[Paid Review] Today, we have with us the person behind Grace Residence, Annie the MD for Nova Mulia. We will look at all the WHYs for Grace Residence, from before it happened to when it was happening and what’s up today and future too.

The Story of Grace Residence @ Jelutong, Penang

Annie, first of all, how did you decide on the name? What does it mean?

The development is in Jelutong. It’s a busy area neighbouring Greenlane, Gelugor and Unesco Heritage City, Georgetown. What we have in mind was also to build a home with quality, for the family and with a luxury feel. I felt the name should reflect all these attributes. I wanted a sophisticated name. Then one day, I was browsing through a book with names in a bookstore. I prayed and I opened the page and the first name which caught my eyes was Grace. I closed the book, randomly flipped open again and I saw the same page again. This time, I read through the meaning of Grace and I realized this is the name I was looking for.

Grace meant smoothness of elegance in movement. Grace also meant courteous goodwill. I knew then that I need to ensure everything I put into Grace Residence must reflect both these positive meanings. When you drive in, when you drop by the gym and even when you walk along the corridors, everything should be on a logical flow and the materials used must project elegance.

I also know that many buyers of my previous projects will be buying this one too. I must give them the benefit of doubt. I must give them goodwill. That’s how we decided on the name for Grace Residence.

Currently, where are most of your buyers come from? Who are your targeted owners?

Many are Penangite families but we have a big group of owners coming from out of Penang too. For example, from Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Kedah and even as far as Johor. Many said that Penang is the best place to retire and for now, the best place for a weekend getaway. For Penangites, many of them may have a landed home but Grace Residence gives them the flexibility to have a staycation anytime and to host their friends whenever needed.

They did not buy Grace Residence because they wanted to do AirBnB or short term stay business. If it’s for this purpose, there are a lot more higher density places and cheaper overall price too. This is why when you buy a unit in Grace Residence, you are buying into a community, a small and friendly one since there are just over 300 units here in Grace Residence.

We also have buyers who were staying in older landed homes here in Penang who wish to have a contemporary and spacious home. This is a home they could drop by anytime they like or even make the move to a home higher up and this comes with a view. In fact if the property which was bought many years ago has appreciated in price, it is possible to take a refinance, rent out that old unit and buy into Grace Residence as an upgrade too.

Grace Residence is in Jelutong, Penang. Could you tell us a little more about this location?

Jelutong has been an area for residential for a very long time. Grace Residence is a freehold development within Jelutong. What has happened in the last 10 years or so is that Jelutong has now become an ideal place to stay and perhaps to raise a family too. It’s neighbouring Greenlane, Gelugor and Unesco Heritage City, Georgetown. An owner with a home in Jelutong could basically be anywhere within Penang island and even mainland within less than half an hour. Whether it’s going to work in the Bayan Lepas Industrial Area or to bring friends for a stroll in Georgetown city centre or even to catch a flight via the Penang International Airport, Jelutong gives you that convenience in location.

Briefly, it is near enough to all the places one may want to go and yet you get tranquility because it’s not beside a main road with lots of cars or too near a place where hundreds and thousands of tourists would pass daily. I am a very friendly person but I still need a home sweet home to come home to everyday after a busy day.

Let’s not forget all the delicious food one could get within minutes and if really needed, you could walk to the food places too. Just need to remember, in Malaysia, it’s summer the whole year round.

How has Covid-19 affected Grace Residence thus far?

I do think that COVID-19 has changed a lot of things. Everyone knows that a mask is necessary. Social distancing is now a norm and it may be a norm for years to come. It has changed how people view the need for space, for social distancing and yet have the access to some creature comforts and not just get cooped every day inside the home.

Grace Residence fits this need. For example, our units are large-sized and every floor has just 12 units. That’s not all because that corridor space between the door to your unit and the unit opposite to you is 24 feet. This gives everyone the space they need. We want to smile and have conversations with all our friendly neighbours but space has now become a necessity.

From the beginning, Grace Residence’s focus was on the owners and thus we set out to maximise the space which owners could enjoy. Beyond just wide corridors, we make the corridors airy and bright to give that cozy feeling as we walk back to our unit.

Beyond just the corridors, we made sure there were enough lifts to cater to owners. Access to the floors are via 5 lifts. This helps tremendously because social distancing is also needed when it comes to using the lifts and the more lifts, the faster you could get to your unit too.

When owners step into their unit, they would feel that their unit looks bigger too. The reason is because instead of the typical 9 ft or 10 ft ceiling like most high-rise units, Grace Residence units come with 11 ft ceiling which is really a luxury to have. If a developer provides 10 ft ceiling instead of 11 ft, then they could build an extra floor every 10 floors. Grace Residence decided that 11 ft is a better benefit for our owners.

When it comes to security, we take this seriously. The card access only allows the owner to go to their floor. All these helped in minimizing the need for lots of contacts which is really what everyone is trying to do currently.

Besides yourself, how big is the team supporting you?

We are considered a boutique developer. We are very focused on every project we do. I have a young team who gives me lots of good ideas as they are the future generation. Many of them are in the sales team. At the same time, I have many established industry partners whom I work closely. They have lots of industry experience and this is very vital because we want the best for Grace Residence. These are the partners whom I have been working together for a very long time.

Tell us what are your thoughts about Penang for the future?

In my personal opinion, Penang is the best state in Malaysia. It’s small and it’s vibrant. Everything you need, you have it and you could have access to it within a short time. That’s convenience and accessibility.

When it comes to the state economy, we are an E&E hub, we are Malaysia’s top destination for medical tourism and when it comes to career, we have a lot to offer too. From multinational corporations down to the local SMEs, they are all working in-tandem here in Penang. We have a very healthy expat community here in Penang too.

Based on location, Penang is in the central location within South East Asia. Penang’s North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT) has been gazetted as a free commercial zone (FCZ) effective Feb 1, 2021. This is another positive development and according to a report, within 2021 itself, the NBCT will achieve a transhipment throughput of 50,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) this year. This is only for the first year. Depending on the floor you are in at Grace Residence, you could see the port too. From the balcony, we could see the significant growth and expansion progressively.

Penang is also a favourite place for Malaysians when it comes to holiday and before COVID-19 wreaked havoc, we welcome foreign tourists in the millions every year. It has been known as the Pearl of the Orient for a very long time but these days, it’s known as a UNESCO Heritage city too.

You can see, whether economically, socially and even geographically, it’s hard to go wrong with Penang. When it comes to investment, I think Penang has it all. I need to add that Grace Residence is a freehold property too. Technically, you own it forever. This is the same whether you are a Malaysian or a foreigner.

Last but not least, Grace Residence is a project started and completed with vision, mission and determination. My wish is for all our owners and potential owners of Grace Residence to enjoy what we have set out to do for Grace Residence. I offer this quote which has guided me. “When there is a will there is a way. Never lose faith and never give up to make your dream come true.”

Thank you Annie for this frank sharing session.

Interested to learn about the potential lifestyle if you stay in Grace Residence? Read it here:
Grace Residence: There’s no place like home sweet home (????????)

If you are interested to secure a viewing appointment below are the contact details:

Address:  1-02-02, Jalan Ahmad Nor, Pusat Perdagangan Nova, 11600, Penang

Call us @ +604 – 282 0577 / +6012 – 421 1376

Email us:
info@novamulia.com

Download the brochure here.

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Press Release: Grand Damansara Sees Strong Take Up At Its Launch

PETALING JAYA, 10 August 2023:
 Grand Global, an established property developer with projects in Malaysia and Australia, recently recorded an impressive 53% take up of its second residential tower at its latest integrated development project within a week of its launch. The success of Grand Damansara, nestled in the heart of Petaling Jaya, signals continued robust demand for well-located integrated developments.

“Grand Damansara’s amazing response has surpassed our expectations,” stated Song Chin Yew, Executive Director of Grand Global.   “The impressive sales reflects not only pent-up demand for premium and strategically located residential property but also the distinct appeal of our latest project, which offers an integrated living experience within a mature suburb,” said Song.

Song also attributed Grand Damansara’s success to its collaboration with Didian, a Malaysian proptech firm that operates a property marketplace for agents and agencies to connect with development projects from Malaysia’s most reputable developers.   Standing tall at 40-storeys, the development offers four types of unit configurations, from 1+1 room units to three-bedroom apartments, ensuring there’s an option for every lifestyle. Prices for entry units start from RM 435,800, with the 2+1 units from RM 637,800 and RM 806,800 for the three-bedroom, two-bathroom units.

Grand Global, developer of Grand Damansara also attributed its success to its collaboration with Didian, a Malaysian proptech firm. (From left) Ng Han Yang, Head of Business Development at Didian, Chow Nam Kit, Director of Didian and Song Chin Yew, Executive Director of Grand Global.

Residents can also enjoy 28 state-of-the-art facilities including a swimming pool, jacuzzi, children’s playground, communal kitchen, and more.   “We’re particularly delighted to see such strong interest from young couples, families, and first-time homeowners. This affirms our belief that Grand Damansara meets the needs of modern lifestyle preferences of our buyers who prescribe to the ideology of curating a lifestyle at your own pace. It presents the opportunity to live the good life and enjoy cherished moments of privacy and togetherness”, added Edison Toh, Head of Sales & Marketing at Grand Global.

