New condo is close to my boyfriend’s office but not mine

I met a young professional couple the other day. Boyfriend is in marketing and girlfriend is in sales. They treated me a cup of latte and wanted to ask for my opinions on buying their first property, a condo below RM450,000. The boyfriend is working in USJ and the girlfriend was still working in Penang. She said she should moving down in a few years, perhaps within 2 or 3 years. The question he asked was, where should he be buying since he is working nearby USJ currently. I told him that as long as there are homes within his budget nearby his office, that would be the most natural choice. In fact since he was also renting a room today, he can choose to buy a condo and rent out two rooms instead. In effect, he may still be paying almost the same ‘rental’ while his tenants help him with his mortgage. He agreed too and we searched for properties meeting his requirements as follows: Minimum size of 1,000 sq ft and maximum of RM450,000. Actually, there are still choices, even if it’s limited because he could only concentrate on secondary ones. New launches would not meet his requirements. Some choices? Do refer to the image. Out of the choices, he should shortlist those within 20 minutes away from his office. He was happy that there are still choices and would start viewing.

Then his girlfriend asked. “What would happen if my future office is in KL city centre? It’s crazy to drive from Puchong to KL city centre everyday.” I replied, “You can change your lifestyle by starting much earlier or take the public transport.” His boyfriend laughed, “She won’t be able to do it one lah.” She suggested buying somewhere in the middle instead. Between KL city centre and USJ. I told her that there is no certainty as to where her future office would be. However, there is certainty that his boyfriend would be working for 2-3 years more in the current company. Thus, it is always okay to buy somewhere nearer and in the near future, when she moves down to the Klang Valley, they can always buy another property and rent out the current one. She agreed too because there’s still uncertainty in her career plans. She is staying with her family in Penang while her boy friend is paying around RM800 per month.

As long as we did not buy a wrong property, it is always okay to get a property instead of renting. In fact, when we buy a property, we are still paying a “rental” because the home belongs to the bank and not us. However, we can then get some tenants who can help us in paying some portions of the mortgage on a monthly basis. The future would be based on what we do today. A RM400,000 property today, with a 3 percent appreciation rate would be RM463,000 at the end of 5 years. How many of us can safely say that I can save RM63,000 in 5 years? That’s RM1,050 per month for the next 5 years. Of course, the MAIN thing would be to save enough downpayment for our first property.
(Image by calculator.com.my)
This first one would propel us onwards in our property investment journey. Image shows how much we need to pay per month. Assuming we have 2 rooms which we could rent out at RM400 / room? We are then only paying half of the monthly mortgage payment. A wiser decision definitely compared to continuing renting a room at RM800. I wish my two young friends the best. I think they would do well.

written on 16 Jan 2017

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Close to 50% of EPF contributors have less than RM10,000 in their account. Oh dear.

By the way this is not an article for everyone to feel bad or feel sad or whatever. This is an article to serve as a reminder that the only one who can help us is ourselves. Any other help from any other parties including relatives, friends and even the government of the day should be considered extra. Let’s not kid ourselves here. Everyone have their own problems and even financial obligations.

If it is to be, it is up to me (as an EPF contributor)

My good friend who lost his main source of income since Covid-19 has secured a temporary employment for some income and he is also driving for Lalamove nowadays. He has two jobs but he is taking it in his stride that if he can survive this, things will get better. Now imagine if he is only willing to stay at home, blame everyone and everything but does nothing at all to remedy the situation? Now let’s look at what’s happening with the EPF contributors here in Malaysia.

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Close to 50,000 views

Latest page views of kopiandproperty.com was extremely close to 50,000 for the month of October 2017. 🙂

Beside traffics and page views

We got another awesome news is that kopiandproperty.com is now ranked top 50 for property blogs around the world.

This is from
Feedspot!

Thanks Feedspot!

And then what is Feedspot? It is the best place to read all your favorite websites in one place and discover new good ones.

You can sign up for free.

Furthermore, we are not only in the top 50 for property blogs, we also ranked on top 25 for
Malaysian Investment Blogs
 by the Feedspot.

Here’s the link.
 for our award.

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Closer ASEAN means more integration expected

I am pro-ASEAN versus the world. Many friends continue to tell me that Singapore is the leading economy in ASEAN. It’s okay, I do not wish to debate on this ‘leading’ word. I hope they continue to be successful and keep growing their population towards the 6.9 million goal by 2030. I think Singapore will do well within ASEAN as long as all other ASEAN nations continue to do well. It may be easier to hire top-notch professionals who are well versed with international business in Singapore but all these are of little use if these businesses are NOT operating within ASEAN.

The manufacturing plant must not be in cheaper cost Eastern European nation because they can also hire top-notch professionals from the UK! Now, what if the manufacturing plants are ONLY located in China? I dare not imagine what would happen to all these current top-notch professionals in the future. I think most would be out of job because sooner or later, China would also have these people! Come on when there are job offers today to Malaysians to work in China, how many get to work within Shanghai anyway? Most are going to be working in secondary cities. These are the cities which finds it hard to attract even the top-notch Chinese (China) professionals!

One more thing has happened for ASEAN. Southeast Asia is now fully OPEN. Yes, the ratification of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) open skies agreements by Indonesia and Laos in April 2016 allows all airlines to launch unlimited flights from their home to any point in the region subject to airport slot availability. Many reports have said that this will benefit some stronger airlines or even more established airports but do note that no airline would want to fly full to another country and fly back empty. Both sides MUST benefit from all these.

As per experts, there are constraints where airports are concerned. For example, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, and Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport have all reached full capacity and congestions are the norm.I agree fully. I have used all three airports and agree with the assessment fully. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a global airline trade body. ASEAN countries can add almost 25 million jobs and US$298 billion to the region’s GDP by 2035 if they invest in aviation infrastructure.

Many Malaysian students travel over the whole of Europe after their studies. I travelled across 6 countries too. Actually, if every visitor to any ASEAN nations travel to just 2 or 3 more countries, it would benefit every member countries. With open skies, this is now possible and made easier too. Let’s keep telling the world that it’s now possible to travel the whole ASEAN easily and conveniently. Yes of course, that include property investments too. Buy a property anywhere within ASEAN and during those months when they need more warmth, they have the whole ASEAN to travel around. Happy travelling.

written on 17 May 2016

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We will be CLOSER to one another in the future; space shortage

Treasure the space that we have today. It’s a luxury. Kuala Lumpur is nowhere near Hong Kong in terms of density but assuming we reach their level today 15 years later, I think we better make sure we own more space today instead of later. Yes, this includes even
car park lots
! I was in Hong Kong for a short family break. As this was already my 4th trip I think, it is not unusual for me to sit very close to other people during my lunches and dinners. My daughter did not really mind too and she even greeted strangers or smile at them. Yes, we were seated very CLOSE to one another. Space is a luxury in Hong Kong. Thus, if you want more private space, get ready to pay more.

