminded that while landed prices would be the ones going up first and followed by high rise, it also means the prices of high rise would rise in tandem with landed. Prices of condos would not lead those of landed, at least not yet. If I am able to afford it, I would buy two condos in a new growth areas instead of one landed at a matured neighbourhood.

I think my friend would most probably be buying a landed. It’s for own stay and he said he does not need a huge one, perhaps a terrace would do just fine. Perhaps then landed is preferable.

written on 6 Sept 2014

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Penang: Secondary property market remained strong for 2016

In an article in
Starbiz
, Raine & Horne Malaysia senior partner Michael Geh shared his personal views about the state of the property market in Penang for 2016. He said that while the general property market is experiencing a slowdown, the secondary market remained strong. He shared, “In the first six months of this year, the secondary market recorded 5,658 transactions valued at RM2.17bil. In comparison, only 1,040 units valued at RM478mil were transacted in the primary market. This means the secondary market makes up 84% of the total transacted units for the first half of this year. When compared to the same period last year, the secondary market saw a drop of about 13% in transactions and 15% drop in value transacted.

Other things he shared was that
secondary market transactions
 were four times more than the primary market. In other words, Besides that, 77 percent of all transactions done were for properties priced RM500,000 and below while 16 percent are for properties priced above RM500,000 while those of over RM1 million and above was 7 percent. According to Napic, new launches in Johor and Penang has declined by 42.8 percent to 9,428 units and 47.5 percent to 2,348 units respectively. Geh expects a flat 2017, something similar for 2016. Do not that when declines happen, the effects would only be felt a few years later, should growth of demand suddenly rushes back. The reason is simple, demand can increase due to better sentiments but new homes could not be completed overnight.

One good friend bought a new condo with some sea views just recently. He said he wanted to buy one earlier but the prices was just too ‘crazy.’ Then, he found one deal a few months ago which is to his liking. He will be moving into the condo with his wife and one daughter in the near future. As someone who worked in Penang till 2013 before moving to KL, I was quite certain that in 2012, the property market was
getting way too speculative
. Everyone and anyone was talking about new launches. Fortunately, these days, the talks about property is about the value instead of the sudden profits. I have just learnt that Sungai Ara already has a Mc.Donalds. So much for those who told me that Sungai Ara is too ‘secondary’ and that I better buy other hotspots. Haha. Cheers to the Penang property market.

written on 6 Oct 2016

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Sometimes, secondary property is a better choice.

Three good friends visited me just days ago.I brought them around the park inside my condominium. They asked, ‘I like the park and it’s well maintained. Why is the price still so low?’ I told them that the area is not a hotspot loved by many. It’s Damansara Damai. Read here:
Damansara North? Glamour name for Damansara Damai

Secondly, the property is a secondary one and they were comparing it to the new launches of today. Truth is, secondary properties which did not join the sudden rise in prices have not caught up with the prices of newer condos of today and even those within the market.

Many associate secondary properties with more hassle, dirtier and inability to do own renovations. Actually, is ‘own renovations’ really so important that we want to pay easily 20-30% extra, if not higher? Plus, the waiting period for the next few years especially for the new launches? Everyone have their own choices of course and no one is right or wrong. However, a check online at propertyguru.com.my would easily show why the prices of secondary properties are easily 20-30 percent cheaper. Look at the price per sq ft. How many new launches in the market today which are not in the middle of nowhere is priced at the same as those in the secondary market? Majority would be easily 10-15% higher if not more.

Secondly, do note that most of these secondary properties would already have been renovated which meant that we would do lesser renovations and save even more. The home I am staying now, the owner left one whole set of IKEA kitchen cabinets, six air-conditioners, a twin-door fridge and the whole home was renovated with built in cabinets. We can do a rough calculation and understand why we may save a lot when we buy such units. Yes, some of these new launches provide renovations etc but when we look at the prices, it would be even higher than those launched without these renovation packages included.

There are lots of reasons why buying a new property is better and I agree with them. In fact I have bought more new properties than secondary properties as at today. However, when we need a place to stay and we are able to know our needs versus thinking that secondary would mean a less attractive choice, then do understand my points again. The three friends who visited me? One happened to be a couple who had just registered (marriage). Another is renting a room in KL and his girlfriend would be joining him in a few months time. Tell me, for the three of them, what would have been a better option? Happy choosing and buying whichever we like.

written on 1 Jan 2016

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Buying in the secondary market

My first property was purchased from the secondary market. I then upgraded to a bigger unit by buying into a new development. After 14 years in Penang, I moved to KL for the past 5 years and my current home is also from the secondary market. Personally, depending on our actual need, it can be a new project or it can also be a secondary unit. Both have their own advantages but below would be an article on why buy from the secondary market. Happy reading.