The development presents a harmonious blend of lifestyle and residential units, seamlessly integrated by a podium deck and by retail shops on the ground and first floors. Anchoring the retail component will be beloved Malaysian fast-food chain, McDonald’s, which will be operating a drive-thru restaurant.

The development is within easy access of major highways such as the Sprint Highway and the North Klang Valley Expressway and is surrounded by well-established neighbourhoods, making it a coveted location for modern, city-savvy homeowners. Convenience is also a plus point as Grand Damansara is near seven shopping malls including Atria Shopping Gallery, the Starling Mall, Centrepoint Bandar Utama, 1 Utama Shopping Centre, 3 Damansara, Megah Rise Mall and Seventeen Mall.

Edison said, “There is an LRT station nearby which is within walking distance, allowing Grand Damansara residents to have convenient access to the entirety of Greater Kuala Lumpur. Grand Damansara isn’t just a residence; it’s a comprehensive lifestyle offering”.

The development has been meticulously designed by the award-winning architecture firms PI Architects with interiors by CHI Design Sdn Bhd. The lush landscapes are accredited to the craftsmanship of WDI Design Sdn Bhd, which set out to craft a tranquil urban oasis.

Grand Global, the force behind Grand Damansara, has a proven track record in delivering high-quality developments, including the award-winning Grand Medini, which was completed ahead of schedule. The developer also owns Laguna Redang Island Resort in Pulau Redang, further showcasing its capability in delivering exceptional lifestyle properties.

The tremendous success of Grand Damansara’s launch also fortifies Grand Global’s reputation as a visionary property developer committed to transforming perceptions of quality in real estate.

For more information on Grand Damansara, please visit
https://granddamansara.my/
 or call 010-210 8811 or 03-7725 5888.

-ENDS-

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Gravit8 – Experience the Lifestyle

[Branded]
  Gravit8 – Experience the Lifestyle

If you love Klang because you love Klang (and I know a lot of people love Klang) and you are now looking for a property to buy and want something which could accommodate the lifestyle you want, read on.

Klang has a population of close to 900,000 and this town has been a favourite place to stay because it’s small enough (everything’s not that far away) and big enough (you get everything you need). I have many friends who were born in Klang, schooled in Klang and despite working in the KL city centre, they are still staying in Klang. Their kids are schooled in Klang and well, you can imagine how the story would go.

These days however, with the growing working population of the millennials and the Gen-Z, the type of properties which are being offered are also changing and many are starting to cater to the lifestyle needs. One such project is Gravit8 (pronounced as gravitate) by Mitraland. They have been building homes for over 20 years and have established themselves as a boutique developer who has the ability to “Craft Lifestyles and Create Value” for purchasers.

Gravit8 is a contemporary styled freehold development complete with chic retail shops, corporate offices, a shopping mall and residences. This can also be a lifestyle hub for many people too. You may be interested with Ashino Residences and this residential development comes with lake-front living. Yes, even the lake looks contemporary.

Ashino Residences

Water elements have calming and relaxation effects; it also brings out feelings of wellbeing and mental energy. With all these positive benefits, it is no wonder why people are attracted to it – they could either go for a leisurely evening stroll, taking the dog out for some fresh air or even a jog around the Lakepark. Residents here have immediate access to an 8-acre Lakepark with green vistas and manicured landscaping, they are just an escalator ride away from their home.

8-acre Placemaking Lakepark

Beyond the centerpiece Lakepark, residents of Ashino Residences will also have a swimming pool, kids’ pool, jacuzzi, multifunctional court, gym, yoga deck, games room and fitness area too. Let’s be honest, we may not use all these daily but it’s really convenient to have it whenever we want access to it. And like its name, Ashino, which draws inspiration from the Ashinoko lake in Japan, there are zen elements infused into the design concept too.

3-acre facilities deck (Nordica & Adria Residences)

When we need to do some shopping, we could drop by Gravit8’s very own Pier8 retail mall. We would leave the office at 6pm and arrive home for a shower before walking to our very own mall within Gravit8 for a relaxing dinner. Worried about parking? You don’t have to as it’s just steps away from your home.

150,000 sq ft of retail space

If friends came visiting on that weekend afternoon and we like to have a cup of coffee and a slice of cake, this is also a very good introduction to your everything-in-one home too. I think Pier8 would be a place where you will visit many times in the future.

Gravit8 is well connected and is located along the Shah Alam Expressway (KESAS). It is also situated close to the Federal Highway. Nearby neighbourhoods include Kota Kemuning, Subang Jaya, Banting and Petaling Jaya. A drive to the KL city centre will take around 45 minutes.

If one prefers public transport, then there are existing KTM stations and also access to the upcoming latest LRT3 line; Bandar Utama–Klang line (Laluan Bandar Utama–Klang). Three stations are within minutes away they are the Bandar Botanic, Bukit Tinggi and Johan Setia stations.

Kindly register now at
https://bit.ly/MPTPropertyInvestment
  for our live talkshow “What is Lifestyle Property Investing? How do we manage and maximise it?”

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Great deals? Be careful. Don’t fall prey…

I am honoured to be invited by the
Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA)
to share my views on an interesting topic.  Don’t fall prey when looking for great property deals.  This is part of their MIEA Public Advisory (#MYREAL AGENTS) campaign. The session is on 11th April 2020 (Saturday) at 10am sharp. It has been too many days of Movement Control Order (MCO). Fortunately, I remember today is Thursday, so my session is 2 days later. Haha.

Joining me would be the CEO of MIEA Mr K. Soma Sundram who has vast knowledge in the real estate world. The session will be moderated by Mr Imran Clyde the Director of Nextdor Property Communications. Please do refer to the image for more information if needed yeah. Feel free to ask lots of questions too. I am not a real estate negotiator / agent and thus my views would be from the investor perspective.

Experience wise, I have personally bought properties from the developer and from the secondary properties market and currently owns properties in Penang, Selangor, Perak and Sabah. Hopefully I will be able to share some of my great and bad experience for the benefit of everyone. I think this is especially suitable for first-timers yeah. I will also share the reasons why I engage REA / RENs for my property transactions too.  See you!  I will share the LIVE session in my own FB page too.
So, click here on the date and time.

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Great Resignation is happening in many countries. Are you ready to resign?

Needing a job or leaving a job?

On one hand, people are saying that they need a job. On the other hand, many people we know are resigning. There are many reasons and some of them include suffering from burnout, hated the company, hated the manager, hated the low salary or a good and logical reason; leaving for a better role in responsibility and with higher salary. if we google just ‘great resignation’ in google.com, we have the following never-ending line of articles:

Great resignation is across all industries, countries

We can see that the great resignation happens across all industries and not just one. It happens all over the world in many countries and not just the usual advanced countries. In fact, it happens across all levels of positions and not just a certain level. Great resignation has now happened in Malaysia, according to one report from Ranstad Malaysia. Do read the article below.

Article in themalaysianreserve.com
    THE “great resignation” is already happening in Malaysia, according to Randstad Malaysia. Fahad Naeem, the head of operation for the leading recruitment agency, said from the Randstad Workmonitor survey, the percentage of respondents that have switched employers has increased seven-point, from 29% in March 2021 to 36% in September 2021.

He said, “Organisations that don’t keep up with employees’ expectations are more likely to lose their talent, and current employees may also start to feel more negatively towards their employers.”

The resignation reasons according to him include 51% of respondents value career growth opportunities, followed by opportunities to gain more long-term marketable skills (37%) and value working for a fast-growing company (30%).

Among factors for employers’ consideration include salary, employee benefits and work flexibility, especially with in-demand candidates who often have at least one job offer to consider. It’s a comprehensive article. Do read it here:
Article in themalaysianreserve.com

Money will always be an important factor

We can continue to have all academic research on reasons to resign but please remember this quote. “Money is not everything.” This meant that decisions are not necessary need to be money for EVERYTHING. However, it is in most other things. Many times, people hating their role may still be in the role because they have bills to pay. They still love the car they drive and would not want the car to be taken away.  They need a home and would not want to move back to staying in a room.

Many times, people hating their role are still around because the salary they were paid is higher versus all other roles which they have been offered but with a lower salary. Overpaid is certainly an issue for some people and it’s not just about underpaid all the time. If we are doing exactly the same thing every year but we are being paid ever higher, think about this seriously yeah. Demand and supply says that if someone could do the same thing we do for lower pay, this someone would soon get our job instead. It does not even have to be in the same country these days.

Happy resigning or decising or even staying around.

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Great view, good price, secondary condo in Penang

I was in Penang recently to visit my sister’s new baby. I took the opportunity to drop by my condominium which will be rented out soon. I love condos. I feel it’s hard to buy a landed home if the landed home does not come with a club house these days. A few days ago, I dropped by my ‘affordable’ condo in Penang last weekend and took some latest photos. The image on the left shows one part of the roof top garden which span the whole three blocks of the condo.