Yesterday night, I had dinner in a posh Taiwanese restaurant in Windsor House mall, Hong Kong. It was not by choice, everyone was tired and we just needed a place to sit down for dinner. My table was pretty faraway from other diners, by Hong Kong standard. My bill at the end for two adults and one toddler and a baby? HK$389 (RM208). It’s for one main course (image), one dessert (image) and three drinks.
By the way, everyone can only stay for 1.5 hours at max and every adult MUST order a drink which starts from HK$45. (RM24). The night before, two main courses with drinks and even dessert, the bill was less than HK$150. (RM80). Of course, the night before was in a typical ‘char chan teng’ or kopitiam here in Malaysia.

I have told many of my friends about the living standards in Hong Kong. Seriously, for the salary they earn versus the food they could have, we are nowhere near them. However, their only major setback would be property prices. Yes, when we are talking about RM2 million, it will only be a
mosquito apartment.
 Yes, the usual 1,000 sq ft apartments that we may be taking for granted today? They are awesomely expensive there which meant that affordability wise, we have more choices, still. I think I would want to go back to Hong Kong. Have to keep learning from them for our future. Cheers.

written on 16 Sept 2016

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Press Release by Sime Darby Properties

Permanent closure of Jalan Bristol (route B25) at Lagong Estate, Selangor beginning
3

December
2018

ARA DAMANSARA,
30
November 2018 –
 Sime Darby Property advises the public that Jalan Bristol (route B25) at the Lagong Estate, Selangor will be closed permanently to all traffic beginning 3 December 2018 (Monday).

Jalan Bristol traverses across private land owned by Sime Darby Property at the Lagong Estate. The road access will be closed to the public due to safety reasons and to stop irresponsible parties from using the location as an illegal dumping site.

The public may use alternative routes such as Jalan Rawang – Bestari Jaya (route B27), Jalan Kundang (route B29), Jalan Kawasan Perindustrian Rawang (Federal Route 3209), the North-South expressway and Guthrie Corridor Expressway.

Sime Darby Property has obtained approval from the Public Works Department (JKR) for the permanent closure of Jalan Bristol. As the owner of the land, Sime Darby Property erected signages and banners since 5 November 2018 to inform the public of the road closure.

Sime Darby Property is seeking cooperation from the public to avoid using Jalan Bristol from 3 December 2018 onwards and use alternative routes to get to their destination.

***ENDS***

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CMCO in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur will CONTINUE past 18th March.

We are in CMCO in Selangor currently.

I have not been back to my hometown in Ipoh for many months. What about you?  it has been so long that I have forgotten how long. It seems that this will be delayed even further and that positive announcement I was wishing for did not come true. Briefly, the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) has been extended for another two weeks in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Penang and Kelantan from March 19 to 31.

Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said this about Selangor, “Selangor still remains under CMCO because most of the localities are still classified as red zones… all districts in Kuala Lumpur are also still red zones with an average 103 cases reported every day.” Please do read that article
with all other details in the article in nst.com.my

Okay, objectivity is needed

Number of cases remain high even if it’s already very low when compared to just a few weeks ago. It’s still four digit new cases every day. Remember the time when our active cases were even lower than 4 digits? Well, today we have new cases which are in four digits. Health Ministry said that should this downtrend be continuing, then we could be down to 500 cases per day in May 2021. Somehow, 500 cases do seem to be still a high number. I guess interstate travel would really have to wait longer than April in this case.

Stay safe. We are nowhere near the finishing line yet

Vaccinations seem to be on track but it will definitely be taking many more months and in the meantime, what we could do is not to push up the number of cases. What we could do is to play our part and always wear mask, always have social distancing and always SCAN with MySejahtera before entering any shop. Else, RM10,000 fine awaits and there’s really no need to argue about the fine amount. Just SCAN BEFORE YOU ENTER. Thank you.

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ALERT. Stay home. Stay safe. CMCO starts 14th October in Selangor, KL, Putrajaya.

CMCO starts yeah. Guys, please stay safe and if possible stay home most of the time. We can do this and be successful again.

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on
Pexels.com

Article in nst.com.my here.
  KUALA LUMPUR: The government just announced that Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Putrajaya will be placed under Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) effective midnight Oct 14.

This was decided upon following advise from the Health Ministry after Covid-19 cases continue to increase in several districts within the Klang Valley namely Klang, Petaling and Hulu Langat, said Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob in a live broadcast today.

The CMCO will come into effect at 12.01am Oct 14 until Oct 27.

Inter-district travelling will be barred during this period and workers will need to show their work pass or consent letter from employers in order to move from one district to another.

Ismail Sabri said only two persons from a household will be allowed to go out and buy essentials.

All schools, higher learning institutions, skills training institutes, kindergarten, nursery, tahfiz centres, public parks and recreational parks will close as well as mosques and non-Muslim houses of worship.

All sports activities, recreational, social, cultural and wedding receptions are not allowed to take place and entertainment centres and night clubs are not allowed to operate, he informed.

However, all economic activities in Selangor, KL and Putrajaya can proceed as usual with a more detailed standard operating procedure (SOP) to be announced by the National Security Council soon.

— end of article —

Full article as announced by Senior Minister

If you prefer to view and listen:

Yes, CMCO starts on 14th October. Stay safe.

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8 very nice CNY 2021 videos for all to enjoy.

First of all, I receive no fee for publishing these CNY 2021 videos yeah. I watched them, I like them and it made me smile gratefully, some made me feel the emotion of not being able to go home and some just made me feel positive and thus, I am now putting all 8 of them within the same place for all to watch. There’s no need to go to 8 different places to watch them. In no particular order, all the CNY 2021 videos as follow. Xin Nian Kuai Le! (Happy CNY to all)

Things will surely get better if we are together

Staying positive and doing our small part would eventually become a huge contribution.

Just smile and laugh. A story of Nien…

Distance is NOT the main issue. The feeling comes from the heart.

Songs and laughter friendship forever!

A family is always the strongest support we would ever have

It’s that perseverance which counts tremendously in anything we want to do or believe in

Haha. Nice Medley to sing along.

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CNY holiday travels? Accommodation will be needed.

I drove back to my hometown Ipoh on 28th January 2021. It was slightly slow on some parts of the PLUS expressway. Took me close to 3 hours for the 189km journey. During the Chinese New Year, Ipoh was full of cars. It’s not as many as 2020 but nevertheless, many have come home for the reunion after not being able to do so in 2021.