This article first appeared in Property Hunter magazine December 2017 Issue.

— start —

Buying in the secondary market

Beyond new property launches, there is also the vibrant secondary property market. In fact, the secondary market makes up the majority of property transactions. As someone who has purchased from both the developers as well as owners, let me share that both do have their advantages. Today, let’s focus on the secondary market.

Time.
 If you need a property that you could move in sooner rather than later, then the secondary property market fits the bill. Renting a place will make the owner richer. Buying a place would make you richer instead, even if not in the medium term. In fact, in many cases, when it comes to secondary properties, it is possible to negotiate with the owner for access to the property earlier so that your renovation planning can start sooner. Yes, as an owner, I have granted this flexibility before as long as all the documentations are already completed and I have confidence with the buyer.

Price.
 There are bargains in the secondary property market. A close friend managed to buy a condo unit near KLCC for RM100,000 below the usual market price. The reason? She was keeping an eye on the development EVERYDAY and she called the real estate negotiator within 5 minutes of the advert being released by the owner. Why was it RM100,000 below the market price? The owner was moving back to Hong Kong and did not want to wait for other buyers. The idea of getting into more negotiations wasn’t appealing and the owner didn’t want the hassle.

Choices.
 Let’s be savvy about this fact. The number of new launches can never beat the number of available secondary units. Choose the area you like, drive around and even explore the neighbourhoods next door. Understanding all the different choices, putting them down into Microsoft Excel helps too. Plenty of times, people miss out on good deals with low prices simply because they are too pre-occupied with the usual few hotspots.

Have a look at what you want to buy before you buy. You can view the actual unit. You can chat with your potential neighbours. You can touch the actual walls and walk around a bit. You can even negotiate for a lower price if there are issues and things which are really not working. You can also drive around the area in the morning and in the evening to know what the dynamics are. Last but not least, you can read reviews online for the good, the bad and the ugly.

Beyond just the usual advantages, however, do note that secondary properties may also mean some renovations are necessary. You may not like what the previous owner has done to the unit. Be reminded that you can change it! That’s the reason why higher renovation costs may not correspond to higher property prices when the owner wants to sell in the future.

Secondary units may not evoke emotions comparable to owning a new place complete with a new coat of paint, fully functioning facilities and even the excitement of meeting new neighbours, equally excited, who bought the unit next to yours. Normally one may share a lot more in common with these new neighbours versus moving into a new area where the people have been staying there for the past 10 years, with you being the ‘newbie’ to the area. It does take a bit more time to get to know everyone.

The most important thing is that you love what you buy. To love what you buy, you need to get to know what you buy. To get to know what you buy, it is important to view, view and view before buying. Property investment starts from the second market onwards. Buy your first one, enjoy it and perhaps upgrade in the near future. For those with kids, it is even more important to hedge for their future with property investments. Whether it’s secondary or new ones, I wish you happy buying.

— end —

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Secondary property market, now?

Personally, whenever market slows down, it should be a good time for some bargain hunting. This is especially so when the market has been booming  for many years and if you drive past a lot of condos these days, a lot of it are unoccupied even if owned by someone. If we were to refer to online websites, there are still a lot of very affordable properties, just that it may not be in a location you love. Areas such as Damansara Damai, Selayang, Sungai Buloh or Rawang can not be compared to Bangsar, Mont Kiara or Desa Park city. Surprisingly a lot of the properties in these less favourable area are not even half of the typical prices in the popular areas. During booming times, every few months, the price would increase. I think currently, the prices are quite stable if not lower if there are a lot of desperate sellers.

This is especially true for any new projects which has just been completed a few months. If there are 500 units and only 50% of the units are put up for sale, we are talking about a huge amount of available units for sale. Prices would be under pressure and if you are a buyer, you should move in now. As soon as the supply starts to becoming much lesser, the owners would get back their negotiation powers and soon enough, if the project is indeed undervalued compared to the surrounding peers, you would have lost the chance.

If possible, do your own homework, jot down the properties you like to buy in property sites, look at them again every few weeks. Some properties are still there. These would be good targets. Please do not have false hopes. Prices are not going to come down 20% unless some kind of bubble bursts. The bubble cannot burst because if the property prices comes down 20%, developers would stop launching new projects and supply would shrink in the coming future. To me, if you buy a property undervalued by 10% compared to similar units, it’s a sign to buy.