Total size of the garden? 20,000 sq ft. Not huge but definitely not small either. That’s 20 units of 1,000 sq ft condos. My own unit was undergoing a simple renovation so that I can choose to rent it out fully furnished soon. For Penang, I think it’s appropriate that any condo between RM500 – RM550 per sq ft be considered affordable?

Anyway, just minutes away would be Eastern & Oriental’s Straits Quay which is already over RM1,000 per sq ft. My affordable condo was completed in 2011 and its called The Peak Residences. It has an awesome rooftop garden which I think is unique. You can have a group your friends having barbecue party right at the top of the condo even.

Glad to say the management committee is very active and maintenance has been good thus far. Look at some of the latest photos I took a few days ago. Oh yeah, if the
maintenance is not good
, that’s possibly the end of the road for any high-rise. Coming to the price, actually it remains affordable. Whether it’s per sq ft or even absolute price. Honestly, prices in Penang is already slightly higher than those in KL, comparatively. Any 1,000 sq ft condo units, it’s hard to get anything below RM600,000.

Some of the latest listings as per the image. My unit is 1,100 sq ft and it’s only around RM600,000 or lower as per my agent even though listing wise, the prices seem to be higher. He said these days there has been cases where the owners are willing to sell at crazily low prices. I reminded him that the prices these owners bought and the lower prices still represent good profits. A good friend who owns a few landed properties said that my condo should easily be valued at RM900,000. I laughed and said, I don’t think it will be anytime soon. Will rent out, then wait and see what happens when the Penang property market recovers,in tandem with that of all major markets in Malaysia. To those who believe RM600,000 is a good price, it’s good to buy today. Happy buying, staying or waiting.

written on 23 May 2016

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Greater KL – Sungai Buloh

I am a firm believer in buying value. In terms of value, I am not talking about buying a property worth RM1 million and earning RM200,000. (20% return) I am more inclined on buying RM200,000 and earning RM60,000 which gives me 30% return. I know, some of you would disagree. That’s great for me too. At least not everyone would be buying where I am buying right? Today, I read a piece of news which I think is a catalyst to Sungai Buloh for many more years into the future. Bernama reported that Kwasa Land had just completed its pre-qualification exercise for the Kwasa Damansara township The pre-qualification was participated by 152 developers! The total land size for the project is 942ha. The developers would be shortlisted based on both qualitative and quantitative criterias. There were a few tiers which will be divided between large scale companies with paid-up capital of at least RM1 billion until the smaller Bumiputera companies with paid-up capital of RM1 million and above.

This new area of growth will have a forecasted population of 150,000 as well as an upcoming connection to the MRT. Actually, nearly every friend I know would tell me that Sungai Buloh is VERY FAR away from KL. Well, depending on the accuracy of google map, Sungai Buloh is between 21km – 24km away from KL City. Typical driving time is within 25 minutes IF there are no jam. I am presently staying in Kelana Jaya and every morning it takes me around 30 minutes to reach my office in downtown KL. Yes, I start my journey at 715am but I think this is very acceptable, especially if I can still buy a semi-detached home in Sungai Buloh for less than RM1 million. Tell me any of the hotspots nearby KL where you can get semi-de for even double this amount?

There has been many developments in Sungai Buloh, mostly sporadic and without a long term vision. With this new master development by Kawasa Land and eyed by 100 over developers, you can be rest assured that a lot of preliminary research has been done. Much more than what you and I can do ourselves. Think objectively, prices in hotspots cannot continue to rise until it reaches the moon while all these places which are around 20-25km continue to have low prices? Please do not tell me to predict the price, if anyone can do that, look at him and tell him he is just shooting in the dark. However, I can safely tell you that given same ratio in terms of pricing as currently, it is worth your time and effort in looking through this potential area.

Oh yeah, I am moving into an area known to be very far, very secluded and under developed and many more negative reasons; Damansara Damai. This is also right next to Sungai Buloh. Near MRT station. I have been there a couple of times and it took me just 12-15 minutes to reach Ikea / the Curve / 1 Utama. In terms of distance to my office, it would be an additional 2km. Oh yeah, my friend reminded me that I needed to pay Rm1.60 toll each time I go to office. I just smiled. I am still wearing my Calvin Klein jeans with 80% discount. That should cover the toll for a while. Haha.

written on 21 Jan 2014

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Ask 5 questions on property investment in Greater KL. Simple questions.

This is an article for working professionals working in Kuala Lumpur with a good monthly salary but still face limitations where property prices are concerned. Too many areas which we love but we could not afford. Too many areas with cheap price tags but we do not want or worried if the cheap price we bought into will remain cheap forever.  In the end, we think of settling for the easiest decision; renting into a very nice place in a very nice neighbourhood since the rental which we will need to pay will be below the mortgage.

#1 – Will property market be depressed forever?
  If the decision is to rent forever, then please wish that property market will be depressed forever yeah. Else, once recovery starts and more people starts buying, the prices will move up and so would the rental. Rental seldom moves ahead of property price because fundamentally, that’s not how it happens. Rental is determined by price because no one would want to rent below their monthly mortgage unless they have no choice. This is why when good market returns, rental will also return to their usual place which is slightly above the monthly mortgage. Right now, tenants have upper hand.

#2 – Will population growth slows down for Greater Kuala Lumpur?
 Image shows the current population growth for Greater Kuala Lumpur. From 1990 all the way to 2019, the average is around 200,000 new people every year. In other words, demand is definitely growing even if the current market where rental vs price does not really show it. Graduations of fresh graduates are also continuing. A couple of hundred thousands of them actually, every year. Even assuming just 50% of them actually move to Greater Kuala Lumpur, the demand is still continuing.

#3 – Can mature / popular areas get bigger?
 There are two ways to buy a property in a mature and popular neighbourhood. #1: we hope that prices in these mature / popular areas suddenly drop a lot and no one wanted to buy. If it dropped but many wants to buy, then prices will move up very soon.  #2:  Somehow our monthly salary grows much faster than the property price. If this could be done, yes, you will get to buy into that mature / popular area very soon as it will become affordable to you. Not to everyone because their salary may not be growing faster but for you because your salary growth is faster than the property price.

#4 – Will out of city places ever be popular?
 In case, one has not been outside of Kuala Lumpur postcode for many years, perhaps good to travel a bit. Puchong is no longer just Puchong… It is now much bigger and seems much closer to Cyberjaya and Putrajaya too. Seremban may have been seen as mature and aged but Seremban 2 is definitely vibrant and new. Sungai Buloh is definitely not just that new village today yeah… Just google for BRP Sungai Buloh and one gets 717,000 search results today (10th June 2020). These are just the usual few examples, there are more. Changes are definitely happening further away from the city as well, not just within the city centre.

#5 – Will property prices go up or come down?
 Actually, this is not even the right question to ask. Historically, drawing a line will definitely show an uptrend. However, the most relevant question to all of us, whether we own or do not own a property is this: Value of Money. Is the value of money going to become bigger every passing year or will the value get smaller every passing year?  The fact is, we get increments because the value of money is getting smaller. Thus, if we work for 5 years without any increment, we would realise that we could buy fewer and fewer things!  When value of money gets smaller, the price goes up because for the same property you will have to pay more…

For those who now thinks that perhaps it may be better to buy versus keep on renting and making the owner ever richer, you may be right.  For those who think better rent so that I can save more money and use it to invest into higher return assets and not property, you are also right. However, to those who are renting and NOT saving money and investing, you are definitely going to be wrong.  To those who are simply buying just to escape from renting, you are also wrong too.

Okay, for those who are already super-wealthy and renting or buying is not even an important question, do not think so much.  Just enjoy your life because life is not just about property. It’s about being comfortable too. Until that day though, do think
about saving, investing and protecting what you have. (Read here)
. Hope these 5 questions could get us thinking. Else, please send me more questions yeah.

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Investment considerations: Greed vs expectations?

Mr. XYZ: “If you INVEST your money with this XXXXX programme, you will receive returns of 5 percent every month.”

Me: “You mean I will get 60 percent returns per annum?”

Mr. XYZ: “Yes, that’s TRUE. Our programme is backed by Mr. So, Mr. Sure and Mrs. Must be True.”

Dear readers, imagine if there’s such an investment which could give a 60 percent return per annum, do we feel that we are so lucky that it was offered to us? Perhaps it’s better for the promoter to offer it to Jack Ma or Bill Gates who could already invest much more money than hundreds of thousands of small time investors like us. All the banks in the world would gladly ‘invest’ in it and then use the proceeds to double your FD rate from current 4 percent to 8 percent. Then, they (the banks) get to keep the remaining 52 percent so that they can give huge bonuses and keep putting even more money into such a lucrative investment. In fact I would think Temasek of Singapore or Khazanah of Malaysia would no longer need to do so much analysis or to worry about single digit returns every year. 🙂   Perhaps even our EPF should invest in these schemes instead?!