I also met up with a good friend and she was also home to Ipoh but was staying in a hotel because she came back with her husband and two kids and thus space was insufficient at her parent’s place.  My cousin sister had to do the same  because there were just not enough space to accommodate her family of 4 including 2 kids.

Then, I drove to KLIA from Ipoh on 2nd February (2nd day of CNY) to send my wife to the airport. She was flying back to Sandakan alone. She told me the flight was full and her flight back was also full. It meant that people are travelling again and Sandakan is a smaller place compared to Kota Kinabalu. In fact there were many cars on the road during this CNY too.

What all these showed me is that people are travelling and thus booking of accommodation has increased.

Article in traveldailynews.asia
  Agoda says that big cities and tourist favorites are back in favor for travel this Lunar New Year. Agoda’s data continues to see trends of emerging destinations across multiple markets even as travelers primarily continue to stick to domestic travel and to explore their own ‘backyard’.

There are a few additions for this year including Berastagi (#6 Indonesia) and Hongcheon-gun (#5 Korea) which boast their great escape to nature. Nantou with stunning mountain and lake comes in at #8 in Taiwan’s list. Coastal city Quy Nhon (Binh Dinh) rounds out Vietnam’s top eight list.

Above is the list of all the popular destinations based on hotel bookings in Agoda. In Malaysia, seaside Kota Kinabalu re-joins the ranks at #7 and gateway to Malaysia, Johor Bahru at #8. Do read the full article here:
Article in traveldailynews.asia

Accommodation need will increase

As families get bigger, the need for space meant that some may just have to stay outside the home even in their hometown. The room that was shared by two brothers or two sisters may only accommodate one brother with his whole family while the other would have to stay elsewhere.

Travelling will restart later even if it may be slowed down again for now because of the current increase in Covid-19 cases due to Omicron. We need to also remember that with the median age of 29 or 30 for Malaysia, it meant that families are getting bigger too. When they travel, accommodation may be necessary.

When I travel back to Sandakan again for CNY next year, space will definitely become limited too. Instead of a total of 5 people in the same house previously, there are now 14 people. The number of rooms remain the same. The bathrooms remain the same. These are all the reasons why the need for accommodation will increase.

All the destinations listed in Agoda for Malaysia are all the destinations I go to a few times every year previously. I was hoping to do so again in 2022. I will keep my fingers crossed that the current increase will peak by end February and we will go back to below 10,000 cases by end March. I do think it’s doable if all of us continue to take the necessary precautions. Omicron is easy to spread but it’s also weaker in severity when compared to Delta.

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CNY gathering: Jobs, Properties and Record Year

The thing I love most about Chinese New Year would be gatherings with friends. Whatsapp or even Facebook is no substitute of actually shaking their hands or even a warm hug followed by laughters and then bidding goodbye till next year. In one of those gatherings this year, it was with a group of awesome Toastmasters. The age ranges from 20s to 60s. Haha. Yes, we are a vibrant lot. After nearly 2 hours of non-stop chit-chatting about everything under the sun, let me share three major topics that we spoke about.

Someone said, “Jobs are hard to come by, right?” I replied that I also think so but the situation at my working place is a little different. There were many resignations recently. While there are those whom I think it’s best for the company that they are leaving but many of those who were resigning were considered performers. In other words, it’s going to be hard to replace them with a similar package. Another Toastmaster then shared that she resigned 6 months ago because her company did not give her enough space to perform. WOW. “Did not give her enough space to perform!” She resigned and took up a full-time MBA course and she would be graduating in August 2017.
So, are jobs hard to come by?
 Let us just remember that even as many jobs we have today will disappear in future, new jobs and roles are being created everyday. Keep ourselves updated yeah. Stay competitive.

Someone said, ‘Developers love to promise a lot but always fail to deliver!’ He bought a place within Selangor where the developer promised 15km of walking pathway around the development. He said, ‘Pathway is available but every house extended their ‘territory’ with pots and other items and in the end, the 15km pathway is full of man-made barriers.’ His daughter quipped sarcastically, ‘Actually the developer did not lie. The 15km pathway actually exists. They never promised it’s fully walkable!’ I agree that this is quite common and sometimes we just have to rely on our luck. I also told them that given a choice, I would prefer a strata-titled home even for landed ones. I know very well that my artistic sense is bad but if I stay in a neighbourhood where three other neighbours are as bad and decided to paint their house with some extraordinary colours…. Choose carefully.

Lastly, we started to talk about the state of the economy. Someone said businesses are struggling to survive. In fact everything bad looks like it will continue for 2017. A Toastmaster then shared that 2016 was a record year for him in terms of new business opportunities. He is a corporate trainer. As all of us know, when the company is not doing well, one of the very first things they cut is TRAINING allocations. Actually, this corporate trainer is someone I look up to. I think this is the difference. You can be another corporate trainer or you can be an exceptional one. Guess who would still be doing great during a slowdown? I also shared that it’s most important that
ringgit stays stable and the economy to continue growing.
Plus the fact that during bad times, the weaker companies would be exposed and may not survive while the stronger ones would get more businesses. Stay positive. I will look forward to another of such gathering next year. Happy Chinese New Year!

written on 31st January 2017

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CNY NEW SOP. This is latest. Understand and well, follow lah. Stay safe.

This is the latest CNY new SOP. Yes, it is changed again. I guess if we look on the bright side, they listened to all the never ending remarks / comments online. There was definitely an urgent meeting by many VIPs. So many people commented online and they would have seen it and in fact these may have changed their opinion. Anyway, does not matter. This is the latest one yeah.

Photo by RODNAE Productions on
Pexels.com

Briefly, family reunion dinners for Chinese New Year will now BE PERMITTED. The only catch is this. It is limited to 15 family members living within a 10km radius and must not involve interstate or inter-district travel. I am sure now there are Malaysians who regretted staying just a little further away than 10km from their parents. Perhaps do our best to stay closer in the near future. Coming back to this, actually it does no change anything for me as my parents are in Ipoh. However reunion dinner is an important CNY symbol, so it will make some people happy too.

The image as below, courtesy of thestar.com.my

Yes, they even allow some people to visit the temples. However, with the restriction, it meant that the queue would be very long. No idea how the temple committees will be able to limit everyone to just 30 minutes. Hopefully they could. By the way, fine is still applicable if we did not follow SOP yeah. This is just a relaxation, it’s not an abolishment. Happy abiding and stay safe during Chinese New Year. Gong Xi Fa Cai!