I have read about CIMB analysts saying the market would recover by H2 of next year. I have also heard that prices would be stagnant throughout 2014. However, there has been zero report that the bubble would definitely burst in 2014. Buyers, it’s your market now. Don’t simply buy overvalued properties but don’t miss the boat.

written on 26 dec 2013.

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Happy news. Secondary property market slowed down but is back to pre-MCO levels.

Frankly, when MCO started, it’s a certainty that the secondary property market slowed down. I mean, even buying grocery is limited to the ‘ketua keluarga’ which fortunately is me. Else, I would have gone crazy if I am not allowed to come out and spend some money to buy groceries. What about you?  Okay, they say buy grocery, did they say you can also buy secondary property? Answer is no and the property developer’s sales galleries were closed too. In other words, due to the circumstances, the secondary property market slowed down.

By the way, even the primary market would have slowed down too though we could see many developers saying that because they moved to online, they continue to enjoy bookings. Perhaps it is true that some enjoyed good bookings, especially those targeted at home sweet home buyers versus those looking to buy investment products. I mean if the baby is really coming and I need a new home and I still have my job, it is still a go-ahead for me.

Article in themalaysianreserve.com
 . When the Movement Control Order (MCO) started, it affected the transactions in the secondary property market tremendously. Briefly, the secondary property market slowed down because no one could view homes.

Besides this, the government-backed Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) offered only in the primary market too.

Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) president-elect Chan Ai Cheng said the secondary market was severely affected by the Movement Control Order (MCO) as physical property viewing, which is a must for sub-sale homes, was made logistically complicated for buyers. She said, “Property tour is a must in order to allow potential buyers to see the upkeep, interiors and renovations made to the property on offer, among other factors.” She also shared that this slow down did not last. By June, the number of transactions in the secondary market has returned to pre-MCO number of transactions.   Please do refer to the full article here:
Article in themalaysianreserve.com

If you think the secondary property market slowed down, then it’s a good time to think about the secondary property market too.
No one is buying property. Please also see secondary
  As for the HOC, just remember that not all properties are the same just because they offer the same discount in percentage.  Understand what you really need and compare the prices. Higher discount still have nothing to do with undervalued properties.

Higher prices do not mean it is inferior versus cheaper products. There are certainly reasons why some locations are more expensive and why some locations are much cheaper yeah. My good friend always say that one should just buy where everyone wants to buy into. My take is simple, if it’s your home, buy where you are most comfortable with. If it’s for investment, then look at rental as a start and not the location or the price. Think about it. I think it makes perfect financial sense. Happy deciding.

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Secondary Property Market – Volume Down, Value Remain

A close friend told me today that our common friend is looking for a bigger place, preferably over 1,000sf for RM600,000 and in the middle of Tanjung Bungah and Bayan Baru. She does not want Jelutong. I told my close friend, ‘Don’t worry, just wait….. and wait….. and wait…..’. Yet, I feel if she has a chance of buying one which meets her expectation, it may just be this year. Reason being, after 4 years of continuous price increase, the market has slowed down this year. So many cooling measures, tougher lending requirements by BNM as well as negative sentiments meant that the market is declining.

In fact, according to Michael Geh who’s a committee member of MIEA Penang, the transaction volume for Penang’s secondary market for the first half of this year will be declining, especially due to the bank’s tightening measures. Nevertheless, value is expected to remain. In fact the decline in transactions may be up to 15%! He also said that the Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Bridge (Second Penang Bridge) would be a positive catalyst to the secondary market and it will push demands up in Batu Maung (on the island), Batu Kawan, Bukit Tambun and Sungai Bakap on the mainland.

No one knows when the market sentiment would be more positive. However, one thing is quite certain, with the cost of land, materials and construction, we no longer see developers launching any projects which are priced at RM450psf or below. In fact last year, before the slowdown, every new project launched was already above RM550psf. Thus, if we are looking at a 1,200 sf condo project, it would easily be around RM600,000 and this is not even available in areas such as Greenlane or Tanjung Bungah or even Jelutong. In such hotspots, the demand has pushed prices to continue going up. Solution for our common friend? Perhaps Sungai Ara or Bayan Baru may be an alternative even if her working place is in the town area.

A quick search online yields the following result:

written on 28 March 2014

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