Actually, even if the returns are only 18 percent per year, it’s already unbelievable. Try googling to know what’s the fixed deposit rate for some advanced countries of the world today. Yet, we have people continuing to believe that there are returns of over 10 percent or more per month and that they are the lucky ones. Here’s one latest reported one where over RM1 billion was allegedly scammed from 70,000 people. Divided, that’s close to RM15,000 per person.
Here’s the report in says.com
 Some details. The scheme ran from 2013 till August 2016 using a website registered overseas. The suspects had allegedly deceived their victims to join a forex-based investment scheme offering 12 percent monthly returns. Three suspects were arrested together with 13 luxury cars, three superbikes, 10 gold pieces weighing 100 grammes each, luxury watched and handbags together with numerous documents. There were also suspects who had fled to a neighbouring nation and the police is currently trying to arrest them too.
Another media report here, from TheSundaily

It’s sad when we hear of such sob stories. Many have lost money and some would tell that they have lost their lifetime savings. Many would say that greed was the reason these people to be cheated in the first place. Perhaps it’s also financial awareness? That understanding that there are reasons why returns can never be exorbitant? If only people knew about the typical profit margin of listed companies? That returns will never be fast? Whatever the business that the investments are supposed to be invested in, it will take time? Plantations for example would take years and will not be able to give returns every month? Even if it’s mining, it will take time to process and deliver it to the end customer and then wait to be paid? Once we are aware what to expect, perhaps the chances to be scammed would be lower. As for the scammers, they will continue to up their games too. Happy avoiding.

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written on 18 Feb 2018

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Expert Series – Why Retirement Homes, Why Ipoh? – Part 2

This is the Part 2 of the Expert Series – Why Retirement Homes, Why Ipoh – Part 1 published yesterday. Part 2 talks a bit more about the advantages of a purpose developed retirement homes versus other property types. John was also asked a few more tough questions. Personally, if my whole family stays with me, I would prefer to stay at my current place. However, as someone who prefers mamak chats with friends over just sitting at home reading a newspaper, I would prefer to have lots of activities. Hopefully, I can still have lots of activities when I am much older than today. Read on.

Advantages of GreenAcres Retirement Village Compared to Home Ownership During Retirement

House

Apartment

GreenAcres

Gated and guarded

X

?

?

Age-friendly design

X

X

?

Single-level / flat-level home design

?

?

?

Senior-specific communal facilities

X

X

?

On-site clubhouse

X

X

?

Age restriction

X

X

?

Active lifestyle that ensures physical/mental/emotional resilience

X

X

?

Active and vibrant peers

X

X

?

Convenience, safety and security assured by senior specific management team

X

X

?

Senior friendly house features

X

X

?

24/7 emergency call system

X

X

?

Maintenance supervisor to help with minor tasks

X

X

?

In house shuttle service

X

X

?

Lower population density

X

X

?

Less car traffic/movement

X

X

?

4. There’s a misperception that staying in a retirement village such as GreenAcres is expensive and only for the rich. What are your thoughts about that?

It is an inescapable reality that everything is built at a cost. Prices are then fixed according to the cost and adjusted for the sustainability of the operations.

When we conceived GreenAcres, we envisioned a retirement village that will reflect what we saw during our many research trips overseas, a good standard, quality development with a quality community that would deliver a suitable and sustainable standard of living – a development that we would gladly and proudly recommend to our own families and friends, a development which would be a good alternative to the ones currently available for the silver set. GreenAcres in our opinion, is a feasible option for most middle-income retirees who prize convenience and a healthy lifestyle without depending on their families, or families who want quality lifestyles for their loved ones.

Committing to building and operating such a retirement village like GreenAcres  involves substantial cost and it is not possible to deliver the standard that we aim for at a low price point.very much less for maintenance. On a per square foot basis, GreenAcres is in the ballpark as some equivalent condominiums in Ipoh, however, GreenAcres also comes with a beautiful, 30,000 sq ft clubhouse which is well-equipped with a reading room, games rooms, billiards room, hair-stylist’s room, a mini-cinema, lounge areas, multipurpose halls for festivals and family occasions which are not found in condominiums. In addition, residents will also have to consider that we will provide 24-hour care, an emergency call system in all the units which will be linked to a centralized monitoring unit, transportation in form of free village shuttles that make two trips daily, maintenance of the surroundings, and scheduled activities for the residents. These are all covered in the maintenance costs which is at 48 sen per square foot. The lease structure and the set-costs are simplified to help retirement financial planning.

In addition, GreenAcres is a landed low-density development in line with the lifestyle that we would like to encourage our residents to have. We believe that this delivers value to residents of GreenAcres.

As an example, our one-bedroom villas, which can comfortably house two residents or a couple start from RM300,000 for a lifetime lease deposit which is refundable at anytime the residents want to leave the village.

While there are other options for retirees, currently, from what we see, the options are not delivering the quality we envision or providing the standard of living we want for our residents. GreenAcres is meant to be a sustainable superior alternative to the currently available nursing homes and senior homes which may cost less, but perhaps do not deliver an equivalent standard of quality of life to the residents or peace of mind to their families.

5. Assuming I am interested in a retirement home (not necessarily in Ipoh), what are the next steps that I should take?

There are a few things to consider: your lifestyle support, financial and legal structures, the management of the village, health provisions, as well as security provisions.

First you should examine your reasons to move to a retirement village – would you like to maintain your independence? Would you like to have peers? Which location would you think is suitable for you? Which type of village and services would you require? Does it support your lifestyle? Are there village buses to help with transportation? Are there meals available if you do not want to cook?

Secondly, you would need to consider the financial and legal structure of the village. You would ask what’s included in the service fees, what does it cover, and if you could afford it when a partner leaves? Perhaps also consider the monthly services fee and also the type of contract you are entering into.

Thirdly, you would want to consider the management of the village and what role does the committee play in the administration of the village. What arrangements can they make for you? How would they support the lifestyle?

For health provisions, you would need to consider what arrangements the village can make, what screenings they provide, and what happens in case of emergencies. For security provisions you would want to know if they have round the clock security.

Frankly, when we look at the more advanced property markets, whatever happens there would usually happen here some years later. For example, the rise of property attractiveness among foreigners who wants a good place to stay or even just to stretch their money for longer is no longer confined to just Australia or London or even Singapore’s Sentosa island but has also started in Malaysia. Just look at the choices for the MM2H participants to understand more. It used to be very unusual to find Malaysian cities within those top ten retirement haven choices but within the past few years, it has become much more common. There are definitely something special about our home, Malaysia. I can safely say that Ipoh has its attractiveness even versus the more popular cities in Malaysia. I have no idea if it would be your top choice but it is okay because it is my top choice when it comes to retirement. (MANY MANY more years…)  If you like to know more.
Click here: GreenAcres.com.my

written on 13 Nov 2017

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RM2.4bil for ‘underwater’ land? Yeah.

I love joint ventures, especially one which involves a huge piece of land in an area right next to Singapore. I love it even more when that piece of land is said to be worth RM2.4 billion. I am very sure, the people who still say Iskandar is a ‘dying’ potential would now come out and say, ‘this is just for show’. Haha. It’s ok. At least those who are close to investing may now think perhaps there’s more than meets the eye in Iskandar despite all the gloom and doom for the past 1 year.

It was announced that a subsidiary of Shanghai-based developer, Greenland Holdings Group Ltd has established a joint venture with Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd (IWCB) to acquire a piece of 128 acre land for RM2.4 billion. How much is that? Well, 128 acres is close to 5.6 million sf. That’s about RM430 / sf. One part you must not miss is this, majority of the land is submerged. Yes, reclamation is necessary in this case but it also meant that sea view is definite and perhaps a huge stretch of man made beach too. The new company is called Greenland Tebrau Sdn Bhd (GTSB). Yes, this is definitely a new waterfront city.  Overall, the development would take up to 15 years and will feature a SNOW world theme park, an opera house and even a hospital specialising in Chinese traditional medicine and a school.

Now the question, would this work? Haha. I would love for it to work. Who knows, if the price is right, I will drop in to take a look. Until today, I have always been buying next to hill, hill-view, pool view, no view etc but never a waterfront one, yet. Of course, as usual, the first announcement and the next one may be a little far apart, especially with the current slowdown in Iskandar. Just read about UEM and you would also know a bit more. Here:
UEM-Sunrise, it’s all about work; Johor

 Happy reading.

written on 22 Jan 2015

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Expert Series with Gerard Soosay – Importance of personalisation plus affordability

When it comes to Iskandar, the thinking is that only the Chinese developers (from China) are there. This is INCORRECT. There are many local developers there and they have to stand up to competition from both the international and other local players.
One of them is Sunway Iskandar.
They believe customisations to the home we want to buy can still be done, affordably. Today, we speak to Sunway Iskandar’s chief executive officer, Gerard Soosay.

— start —

1)  Is customising your own high-rise unit something common outside Malaysia? If yes, where. If no, then why is Sunway trying out this new concept?

We are not aware of any developers who are practicing a similar concept. The concept was mooted by the younger team who conducted research into the needs, wants and preferences of today’s millennials, We are heartened by their diligence and are proud of their courage to experiment with innovations.