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Enjoy! 8 very nice CNY videos for 2022

Enjoy! 8 very nice CNY videos for 2022

Last year, I published this article.
“8 very nice CNY videos for 2021” (click to view them)
 So, this year, have to go find the videos I saw online / in FB / forwarded by friends etc and just put it at the same place for everyone to enjoy. All the videos are in no particular order yeah. So feel free to rank them based on how you love them and do forward this article to everyone you know so that they can enjoy too.

#1 – Cannot run away from this familiar tune by Watsons lah.

#2  RHB’s video is meaningful and carries a noble message too.

#3 Gamuda Land’s video is also very meaningful and emotional too.

#4 – Yes, I like this Julie’s because of their earlier video about their new branding

#5 – A Malaysian themed video. From Mr. DIY.

#6 This one’s from that super famous cooking oil yeah. KNIFE cooking oil. Meaningful video.

#7 Okay, the main star is an old friend but this is still a meaningful video to remind us that we must stay safe for our loved ones. From Eu Yan Sang.

#8  When different generations have different views, just need to remember to always be grateful! Lovely video about the best hairstylist EVER. Haha. By McDonald’s.

If there are videos which you love but is not here, do let us know. Probably we can add in too so that good videos can be enjoyed by everyone.

Wishing everyone who’s travelling to drive / travel safely. Precautions are necessary. Chinese New Year is supposed to be a happy event. Stay safe for all your loved ones yeah.

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8 Good CNY videos from developers

8 Good CNY videos from developers

This article was very well received by many.
Enjoy! 8 very good CNY videos for 2022
Thank you everyone. Do continue sharing them with more people yeah. Then, as usual I start to receive many more CNY videos from property developers. Since many of these videos are also very good and have meaningful message, here’s a compilation for all of them. If I missed out any, please do let me know yeah. I can always change the title to 10 Good videos etc…

#1 – Matrix Concepts

 #2 Gamuda Land

#3 UEM Sunrise

#4 EcoWorld

#5 Mah Sing

#6 Aset Kayamas

#7 IJM Land

#8 S P Setia

I am sure you have your own favourite right? Me too. Haha. However, no need to debate lah. Enjoy it. Drive safe when you back to your hometown yeah. Take care and wishing all of us a ROARING 2022 yeah. it’s about time things really start to get better and better and soon, we will thrive again.

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Co-working is working, really. Will work even better in future.

My team-mate and I had a meeting with an affordable housing developer in Penang recently. On the way up the developer’s office which was in Tamarins House, I saw
Scoopoint (social collaborative opportunities), a co-working office
 which I read about in Facebook many months back. After the meeting with the developer ended, I went down to Scoopoint for a ‘walk.’  We pressed the bell and the receptionist cum customer service and marketing person who’s friendly and smiley brought us around and introduced us to all the facilities provided as well as the packages available too. Before I share some photos which could easily be found online, first thing I wanted to tell is that the ‘Office Rooms’ are FULLY leased out.  At the time that I was visiting, all the offices have the tenants in them and many were having discussions. One lady within one of the offices looked up, saw me and I smiled but she did not smile back. Perhaps she’s busily thinking how to conquer the world. 🙂

I shared with my team-mate that co-working offices would become ever more popular because it enables new entrepreneurs (usually young and energetic too) to start a business with much lower costs than previously. In fact, the number of freelancers are increasing every year. He said, “But even without these co-working offices, the entrepreneurs can still keep their costs low by working from home.” I smiled and explained. If they work from home, they may be distracted by many things. They would still need to sign up for high-speed broadband and this is usually as much as 50 percent of what some co-working spaces are charing for a monthly working space / desk. Scoopoint charges RM399.

IDEAS
 – They also do not have anyone to bounce ideas with and have no networking opportunities with some other potential new business partners. You will never know, perhaps you may be sharing space with a potential future ‘GRAB’ or ‘FAVE’?

ENVIRONMENT
 – More importantly, the staffs they hire, who’s usually from the current generation would love an office with a nice view, with a relaxing lobby to rest occasionally and sometimes even play a game of ping pong with another team-mate. This is especially true for people who want offices in some popular areas but just could not bear to rent the whole office by themselves.

PROHIBITIVE OVERHEADS
 – Environment aside, costs would be prohibitive too. Unless of course, the entrepreneur does not want to install air-conds. Seriously, even when we rent an office, the usable space is by far smaller than the whole co-working office!You do not even need to hire a receptionist cum admin cum marketing person.

Anyway, there are a lot of other reasons but to many aspiring entrepreneurs out there, there’s now a lot of choices. As for commercial offices, they need to change QUICKLY if they wish to take advantage of these changing times. From my 20 minutes spent in Scoopoint, I can safely say that this is a good choice. Oh yeah, according to the friendly receptionist, one of the current office tenant may move out next year.
So, do enquire if you need an office yeah.
 It comes with nice view, cosy resting space including even a sleeping room! Yes, occasionally you can challenge someone to a game of ping pong too. If I happen to be around, please challenge me!
All the best Scoopoint.

I am sure more things are coming up. When I meet your founder in the near future, I will ask her a few questions too.

More photos below:

written on 31 Dec 2017

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Coffee Bean is still better for me

Many years ago, I remembered that I would go Coffee Bean instead of Starbucks. I even have a Coffee Bean card. Yet, I have forgotten how long or when was the last time I have been to Coffee Bean. I don’t think it’s my fault. It’s Coffee Bean’s fault for having so few branches. Anyway, today, my wife wanted to treat me Starbucks with her new card. Of course I am happy. Free drink man. However, when I went to scout for the nearest Starbucks, it was right beside the main entrance and wow… it was like a mini sauna, with the sun shining outside and the automatic door kept on opening and closing making the Starbucks unbearable for me. How am I supposed to enjoy my drink in a hot environment?

I told my wife and we decided to find any other cafe since it was tea time and she had shopped for 1.5 hours while I have been carrying my baby daughter around Sunway for the past 1.5 hours. Haha. As soon as we walked like 20 metres, there it was, my Coffee bean. I promptly queued up and since I will be sharing with my wife, instead of my usual latte, I opted for a iced vanilla latte. The log red valvet cake looks nice, so I ordered one too. As soon as I sat down, took my first ‘suck’, I fell in love with Coffee Bean again. The coffee taste was intense and coupled with sufficient milk and vanilla made the drink extremely enjoyable. It was good till the last drop which meant even when after the ice melted, the enjoyment stayed the same! How awesome.

It is sweeter since now, Citibank card holders get 20% off. I will choose Coffee Bean over Starbucks if they are side by side. Coffee Bean is still better for me.

written on 25th dec 2013.