Culturally, Sunway comes from a long history of innovation – with our Founder and Chairman, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Jeffrey Cheah AO, being one of the key advocates. Sunway City itself, as a City is undergoing constant evolution – from mining wasteland to thriving township, to Malaysia’s first sustainable township, to being the first private-driven smart sustainable township over a span of a little over four decades. As we continue to grow, technology and innovation will continue to be the foundation of our sustainability and also for the communities we serve. Besides the innovation teams we have in our business units, we have also recently set up the Sunway Innovation Labs (Sunway iLabs) which is specially tasked to harness the capabilities of our youth towards this.

2)  Who are the GRID’s targeted buyers?  Why do you say so?

GRID’s targeted buyers are the younger demographic who are digital natives and are keen to adopt new concepts. They are also priced with the younger market in mind.

We designed this product to be appealing to the millennial with some unique features :

Vibrant colours : Most developments in Malaysia follow a “safer” or more “conservative palette with hues of grey, emerald, and blue being examples.
Sunway GRID stands out with its
yellow and black contrast, with yellow representing vibrancy and youth. This has resulted in a refreshing, cool place to live.

Unique floor plans: We have introduced the loft concept in Sunway Iskandar, where affordability is upscaled. Unlike the conventional 6-meter loft, we have have designed a 4.5-meter high loft with 772 sq ft built up along with two complementary car parks which would consume less energy for ventilation. The key highlight is that we allow customers to customize their number of rooms and preferred furnishing options – which appeals to However, the main selling point is we allow customers to customise their number of rooms and preferred furnishing option. This automatically unlocks the various possibility of customisation suiting to the target market.

Strategic Location: The project is located near to the centre of the Sunway Iskandar development; right next to the Marketplace Precinct, Big Box Village, Sunway International School, petrol kiosk, X-park and close to the Coastal Highway Southern Link.  Without needing to drive, residences may now enjoy these amenities within walking distance.

3)   Is it more expensive to do it this way? If no, then why are other developers not doing it? If yes, then why is Sunway doing it?

Yes, with the build-and-buy concept, we are challenging conventional construction methods by allowing customization. However, the construction challenge was resolved by creating modular designs to cater up to three rooms for customisation.

We have controlled construction cost efficiently as we are building this project within construction grid line with the most optimum building efficiency. This is also how the project name originated.

We have always invested in innovations and will continue to do so. Innovations has served us well, as the foundation of our sustainability. We belief that in the long run, a concept such as this would deliver cost efficiency and service quality, and ultimately deliver improvements in competitiveness in the long-haul. Any business’s future now depends on technology.

4)  What is your expert view about the state of the property market in Iskandar currently?

While we are aware of the current cautious sentiments, but we believe that in the long-term, the demand will balance out. The population is expected to increase to three million in 2025, and we are business and investment-friendly nation, which would translate to more job creation. Sunway Iskandar is a long-term play for us, as it is with any of our other developments as we develop townships on a unique Build-Own-Operate model. With this model, we are co-investors and will seek to drive the growth of the township. In the next five years, we are investing another RM 1.1 billion into Sunway Iskandar.

5)  In your own opinion, would the RTS or the BTS help your developments in Iskandar?

Yes, connectivity, as we know is always a major factor for socio-economic success and the sustainability of this success. We anticipate the improved connectivity to Singapore and around the region itself to be beneficial to the development. These would shorten travelling times, from home to work for example; making it a very attractive alternative for people who are already commuting to work within Singapore itself. For Sunway Iskandar, our goal will be to link up or enhance these available public infrastructures. We have engaged Causeway Link bus to provide bus services from Sunway Iskandar to Singapore through the Coastal Highway Second Link (CHSL).

6) Tell us more about Sunway Grid?

Introducing market-driven innovations has been one of our key strategies for the Iskandar region. Prior to this, we have brought in the first Canadian (Ontario) curriculum in the southern region with Sunway International School, and built the first luxurious prefabricated homes in Malaysia using Japanese technology – the Sakura Residence homes. Sunway Property will look continuously to power Sunway Iskandar with globally-recognised elements. This includes Sunway GRID, the first build-and-buy home online concept, Big Box Village – the first large format retail village, X-Park -the first extreme park in Iskandar Malaysia, and the first infirmary for the community in the next phase of development.

The integrated Sunway Grid collection targets the younger demographic, and spans 5.2 acres. Our first project in the Marketplace Precinct, which represents the next vibrant and robust commercial area in Sunway Iskandar where the community can come together to exchange innovation; the residences is the first build-and-buy home online concept launched in the Malaysia and Singapore market. This concept will allow purchasers to customise their units online before purchase, which means that customers will be able to purchase and design their homes from anywhere around the world without visiting the show gallery.

The personalisation factor, combined with the most affordable price of less than RM400,000 in the vicinity of Medini, is expected to attract the influx of youthful demographic that is anticipated to be in Johor. The entire RM374 million GDV development comprise 501 units of apartments, 74 units of offices and 41 units of retail lots. The residences will be complemented with the Sunway GRID flexi suites and shoppes which is already open for viewing since June 2017, is designed for entrepreneurs and startups who require medium spaces for their commercial activities.

Always understand what is being offered before we decide. Here’s
what Sunway GRID has to offer.

— end —

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Gross impaired loans has grown 3.6% in October. Bad?

Malaysia’s gross impaired loans has growth 3.6% in October.

When we get ourselves a loan, we need to continue paying for it every month. Moratorium meant that we could stop paying but once it’s over, we need to restart the payment. Non-Performing Loan (NPL) is when borrowers fail to pay their loans for 3 months. Briefly, these are considered bad debts. Impaired loans means there is a possibility that the loan will become a NPL. Briefly, this is not NPL yet. There is still a chance that the borrower will be able to pay. Let’s look at the Malaysian banking system’s health.

Photo by Pixabay on
Pexels.com

Article in themalaysianreserve.com
.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) says that the banking system’s asset quality remains healthy post-blanket loan moratorium.  It said that overall gross impaired loans ratio edged higher to 1.43 per cent in October (September: 1.38 per cent).

It highlighted in its Monthly Highlights – October 2020 report, “Total provisions grew by 5.54 per cent for the month of October compared to 7.44 per cent in September as banks continue to set aside additional provisions against future credit losses.”

It noted that banks continued to restructure and reschedule loans of viable borrowers who might still face challenges servicing their loans. Outstanding loans continued to expand (4.3 per cent in October versus 4.4 per cent in September), supported by household loans. Do read the full report here yeah.
Article in themalaysianreserve.com

How are we doing?

It’s important that we also keep our financial health in check. First things first would be expenses. There is really no need to buy something expensive if there are cheaper alternatives. Top end handphones could be had RM200 per month for 24 months and we think it’s cheap but it’s far cheaper to just get a RM799 phone instead. You have just saved RM4,000 over 2 years which will come in handy during rainy days. Earlier article for your reference here:
It is in this order, which stage are you?

Secondly, do not be greedy and do not be cheated by scams. There’s just too many of them around and we would only be cheated either because we are not aware or because we were greedy. You have just read this article. Please beware because Malaysians lost RM256 million due to scams. Earlier article here:
Malaysians scammed RM256 million
  If you care, do tell more people about this especially the elderly too.

Last but not least would be to understand that there’s a huge difference between gross impaired loan which is looking like it’s going bad versus non-performing loan which is already bad at the point in time. Given time, both could be resuscitated but in the meantime, BNM just have to be very vigilant so that the banking industry continue to have a healthy. Keep the gross impaired loans to a minimum. It is only when they are healthy that they could continue lending and help the recovery growth.
Want to read about banks and their profits and dividend? Click here.
It’s really not bad at all.

Happy understanding.

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Slowing but growing, Q2 GDP at 4 percent

Q2 GDP growth for Malaysia is 4 percent. As they say, there’s always two sides to a coin. This is even lower than Q1 which was at 4.2 percent but 4 percent meant that the economy continues chugging along, slowly. Our new Bank Negara Governor Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim said, “All sectors saw growth except for agriculture, which continued to shrink due to the lagged impact of the El Nino drought on crude palm oil output. The growth in the services sector was underpinned by
stronger household spending
 while factory performance was supported by the electronics and electrical cluster.” In brief, not too bad at all.

Net exports have fallen and is now at 7 percent compared to 11.1 percent a year ago. The saving grace was stronger consumption in the domestic economy. Private consumption grew by 6.3 per cent compared with 4.6 per cent previously. This was helped by the Hari Raya Aidilfitri special assistance to civil servants and pensioners, in addition to the BR1M payout to the deserving. In the private sector, employees who reduced their Employees Provident Fund contributions to 8 per cent from 11 per cent, have more disposable income for their daily expenses.

One important note is that the the
liquidity conditions remained supportive

of the financial needs of businesses and households. Even as the economy continue to adjust to higher costs of living, the impact on financial institutions’ earnings and asset quality has been modest. He said that he is cautiously optimistic that H2 2016 would be better than H1 2016. This will be supported by higher salary for civil servants and minimum wages in the private sector, continued execution of infrastructure project and higher palm oil output.

Personally, I think the
Malaysian economy is still doing fine
 despite all the circumstances both internal and external. Yes, many developers are struggling to sell homes, many car manufacturers are struggling to sell cars and many malls are struggling to survive. However, it’s equally true that most banks continue to report good profits, many BURSA listed companies are undervalued and the car parks in popular malls remain full during weekends. This is the reason why growth is only at 4 percent. Imagine if everything was positive…. Oh yeah,
Malaysia is definitely NOT in a recession.

Happy following and of course, do continue spending. 🙂

written on 13 Aug 2016

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This article will be posted on a weekend. Growing your balcony garden with Brazillian spinach. Easy as ABC. B stands for Brazillian. Haha. To the ones staying on a landed property, there are by far more plants you could plant. Maybe a papaya tree where you have to give some of the fruits away because when it rains, it pours?

Balcony Garden?

For the rest who is staying in a high-rise, having a small balcony and with some sunlight, here’s something to grow which will make you feel proud (hey… you can grow your own vege!) and you get to show it in social media (everyone would say wow… you can grow vege!) too. Haha.

Brazillian spinach Q&A. If I did not cover them here, send me a message okay?

#1 – How high will it grow to?  It will grow to a maximum height of maybe 30cm. That’s it.

#2 – Can be planted into a small pot or a bit pot? Yes. It’s super suitable for pots.

#3 – Special soil needed? Nope. Any soil you can buy from the plant nursery is fine.

#4 – Many pests which will attack it? Nope. Thus far, nothing has attacked any of my 5 pots.

#5 – Is it bitter like the bitter gourd and so kids will hate it? Nope. In fact it’s not bitter at all.

#6 – Easy to cook into a fish?  Beat 2-3 eggs. Cut the Brazillian spinach leaves, stir-fry for 30 seconds, pour in the beaten eggs. 2 minutes later, Voila, an extra dish.

#7 – Can just cut and throw into the soup for steamboat dinner? Yes.

#8 – Does it die easily?  – It does not die easily and it does not die even if you have forgotten to water it for a few days. 3 days is very safe.

#9 – How do I start?  – To start, you can either buy one pot of Brazillian Spinach from the nursery or you buy the actual vegetable from the supermarket, cut off the leaves to eat and use the remaining stem to plant your Brazillian spinach.  To help it grow faster, just dip the stem into a shallow glass of water until it grows some roots. Then you plant it and it will grow 7 days faster versus without the roots first.

#10 – Does it need full sun?  More sun = more growth but it grows even if it receives just an hour of sun daily.

#11 – How long till first harvest?  21-30 days. Second harvest maybe just 14-21 days.

#12 – When can I harvest? When the leaves are the size which is shown in the image, you can harvest them.

#13 – Are Brazillian spinach good for the body? It’s vegetable, so it’s definitely good. Here are all the rest of the benefits
All the benefits of Brazillian Spinach

#14 – Kids love it too.  My son hates vege. My daughter only eats some. Well, Brazillian spinach fried eggs? Both eats it and their parents are happy that it’s protein and fiber both at the same time.

#15 – How does it taste?  It’s like spinach but milder. Easy vegetable to eat yeah.

#16 – How many pots needed for a meal? 5 big pots (32cm diameter pot) with all fully grown Brazillian spinach is enough for 3 harvests in one week, each harvest enough for fried eggs with spinach.

#17 – How soon can I show off to all my friends in social media?  21 days… you can show the pot with fully grown leaves first. Then by 30th day, you can harvest and stir fry with one egg… Haha.

#18 – Can I be rich from balcony farming?  Hahahahaha… Let me catch my breath. Hahahahaha. Nope, your balcony garden will give you lots of relaxation as you watch what you plant growing. The total you spend is by far higher than the harvests you get.

Happy growing your very own Brazillian spinach. Okay, in my balcony garden, I have harvested the following thus far: (including plants which are still growing and has not yet given me fruits of labour)

2 small tomatoes (tree died, now replanting)
5 harvests of kang kung
8-9 ladies finger
1 time siew pak choy
3 small cucumbers
3 long beans (tree died, now replanting)
Ginger (maybe a total of 500gm thus far, a few are in progress, another easy plant)
Papaya tree I planted was transplanted back to Ipoh home. Parents eaten a few papaya too.
Strawberry (from 2 pots from a good friend, now I have 6 pots, still no strawberry)
Some kind of cactus
Some kind of mint (can be used to boil with herbal tea)
Periwinkle flower (aka as Vinca)

I have also failed to plant the following too.

Potato plant (planted a few times)
Chilly (planted a few times)
Carrot (planted a few times)
Onion
Broccoli
Cabbage
Watermelon (tried a few times)
Bitter melon
Bottle gourd
Aloe Vera (last time in Penang I could… now in KL I could not… I wonder why)

Happy planting yeah. I have just shared with you the easiest vegetable to plant. Do not fail please. 😛

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GRR scheme? Established brand name and operator a MUST.

Message by PEN Properties E (31400)

Guaranteed Rental Returns (GRR) are NOT LOVED by many for 3 very good reasons. We recommend that any GRR with the below to be evaluated very thoroughly even if the GRR % is very high, say 8 percent.

example of an exquisite development

1.
P
rice per sq ft too high.
  You are the one financing the GRR because of the very high price per sq ft that you are paying. For example, the price per sq ft for properties around the same area is RM800 per sq ft.  However, the GRR property is being sold at RM1,200 per sq ft. Guess who’s the one paying for the GRR?

2.
D
eveloper and the GRR management NOT the same.
A developer can build a project and get in a branded hotel management as their partner. In other words, the developer gets to tell all potential buyers that they have a branded hotel management managing the place. Great deal? Well, the developer’s responsibility ends when they have sold all the units. Assuming the GRR did not work out, the branded hotel management can also walk out and they are not the ones supposed to pay back to the buyers for the GRR.

3.  Seriousness of the GRR administrator.
The GRR administrator are not usually serious because they may not be a co-owner of the GRR development itself. This is very dangerous to all buyers because they are not experienced to run the GRR scheme by themselves should some unforeseen circumstances happen.

PEN Properties would like to introduce you to a GRR scheme which does not fall into the three categories listed above.

1.
Reasonable price per sq ft.
 This project that we are introducing to you are similarly priced with another nearby residential project. In other words, buyers are not the ones financing the GRR returns. Facilities and amenities for this project we are introducing will be managed by a hotel and resort brand for the past 25-years. (We will even show you all their awards)

2. Developer and the GRR management
ARE THE SAME.
 Yes, the developer / builder is also the operator / administrator. In other words, this same entity would have to ensure it works. Plus the fact that the operator / administrator has hotels and resorts in Thailand and Indonesia too. Yes, it is a low-profile Malaysian company which has been around for the past 25 years.

3.
GRR administrator wants the project to be successful because they are co-owners of the development.
 They have a lot of future plans too and they are not selling just this development and leave it to the buyers to fend for themselves. In fact they are so serious that should the buyer sold the development, the new buyer MUST continue with the GRR contract. They cannot say, ‘I am buying for my own stay….’

Interested to know more? Total number of units available for sale is only 120 currently. Over 20 units have been sold.  Here is the contact – Operations Manager, Mr. Vincent Seah:  016 – 412 6586
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GST and Property, nothing much, sorry.

GST is a hot topic these days. Online, newspapers, radio, coffee shop chat topics. What’s in, what’s out, why so many items, why not make the list simpler? Why buy now? With GST, surely property market will slow down? Some say, with GST, property prices will increase instead because everything is up, how can property prices be the only one going down? I have no answers to all the questions but even if I have, you should be listening to me too. 🙂   I am not an analyst of a huge international bank and I am also not a famous property guru who gives talks every weekend to hundreds of listeners. My advantage though is that I am not affiliated to any one of these professionals. I read from all and I share to all.

According to a report in which many senior realtors were asked for their opinions, it is concluded that residential prices are likely to spike up to 4 percent and commercial properties by between 6 to 8.5% once GST starts. However, the prices are expected to stabilise within the year. In brief, the price increase, if any is one off and will not have any continuous effects. If GST is not the key issue, what is it then? Well, it’s more of the existing system of project approval which is both long and complicated. Thus, the costs increase. For prices not to continue going up, at least from the developer’s perspective, the long approval process must be shortened. One example was the additional layer whereby the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry was considering a star-rating system. This would progressively rate developers based on project experience and track record, workmanship, project delivery and work quality, among other criteria. This may put smaller developers at a disadvantage.

Personally, I do not agree that the rating would give much of an effect. The reason is because even today, for some ‘clever’ developers, they use price to entice buyers. For example, a similar project in the same area from two different developers are never priced the same. For many buyers, especially the first timers, price is a key consideration and thus, a 10% difference would help the smaller developer to sell faster too. Rating or no rating, smaller developers have always have to price their projects slightly lower anyway. If I am not first time buyer, then I would be willing to pay a premium for the more established and top 10 developers because I think buying from them meant my investment is safe and chances of them running away is virtually none. Looking at the typical net margins, you would see that there are still rooms for developers to play with prices. Read here:
Property prices and developer’s profit margin

One comment is very true. Foo Gee Jen said that developers would normally try to maximise their profits through the high-end developments in the housing sector which meant that more often than not, the affordable segment is overlooked. This meant that the house buyers who need these cheaper units would never get them. Coupled with the fact that despite the many plans for affordable housing thus far, the results are not forthcoming to date. Recently, PR1MA CEO said 40,000 units are being built or in process to start by end 2014. We should always remember this and see the results by end of 2017. Of course, we should also note all the affordable housing by the many state governments which are also very slow, if moving at all.