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Coffee Lane, Penang

I used to have a Toastmaster friend who loves tea. He talks about tea, he showed us his skills about tea. Everything was tea until suddenly he said I am opening a cafe. Huh?? He opened a very cozy little cafe called Coffee Lane in Penang. I used to go every few weeks or so, bringing customers, friends. I often ordered latte and he would sheepishly said, ‘my latte is different’. He would charge me cheaper because he mentioned it was not possible for him to make a great latte by using his siphon coffee machine. Thus, he used cheaper beans instead. Truth is, his latte tasted very down to earth. No pretensions to it. Taste is there it’s just that latte somehow should have the smoothness and class. His latte, well none. Haha.

Recently, I went to his cafe and he immediately asked, ‘Latte?’ I said yeah. When he put down the latte in front of me, I asked, wow, new machine? One sip and I told him, hey it is now elegant! He laughed and said, expensive machine, thus better latte lar. This time, his latte was really nice. Smooth, with a strong aroma and coffee taste and just the right milk and froth. It was very good. Plus, this is my friend’s cafe. I grade his latte A. 🙂  Anyone who’s in Penang must try. His mum makes great Tee  Nya Kuih too.

written on 16th dec 2013.

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Did you know the origin of your cup of coffee? Top 10 countries where they come from?

Did you know the origin of your cup of coffee?

Did you know that cafes have also influenced many newer townships and even the perception of certain developments? Imagine a township with only kopitiams and no nice cafes today…  Anyway, that’s another story. Today, let’s just look at the origin of coffee.

Arabica beans – more expensive than Robusta yeah

Generally, there’s the Arabica coffee beans which is usually used in cafes selling you a glass of Americano for RM8. These beans are more aromatic but not as strong in taste versus Robusta beans. it’s more expensive because we cannot simply grow it anywhere we like. Usually it thrives in highlands. That’s why every time we buy some Arabica beans, they will show the altitude of where the coffee plantation is.
Yes, I love coffee and have spent a lot on them during this MCO period. However I saved a lot of money too! Click here to read my experience.

Robusta beans – cheaper than Arabica, easier to grow

Robusta beans are meanwhile cheaper than Arabica, less aromatic but has a stronger taste. Robusta coffee trees can be grown in most places and does not need to be grown on highlands. Thus, a cup of kopi-o in the local kopitiam may just be RM2.

This is 4x cheaper than a glass of Americano but it’s also because of the environment too yeah. Cost of operations for a cafe is higher because it has to be comfortable. A kopitiam meanwhile is mor elike a touch and go kind of place.  Try drinking your cup of coffee for an hour and see what happens… Haha. Okay, nothing will happen usually.

What do we usually drink in the kopitiams then?

Many times, the local coffee which we drink here in Malaysia, they combine both (of course less Arabica in the mix) to make an even better cup of coffee. For example, many white coffee we drink in Ipoh tastes good because of this clever combination.  Now, let’s look at all the top coffee producing countries from around the world. By the way, Malaysia is not within the top 10 but we certainly are not too bad too. Malaysia produced 3,559 TONNES. (not kg yeah. 1 tonne = 1,000 kg)
in 2019. (Info source here)

Image Source: visualcapitalist.com

My preferred coffee beans?

I drank a lot of coffee just within the MCO period. Here’s that earlier article about it and showing all the coffee which I have consumed.
Save lots of money from drinking coffee, good beans too
 I think I have consumed coffee from nearly all the countries in the image above yeah. What’s my preferred one?

I always find Ethiopia beans as better than the rest. My personal preference. As for the rest, go ahead and try them yourself yeah. Haha. Yes, there are a few countries in the list which I have stopped buying altogether. It’s not here but hey, Malaysia produces some Arabica beans too. You can get them in Shopee. Just search for Sabarica yeah. The beans have its own special characteristics too. It has that flowery kind of taste which is really nice. It is not bitter, not chocolatey and not sourish.

Now you know a little more about the coffee which you are drinking everyday yeah.

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Come on, give first time home buyers a break says REHDA Penang.

In a press conference for Mapex Penang 2014, Real Estate Housing Developers Association (REHDA) Penang asked the government to give first time home buyers more assistance and flexibility. It’s chairman, Datuk Jerry Chan said that Malaysia can look at Australia’s example whereby the buyers pay only interest for the first few years before starting their mortgage payments later. Basically help the buyers own a place first. With their increasing salary, they would definitely be able to afford that property in the near future. However, if help is not given to them earlier, then they may never be able to afford the property in the future. Government should also look at relaxing the cooling measures too, especially as the property market has already been slowing down.

Frankly, if you are the first time home buyers, do you think this will help you own a home? Paying just the interest first and only start paying for the home a few years down the road? I think for this to work well, for Malaysians in general, another clause is needed, that the buyer cannot sell the property within the first 5 years or if they sell, then they would not get just the RPGT but also an additional tax which will be put into a fund to help other first time home buyers.

I also still believe a better way would be for buyers to just know where their limit is and buy based on their own affordability level. WIthin Penang island today, as long as you are willing to settle for apartments, there are lots of choices below RM400,000 or for certain areas, even as low as RM300,000. I am talking about apartments with sizes ranging from 700sf till below 950sf. The question however is, are these what the buyers want? I think the buyers want a full facility condo, in an area they like and they want it for a price which is no longer available. Fortunately for Penang, buying in mainland side meant your choices has expanded yet again even with just RM400,000. Oops, I think mainland is also not amongst their first choice.

In terms of the cooling measures, I agree on only ONE (1). That is the relaxing of DIBS for first time buyers and I repeat, ONLY first time buyers. Other than that, I prefer RPGT to be maintained. Yes, it is affecting me tremendously for two of my properties but I am ok with it. I don’t think many have really thought about it but do you seriously want majority of the buyers of properties in the market to be just any tom, dick or harry? Are you really sure? I would prefer the market is full of people who actually qualify for a home loan and not the home loan being lowered to such a low level like what happened in the US mortgage crisis in 2008. Everyone and anyone was buying a property and thinking of flipping and in the end, everyone suffered. In many places, the prices has yet to recover and last year, there were so many of those buy one free one US property shows in Singapore…..

Mapex Penang will be starting soon. If you want to know more about this MAPEX, you can read here too.
3 days, RM130 million worth of properties to be sold, MAPEX Penang

written on 23rd Sept 2014

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Come on, just fill in and sign. Be responsible!

Touch wood but if something happens to you today, do you know where would your EPF money be going to? Your parents? Your current wife? Ex wife? Children? Who? According to Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan, 9.75 million out of 13 million EPF contributors have yet to name their nominees for their savings in case of death. Statistically, that’s 7.5 persons out of every 10. Come on, hands up, who has yet to fill in and sign?

Ok, I am not just talking about those who have not filled up. I am also talking about those who may have filled the name of someone whom they may want to change today. Or those who has forgotten totally who they filled in previously. No worries, your latest nomination would overwrite your previous one automatically. Of course, most of the time, nothing would happen to us.

Can you nominate your children? Yes, but according to information from EPF website:

“If the nominee is under the age of 18 years old, the EPF will not make any payment to the nominee until the person reaches the age of 18.

Nevertheless, the guardians of the nominee may apply to make a withdrawal on behalf of the nominee for the purpose of supporting the nominee. Approval will be at the discretion of the EPF. “

The problem with this is that everything is so unclear. Who have you appointed as Guardian? How much is enough for the Guardian to support your children on a monthly basis? Last but not least, when your children reaches 18 and EPF gives the lump sum of money to your children, how would he be able to handle such a large sum of money?

Be reminded, without a nomination, it may take a while for your loved ones to claim the money. Their suffering is thus not confined to just losing you but also the inability to support themselves financially. There are plenty of EPF offices all around you. Click here to see where the
EPF offices
 are. One lunch time is more than enough. Just fill up and sign. Be responsible!

written on 21 March 2014

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A good 2018 for property market Malaysia.

According to an article in PropertyGuru,
 a total of 580 visitors visited PropertyGuru’s Malaysia Property Show (MPS) held in The St. Regis Singapore recently. In fact it said that the seminar sessions were well attended; full house.  The seminar series started with some predictions for the Malaysian property market in 2018. Here’s an earlier article about this.
Property market oversupply? Improve by mid-2018 and recover in 3 years

It outlined some catalytic projects to look out (I hope people are looking at the MRT lines as well as Sabah and Sarawak instead of just the High Speed Rail. Medium term outlook is a better indicator of whether to buy or not to buy) as well as some legal know-hows and guidelines on purchase of properties by foreigners in Malaysia. (Seriously, foreigners, your property investment in Malaysia is as safe as a Malaysian buying the same property. This is a real advantage compared to many other property markets)

Basically, the focus was on the growth potential for real estate hotspots particularly particularly Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca
(I love Melaka too)

and Johor. (I would like to add that Kota Kinabalu is definitely a good addition to this list together with Ipoh if the buyer happens to be a Malaysian thinking about retirement in the future, whether or not he is an Ipohan) The article quoted some developers who joined the MPS. They include Aspen Vision City Sdn Bhd, Daiwa Sunway Development Sdn Bhd, Hatten Group, BBCC Development Sdn Bhd, Eco Sanctuary Sdn Bhd, Damansara City Sdn Bhd, Naza TTDI Sdn Bhd, United Malayan Land Berhad and Sunway Iskandar Sdn Bhd. Here’s a recent article about Sunway Iskandar.
Sunway Iskandar’s The Grid

Within the same article, Kelvin Yip, associate director of Knight Frank Malaysia pointed out that the Malaysian property market is set for an upturn next year. This is despite the fact that many investors are still adopting a wait-and-see approach. He shared two reasons for his prediction; Malaysia’s economic growth and lower unemployment rates. His conclusion is that it is currently a good time to think about investing into the Malaysian property market. Here’s that full article again:
Malaysian properties poised to make a comeback in 2018
 (I personally think that Singaporean investors do much more homework than Malaysian investors. In fact I would think they know more about Iskandar than a typical Malaysian who is not staying in JB. In terms of investment, it does make a better sense to invest somewhere closer first even if I think Kuala Lumpur would always be a major choice because it is much more well known and there are much more news about KL than other cities or towns.)  Happy following.

written on 27 Oct 2017

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“Commercial” property in a busy area @ below RM600k in Penang

Message from MNP Auctioneers (Central) Sdn Bhd

This property is suitable for aspiring entrepreneurs looking for a place to expand their businesses. It is also suitable for own stay if you love a mature neighbourhood instead of a quiet and faraway property. If you are thinking of buying a residential unit in a very busy area (with lots of shops and offices) and converting it into an office, this is an opportunity. The reserve price for this potential opportunity is only RM595,000. There is a 2-storey terraced house with a total floor size of 2,254 sq ft up for Open Bidding. (Auction requested by owner) There are 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Total land size is 1,540 sq ft. It’s also freehold and it’s also partially furnished too. Price per sq ft is thus only RM264 per sq ft which is extremely ‘cheap.’

The property is facing North East and located in a strategic location that is a potential business area with lots of business nearby. It is near to the main road and Hotels, Train Station, Jetty & Penang Bridge are all in vicinity. Easily accessible to North-South Highway & Raja Uda. A Potential Business Centre is coming up with condominium in the area.

Find out more on how you can own this property through open bidding. Only the highest and best bid will win!
Agents are welcomed for co-broking. Further enquiries and arrangement for viewing please contact us. Mr. Cheston @ 012 7772 756.

These are the details:-

– Land Area 1,540 sqft

– Built-up 2,254 sqft

– 3+1 bedrooms / 2 bathrooms

– Renovated & Partly Furnished

– Currently Tenanted

The property comes with the following amenities:

Amenities

Air-Conditioning

Balcony

Bathtub

City View

Cooker Hob/Hood

Private Garden

Renovated

Water Heater

In terms of viability of such a property as an office cum residential for example, it is quite realistic. The total mortgage payment per month based on the following assumptions (as per image) is less than RM2,500.  If you are also staying there, then the total mortgage should be deducted with the rental savings too. I do not know of many office units within a busy area for less than RM2,000 rental per month. I mean owning the whole unit and not just one small part or a small retail lot in a popular mall. I think for retail, it’s still best to get a unit in the mall and pay RM5,000 or more for it. They are two different things. To understand more and ask many questions, please feel free to call
Mr. Cheston @ 012 7772 756.
 He will gladly show you the unit too because this is not the usual auction where you can only see from the outside or even having to drop by at night and see if the lights are still on.

This is OPEN BIDDING. (Auction requested by the owner himself). The advantage of OPEN BIDDING to owners?  FASTER selling. On the day of the auction, if there are winners, the property is immediately sold. This is not like engaging one negotiator and found out that one may not be enough and thus, one owner engages 10 different negotiators and go crazy answering phones or even opening doors for viewings etc.
It may fetch HIGHER PRICE. Marketing will be done by MNP Auctioneers so that as many people know about this. The more people bidding for it, the chances for the prices to go higher is higher. This is unlike a direct negotiation with the potential buyer for example.

The OPEN BIDDING will happen as per below:
You may register here to bid as well.