You can see clearly that the reasons for property increase would never be due to GST or at most one time increase of up to 4%. There are suggestions that price may increase 2.6%. So if we assume the range to be between 2.6% to 4%, it simply tells you this, do not bother about GST if you need that property. Buy that one which you like because if you did not, you may need to look for another one next year. Just as time awaits for no men, it is the same case with property. GST and property? Nothing much, sorry.

written on 21 Oct 2014

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With GST, demand may slow down next year. True?

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GST and property

My friend, Ms. Lilian forwarded me a very good read. Let me share briefly with all. Will gst push up property prices? Yes and No. It really depends on the type of properties that you are buying. Will GST result in huge increases in property prices? If everything is implemented right, answer is no. Reason being, even today, when you buy properties, you are still paying tax indirectly. Please read a brief statement below from the Royal Malaysian Custom.

The supply of land used for agricultural, residential (including residential house such as link house, semi-detached house, detached house, apartment including serviced apartment and condominium) or general purpose such as burial, playground and religious is exempt from GST. The supply of land and building used for commercial, administrative and industrial purpose such as shop lots, office, retail business, small office home office (SoHo), small office virtual office (SoVo), small office flexible office (SoFo), factories, hotel, motel, inn, hostel and warehouses is subject to GST.

The document also stated clearly a lot of calculations in terms of what is exempted and how to claim back, the calculations involved etc. One example here:

There are many uncertainties with regards to GST. There are also a lot of people who said GST will push up property prices many times over due to GST being charged more than once. I do not believe GST will be the main reason why property prices would increase in price. The reason is, even currently, there are also taxes applicable and the 5% GST is not a new tax but a restructuring of all the taxes currently applicable. Many years ago, when GST was first mooted, my colleagues asked me if I support GST, my answer then and my answer now remains the same, YES. It is much more comprehensive. It allows for more flexibility in what gets taxed and what does not. You pay tax when you consume more. There’s nothing wrong with this. Today, do you seriously think there is no tax on the can of Coca Cola you are buying today? Think again. Ask any tax consultants.

If there are any developer sales people telling you to buy NOW before GST comes, this is not true. Please only buy if you truly believe the property you are about to buy has the value that you want and meets what you want.

If there are agents who tells you that if you do not buy today, even for secondary properties, you will regret because prices would rise a lot next year when GST starts, they are not just biased, they are lying. If the prices indeed do go up, GST would not be the main reason merely accounting for a small part compared to what demand can do.

I hope everyone understands that if GST indeed is bad, it is not possible that majority of all countries in the world are adopting it. Even for countries which has adopted it and it brings them negative results, do you think GST would be continued? Last but not least, I have yet to find a really powerful argument against GST beyond the fact that implementation is weak, enforcement is hard etc. These are not the fundamental question, ‘Is GST good or bad’.

Full article can be downloaded from MIA website
here:

written on 25 Jan 2014.

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Long term uptrend intact – HLIB

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‘Penang property articles’

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Expansion of tax base is very important. GST is a good solution.

kopiandproperty.com readers would know that I am for Goods and Services Tax (GST) and not for Sales and Service Tax (SST). There are certainly good reasons and advantages of GST which is a tax implemented by over 160 countries around the world. Yes, that includes that country everyone loves to compare us against, Singapore. Or… are we saying that the government of Singapore made a wrong decision?

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is also supporting the suggestion to reintroduce the GST in the medium term.
Article in themalaysianreserve.com
  The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) secretary-general Mathias Cormann said the Malaysian government first needs to strengthen tax compliance and efficiency of tax collection, while securing the transparency of its enforcement.

He said that overall tax base could be broadened through reviewing tax relief and exemptions. He said, “The overall design of the personal income tax could also be strengthened through reviewing its tax base, which has been narrowed by various tax relief and exemptions. Some of these tax relief and exemptions would be less targeted and regressive, adding administrative costs.”

OECD also suggests the government to enhance overall social protection, including through social transfers targeted at low-income and vulnerable households. Please do read the full article here:
Article in themalaysianreserve.com

Hopefully it will really be back sooner than later regardless of the government of the day

Some friends (with finance understanding) say GST can be reintroduced with a lower %. I am okay with this suggestion. We just need to put in the plans to slowly increase the % and expand this tax base. With a broader tax base, the government will face less pressure with its tax collection. Enough of politics lah. SST is certainly inferior versus GST.

In fact, with a broader tax base, this will ultimately help with one particular rating from one particular international rating agency who now rated us BBB versus A previously. Hope this international rating agency takes note yeah. Happy anticipating more and more different taxes if GST is not back. Remember all those tax rumours before the pandemic came yeah.

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GST for new properties. Higher than 3%? Try it and see.

While the government has announced that GST will be effective from 1st April 2015, there has also been lots of other announcements by everyone that this may not happen. Or this may happen but it will push up house prices. Some say GST will cause transactions to go down. Whatever is said is not really that important. GST will happen and the maximum percentage up is nothing more than 3%. This is based on a survey by the Real Estate Housing Developers Association of Malaysia (REHDA). Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan announced that the GST may drive prices up by one or two percent. This is based on the calculations by the Finance Ministry and the Customs Department. One very important notice. If any developer were to somehow got caught increasing their prices higher than 3%, they will be pulled to court under the Anti-Profiteering Act.

Until today, the market is still saying that the prices may go up as high as five percent. If anyone comes across this percentage up, kindly report them and do the public a service. In fact, as I mentioned before, unless the market starts to move faster, it is most likely that any increase be absorbed by the developers’ themselves. Their margin of profit still allow for this, period. Read here:
Property prices up due to GST? Developers should just absorb it.
 In Malaysia, there’s always people who increase their prices whether or not it is justified and yet, most of the time Malaysians accept it which is a pity. Don’t believe? Look at the favourite and popular food items? It has increased extremely fast despite the fact that as more people patronise them, their overall profits go up tremendously even if the percentage may drop a little. Yeah, kill me for saying this. 🙂

According to Sarawak Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, prices should actually be lower. The reason was because developers today are paying government a tax of 10 percent, plus the six percent sales tax. Since GST is only six percent, why would house prices be rising? This is the logic, he said.

Irregardless of who is right, the property prices would always depend only on demand versus supply. Higher supply is not helpful if it is not the type wanted or at the location desired. The demand is also useless if prices are way too high for them to afford. Of course as usual, everyone would be willing to pay ever MORE when it’s the project that they like, thus pushing up prices further without any other reasons. Read here:
Property Prices too high? YOU might be the main reason.
  GST is not going to be the main reason for anyone to decide on whether to buy or not to buy. I continue to believe that developers will react according to how potential buyers react. Room for further manoeuvrability? Both sides still has it. Just have to see who plays the next card first. Happy investing.

written on 22 Nov 2014

Next suggested article: GST and Property, nothing much, sorry.

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Little impact from GST and CLEAR by August 2015

In an online article recently, it quoted Penang Branch Chairman for Malaysia Institute of Eatate Agents (MIEA), Mark Saw as saying that GST would have minimal impact on the secondary property market. the reason being high demand is still continuing for residential properties. I think he is referring to Penang though I think his comment is true for majority of all the growing cities including Penang and Greater KL and even Kota Kinabalu. Perhaps Iskandar has slowed somewhat but everything will continue to grow.

He then mentioned something which is very true; population growth. Perhaps he may want to add, ‘the right population age range today and beyond.’  If the country is full of very young population, say those below 30, well, the demand for property is not going to be like today where demand is for all range of properties instead of just the very low end ones. Malaysian population segment is LARGEST within the 27 – 54 years old. At least 40% of the total population. Happy with this segment? If you are thinking of property or you are a property developer, of course.  Let’s be realistic. You really do not want the largest segment to be 15 – 24 years old. It is not useful at all.

He also mentioned that secondary will be popular because the newer launches are all too highly priced. I think for Penang, due to everyone’s focus being still within island, there are really not much affordable choices anymore when it comes to new launches. Oh yeah, if one would like to take a look at some of the secondary properties in offer as well as speak to real estate agents on some potential, do visit the Malaysian Secondary Property Exhibition (MASPEX) Penang 2015 from Aug 13-16 at Penang Queensbay Mall. It will be offering lots of choices, not just within Penang but also in JB and KL. Properties on offer ranges from RM400,000 to RM1.2 million.