Date: 27th December 2017

Address:
MNP Auctioneers (CENTRAL) Sdn Bhd

No.161, Jalan Sungai Pinang

Georgetown 10150

One more photo for everyone’s perusal. Contact Mr. Cheston @ 012 7772 756 for more understanding before deciding. No harm in understanding more.

— end of message —

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Communication skills, world happenings, learning and personal finance

I think I have interviewed enough good and bad candidates to conclude that communication skill is the single most important element for anyone to get a job. That confidence when we explain, coupled with sufficient English proficiency will help one to be ahead of all the rest. To those who think that a programmer or an engineer would need just their technical skills, they are right, as long as they want to be a programmer and an engineer for a very long time instead of becoming a Chief Technology Officer or Head of Engineering in the future. Or can we imagine a CEO who could not explain well during a press conference or reading from notes instead? Fortunately, communication skills could be learnt, practiced and perfected.
Keep speaking more or join Toastmasters.

Of course, confidence comes from deep knowledge about the issue that we are explaining. It’s not about presentation skill only because sooner or later, someone is going to find out if you can only talk but could not walk the talk. Deep knowledge meant that one kept reading more. I told someone about my belief of 6-6-6 a few years ago. Start reading just 6 articles per day, expanding it further to 6 different channels (because after a while your time spent per article gets lesser) and after 6 months, you may find that you are seen as an expert in the things you read about. This is true even to those intending to know a lot about property investment. Finishing just a book about property investment meant gaining the experience of the writer within days.

It’s impossible to learn everything or anything usable at all if we stay for just a few months or keep changing jobs for a few hundred extra ringgit. Seriously, I will not even call job hoppers for an interview. Perhaps just me maybe. 🙂  Last but not least, start saving, learning and investing. The wish for ‘if only I have the money of today and born 20 years ago’ will never happen. The second best time to make it big, whether it’s the career or the wealth is now upon us. These are the elements shared by someone I believe is a good role model for Malaysians. He is Tengku Zafrul, currently CIMB group chief executive officer. His actual comments can be read here:
In TheStar – Tengku Zafrul’s advice here.
Here’s some introduction of him in Wiki.
All the best fellow Malaysians.

written on 14 Aug 2017

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Company with RM30 Billion worth of land?

We have often heard of gross development value (GDV) of over a billion ringgit or even a few billions these days.
Getting bigger year after year even with a small piece of land, aslong as it’s strategic.
 However, do you know of any public listed developers having up RM30 Billion worth of land? Assuming land cost is 10 percent, the potential GDV for this RM30 billion land would be RM300 billion! Note that this is mere assumption. Perhaps the land cost can be even higher. This company will become reality when Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH)’s proposal to buy the remaining 61.7 per cent stake in IWC it does not already own. It will then assume IWC’s listing status on Bursa Malaysia’s main board. Full report in
NST here.

What’s the price like currently? Well, we can refer to
klse.i3investor.com
  Image beside. This proposed merger will create one of Bursa Malaysia’s largest property developers with RM30 billion worth of land according to IWH. Whether it happens or not would be decided by April 19. The RM1.50 offer price represents a 14 per cent premium over IWC’s 30-day volume weighted average price up to March 3. (Yes, if you think this deal is awesome for the future of IWH, you can also buy the share and hold)  By the way, this is also called ‘backdoor’ listing. Sometimes, when a company is in trouble, a white knight will come to its rescue and assume its listing status. That’s also called backdoor listing. Quite a normal situation in many bourses in the world today. Here’s another report in
dailymail.co.uk
  Four banks were appointed joint principal advisors for IWC. They are AmInvestment Bank Bhd, CIMB Investment Bank Bhd, Maybank Investment Bank Bhd and RHB Investment Bank Bhd  (Usually, more than 1 bank is appointed when the deal is a mega one. Besides that, every bank would have their own network of investors which is better too. The wider the network, the more potential property buyers? Haha. That’s one minor reason lah.)

Iskandar Waterfront Holdings which is also partly owned by the Johor state government will also be embarking on a proposed restructuring exercise via internal rationalisation of minority stakes within the group and various Johor state entities. By the end of this rationalisation program, IWH will have a total land bank of more than 7,400 acres in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru, making it one of the largest property companies in Malaysia. Remember, largest or smallest should NOT be the major reason we buy. Only buy the share if we know the business that the company is in is profitable and sustainable over the long run. So, the question would be how much do you believe in Iskandar Malaysia. As usual, the alternative to buying the stock is to buy the actual property being developed. 🙂  Happy buying.

written on 7 Mar 2017

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Demand is definitely robust. Jobs, Banks, Developers and us.

Many months ago, a friend who’s working in the developer was asking me about the property market. He said that the conversion rate from people who dropped by the sales gallery is getting very low. It used to be far easier to close a sale. This was my answer then and this is still my answer today. Looking from very high up, we will see that the
median age for Malaysians is at 28 currently.

This is an advantage which will not always be available. Especially as Malaysia moves into an
ageing nation by 2035 or 2040.
 (A few different predictions) Anyway, looking closer to the ground, that means all the people around us, there is one similar finding. The negative sentiment. Well, apart from negative sentiment, the property market remains supported by 3 strong pillars.

1.
JOB.

People are still having their jobs which meant income is still intact. No income, no desire to buy. Has income, may spend on unnecessary first which is the reason why the property market is not crazy currently. Only those who has saved for a few years could afford to buy and this is definitely not the majority of all working professionals. The number is still big enough to support the property market.

2.
Banks

are still very competitive (Just look at personal loans and credit cards and the marketing for more deposits.)  This meant that they will still accept home loan applications, if the applicant is qualified. Remember, qualifying for a RM500,000 loan does not mean the bank will approve you when you try for RM550,000 okay… As an applicant, I would seriously advise you to only buy properties WITHIN your affordability and not based on STRETCHABILITY.

3.
Developers

do know that they need to launch based on market needs. Just look at the typical prices of new launches today. They are aimed only at the lowest possible price with the smallest acceptable size possible. Typically RM400,000 and lower and usually sized below 900 sq ft. Remember, when we look at advanced property markets, prices would do its best to stay competitive while sizes would continue to become smaller. Well, fortunately for us currently, developers can build further too.

Coming to why I say the demand for properties remain robust, there are always news of launches where the units were all sold out within hours or days being reported in the media. Please do note however that these buyers who have booked and paid a deposit would still have to apply for a loan and if we take the typical approval rate at around 75 percent, then there would usually be 25 percent of the units sold which the developer would have to sell another time.
Here’s an article about loan approval rates in Malaysia.