I like Penang. It’s an island and thus as long as growth is continuing on a stable rate, the property prices will rise continuously too. Furthermore, with the rise of mainland Penang, it meant that the property prices would no longer be ‘crazy’ like the periods of 2009 to 2012. The expectations should now be much more realistic and thus perhaps the predicted bubble may never come. I have stayed in Penang for 15 years and if you ask me even today, I still prefer to pay premium and stay in island. Well, for now anyway until IKEA and the rest of the promised developments complete. Of course, if one wants bigger, cheaper and willing to travel a bit, mainland is already quite ready. Happy property investing in Penang!

written on 11 Apr 2015

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GST Malaysia? Still under study.

GST Malaysia? Still under study.

Readers would know that I am pro-GST if it’s compared to Sales and Service Tax (SST). However, I am just a blogger, so I can just write. Anyway, statistically, 160 countries in the world have
implemented GST. (read here for source)
 In case anyone like to ask about the total number of countries, well there are 195. The typical rates are also higher than the 6% which Malaysia’s GST was. (Yes, I agree that it could have started lower as well) Here is the latest news.

Article in themalaysianreserve.com
  Finance Ministry says that the government is still studying the suitability of implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the usage of other taxation models.

The study took into consideration all aspects including the weaknesses of the existing Sales and Services Tax (SST) and the GST which was implemented in 2015.

Ministry’s oral answer said, “The study being carried out also covers the impact on the economy, cost of living, cost of goods, as well as ability to address the shadow economy (or black market).”
Article in themalaysianreserve.com

A comparison between GST vs SST?

Source:
https://www.comparehero.my/budgets-tax/articles/gst-vs-sst-whats-the-difference

More reading of what experts say

Article in nst.com.my
  GST better than SST, say experts.

Article in mypf.my
  How SST is different from GST.  “SST revenue shortfall vs GST 2018: RM21b”

Article in paultan.org
  GST reimplementation could reduce Malaysian car prices, says analyst – but is that really the case?

Article in themalaysianreserve.com
  GST more efficient, but not suitable for now

Article in thesundaily.my
 Will the goods and services tax make a comeback?

Let’s see what happens next. The only constant in change is change itself. Just need to remember that whatever shortfall there is from tax collection will have to be found somewhere else. That’s the biggest elephant in the room for the government to answer. Cheers.

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Few days after GST and my personal experience

Many friends posted photos of them getting ‘GSTeed’ for the first time right after 1st April 2015. Many friends said that everything is higher priced. I arrived at office and many colleagues said that the even food at foodstalls have increased their price. A friend said that when he went grocery shopping, he felt that the prices are up. One friend posted in Facebook that this GST did give her a benefit. She was buying a new Honda car. Of course, majority of the comments were about how GST has affected them negatively. I have also been paying GST as I have been to cafes, to Starbucks and many other shops.

Assuming one Grande sized Starbucks latte is RM11.50, the 6% GST would meant an extra 70 cents. I usually drink once per week. Thats 70 cents x 52 weeks = RM36.  Well for 2015, I should think of some ways to balance this increase right. I have recently started to eat Oats plus raisins for lunch once per week. My usual lunch bill is around RM10, at the food court. This oats plus raisin lunch should come up to around RM2 per meal. In other words, I get healthier and save RM8 per week. That’s savings of RM416 per year. So, I think I can continue my Starbucks latte for 2015 and beyond.

Yes, there are many things with GST and we CANNOT run away from it. However, we COULD reduce or balance this one time adjustment. Come on, if you are holding an iPhone or a Samsung Note, you know you have other cheaper alternatives of which some are already better in performance. Yes, I am talking about the latest flagship models from OPPO, Xiaomi and even HTC, all of which gives you more for less. Please do not be fooled by all the huge banners telling you about iPhone camera. Think really objectively, why did they HAVE to tell everyone about their camera for the first time this time when all these while, iPhone never ever bothered? Competition has finally arrived, strong too. It may save you even more IF you buy a mid-priced one instead and you save even more.

Oh yeah, today I was at Econsave and I bought a 2.5kg pack of FAB washing powder at only RM8.90. I remember before GST, my wife bought the same pack for about RM11.90. Some retailers are selling at even higher prices. Of course, if you can accept house brands, it would be even cheaper. Fortunately for washing powder, there is a choice. Come to think of it, MAJORITY of everything has a choice. Is it not funny when in some places, the hawkers can sell nasi lemak at RM2.50 while in some other places, that same nasi lemak could be just RM1.20 Question, WHY are the people still buying even when they are selling at RM2.50? In Singapore, my friend said that the prices are pretty standard. In fact, if a stall sells the same food for 50 cents extra, customers would buy from a similar stall few streets away. I laughed and told him, in Malaysia, we just complain and then continue buying.

My GST experience for the past few days and for a very long time to come. Happy reading.

written on 11 Apr 2015

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GST on maintenance fees for residential properties

Read any reports recently about some groups of people holding some banners saying that it is unfair that GST will be levied on the maintenance fees for residential units? For example, those high rise ones? There has also been a report on the fact that some high end high rises may be exempted because somehow the total maintenance fees collected are below the threshold of RM500,000 per year. As usual, many twists and turns would be seen because more often that not, it would have been manipulated by certain parties. GST is not something new to the world. It is new to Malaysia but whatever calculations used to derive at 6% versus the world is based on actual numbers. In fact, majority of all these seemingly new questions being posed have already been addressed in other countries. For example, GST on maintenance fees. If I read correctly, this is also already applicable for Australia and Singapore too.

As someone who is staying in a condo and paying maintenance fees on a quarterly basis, I would also not want GST to be levied. This would add to the overall costs. However, I would like to point out that when something is right, it should just be implemented without fear and favour and not because of some public outcry, it is then delayed etc. Many of us have often questioned why this, why that but fact remains and it should just be accepted. Oh yeah, another reason why the GST should not follow like Singapore is because Singapore is already a high-income nation and Malaysia is still not. I seriously doubt that the Singaporean government decided to levy GST on the maintenance fees after they realised they are high income nation instead of what the usual procedure is, for GST.

Oh yeah, if these complaints / requests are successful, I would be happy too as I also get to enjoy but sorry to say that I am not supportive of exemptions everywhere which made the GST seem way too complicated. Already the items list itself I felt that it was way too long but always remember that the GST list for all countries would be longer year after year and never shorter. As Malaysia started very late, the list is of course much longer than the other countries who started earlier than us. Back then, their list is likely to be much shorter. Do I support GST? Yes. Do I support taking off subsidies? Yes for those who can afford and No for those who really need them. Current BR1M method? Well, it really is not effective or efficient enough and should be improved. Instead of cash, I would prefer vouchers for the necessity instead. Giving cash is not the correct way. Yes, this is my view about GST on maintenance fees for high rises.

written on 27 Nov 2014

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New launches same area, lower priced than previous launches? Post-GST ‘trick’?

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GST: Prices down vs Prices up.

Just two weeks ago, a colleague had lunch with me and asked what would happen with GST in April. She has a condo which she may want to sell and all her friends said that sell only after GST so that she can get a higher price. Then, she also said that she is thinking of buying another property but not sure if she should buy now or wait because everyone said market is bad. Yet, after GST what if prices go up? Let me tell you what I told her at the end. Few days ago, I read something online. For now, let’s listen to all the three different opinions from the Customs Department director of GST, Datuk Subromaniam Tholasy, Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) chairman Datuk Ng Seing Liong as well as IFCA MSC Bhd’s chief financial officer Daniel Chow. No bonus for guessing it right based on the designations.

Yes, Subromaniam said that prices should be coming down because the prices of inputs have been decreasing especially with the falling oil prices. Therefore, the developers should pass the savings to home buyers. In fact, there’s no tax on residential land, thus there is no justification for any increase. Of course he also said that if everything was the same as previously, the actual increase with GST would be between 0.5% to 2% at maximum. However, as he has said, with the falling costs, this is no longer the case and the prices should fall even with GST.

Ng said that any extra costs would not be absorbed by developers but would be passed on to buyers. Based on REHDA’s own calculation, this should result in a 2.6% increase. He said the main issue was because of major components such as cement, concrete, bricks and sand. These are not zero-rated and yet it consists of 44% of the total cost of construction.

Chow said that the prices would not be increasing because there would already be an oversupply of residential properties by the end of the year. There has been many buyers who bought properties with the 5% downpayment two to three years ago and these are completing end 2015 and 2016 and the buyers would have to come up with money to pay. The holding power is not likely to be strong. He said with this huge pressure, property developers would have to think again whether can they increase the prices by even just 1 percent.

I told my colleague that I seriously do not believe developers would increase price with the current market condition. In fact 2015 is fast becoming a year of affordability. just look at all the new launches. Majority are RM500,000 or lower or even just very slightly higher. Gone are the days when RM700,000 seemed to be the usual price. Ok, perhaps the size may be a bit smaller and the location not that awesome and the number of units are pushed up but hey, think objectively, during good times, would we have this opportunity? I also think the huge supply from the 2011, 2012 and even 2013 years are coming into the market and it’s going to be a huge supply. Prices would not crash though. At worst, the sellers sell at a slight premium to what they bought and prices remain almost the same as the current market. We shall see what happens yeah. Sorry, everyone is just guessing. That includes me too.

written on 3 Feb 2015

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Oversupply, Yes. Crashing Down? No.

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