In terms of how many times one unit may actually be sold, it depends. Sometimes, it may be many times before it is sold. My friend who used to work for a developer told me that for one particular low medium cost apartment, one particular unit was ‘sold’ 9 times before it was finally sold. Only that particular unit lah. The rest followed the usual. Happy buying.

written on 18 Dec 2017

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Yes, compound them (unvaccinated) without further warning as a deterrent, please. Thank you.

If a person is NOT yet fully vaccinated or NOT vaccinated at all, this person is NOT allowed to travel inter-state. This is as per announcement by Bukit Aman here: “
The police have announced that they will be issuing compounds to unvaccinated individuals caught travelling interstate
”
Read here for the news article.

The reason is a simple one. The chance for this person to be infected is much higher than the fully vaccinated ones (5 TIMES higher, that’s 500% by the way) and the unvaccinated is also 29 TIMES. (no typo, it’s 29 times!!) more likely to be hospitalised. Refer to actual study by USA’s Centers of Disease and Prevention Control (CDC). No, this is not some small study from a small and less powerful nation.

By the way, if this person is much easier to be infected, it will be easier for them to infect others in other states and this is NOT a good news to have. Plus they are 29 times more likely to be hospitalised, so I really do not wish them to be infected and face the chance to be hospitalised.
This is the latest study, latest article. Please read at cnbc.com

Just stay home, that’s safer for the person and everyone else. Inter-state travel is a no-no, definitely.

Article in says.com
   Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order Department director CP Datuk Hazani Ghazali said, that they will be issuing compounds to unvaccinated individuals caught travelling interstate. He said, “Surprise inspections will be done from time to time to ensure that individuals without vaccines do not take the opportunity to return to their hometowns.”

He added, “The government has already stated that those who want to travel interstate would need to complete their vaccination so they should abide by that.”

He said, “The matter of SOP compliance has been reminded since last year. There are times we have to be stern. This time,
we will continue to immediately compound those who travel interstate without having completed their vaccination with no prior warning
.”  Please do read here for the details of what he warned.
Article in says.com

Better not try yeah, stay home and watch dramas maybe

No one is forcing anyone to be vaccinated. The unvaccinated should therefore also not force the vaccinated to dine at the same place with them, shop at the same place with them or even stay at the same hotel as them for vacations. No one is forcing the teachers to be vaccinated too.

Just need to change profession because I am NOT going to allow unvaccinated teachers to teach my children who do not qualify yet to be vaccinated and is thus in danger when taught by all these higher chance to be infected and higher chance to be hospitalised unvaccinated teachers.

Happy travelling everyone and stay safe plus follow SOPs. Covid-19 is still among us. Thank you.

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Concern by Singapore is now at the highest level; mega reclamation

I wrote about this just few days ago. A reclamation project called Forest City which will cover around
3% the size of Singapore
 and it’s right next to Singapore. Without any doubt, if you are Singapore, you would also be concerned. This concern has been raised during regional meetings between both countries and has now risen to the highest level; PM to PM. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has written Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak about its concern. The concern started after a report in The Star about the project by Country Garden of China and Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor.

The request I think would be for a formal report about the environment impact assessment (EIA) as well as more details about the project. This is a very sensitive issue because JB and Singapore is too close for comfort when these projects happen. According to report, the Johor Menteri Besar has also said that they have issued a notice to the developer to have an action plan which will effectively clear any sediment caused by the reclamation work.

If this fails, Singapore may have to go to the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) which both are signatory to. This would not be the first time because in 2003, Malaysia went to ITLOS and in that case, ITLOS decided that Malaysia has no right to stop Singapore from carrying out reclamation as long as it does not pose any effect to the environment, especially on the Malaysian side. Thus, if we go by the same reasoning, I think ITLOS would decide in similar manner and this meant that the best that Malaysia could do is to have pro-active measures about handling of any environmental concerns that Singapore may have.

In the end, I think it really depends on how both countries want to continue the cordial relationship for the past few years instead of damaging it with this row. I think my main concern on this is the potential increase in supply which Country Garden has mitigated somewhat by saying the the development is over a period of 30 years. We will have to see if and when the EIA report would be done or when would Singapore PM be more direct about this issue if he really felt strongly about it.

written on 21 June 2014

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Condo – Extra car park necessary?

Today, majority if not all new condo projects provide two car parks. However, a lot of secondary condo projects may have just one car park. If you can, buy a condo with two car parks instead of one. Statistically, majority of all households have two cars. Your wife and you each would own a car. If you say, it is ok, one car can be outside since the second car is an old car anyway, I hope you understand there are days when you need to do some shopping thus you may need to carry heavy shopping bags all the way from the place you park until you reach your condo. Imagine if it rains or the sun happened to be hot because it is MALAYSIA.

What about safety of YOU or your loved ones? What about the convenience? What about the hassle of looking for the car park? What about the times when you are rushing for time? What if you are parking outside and you are in URGENT need for a toilet? and more………

A few would then say, the prices of condos with two car parks are normally RM20,000 – RM40,000 higher. I might as well rent the car park. Statistically, typically renting a car park lot in Penang is still RM80-RM100. Low? Well, RM80 x 12 = RM960 per year. If you want to earn back this RM960 from Fixed Deposit, you need to save RM31,000 in the bank and you must NOT touch this money for years. If it is RM100, you need to save RM40,000. Do you understand why it is now better for you to buy instead of rent?

When you intend to sell, the premium would always be for condos with two car parks. You have nothing to lose but to add just a little bit to your mortgage every month. Last question. Would car park lot rental go up or come down in the future? If your answer is, it will come down, be careful of where you stay, I think the occupancy rate is coming down which is not a healthy trend for any condo project.

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Tips to evaluate a condo? For Family, Save Money and Quality

This is more applicable for working professionals in the Klang Valley. For couples getting married soon or those with young kids, let me remind you that the property you will love need not only be a landed one. These days, condominiums are becoming a very good choice due to competitions. Every developer is trying to outdo one another with ever more facilities, more modern designs as well as touting the connectivity part, especially with more LRT and MRT stations completed or in progress. In terms of the essentials of a good condo, let me share what I personally like below. I was brought to a
construction site recently
 and even though it was still dirty and dusty and coupled with the hot sun, I think the development impressed me enough and I will use some of the points I learnt during my visit for this article. It was a development which is 200 feet above sea level hilltop and because of this, it was windy and the project enjoys a 360 unblocked panoramic view of Puchong. Today, we just concentrate on the actual show unit itself. Let us walk slowly from the guard house into the unit itself.

What’s the density?
 – It is easy to get carried away with just the number of units. However, please find out what’s the actual size of the development as well. For example, 500 units within a 5-acre land is definitely inferior compared to a development of 1,000 units within a 23-acre land.

The ENTRANCE
– For any typical condo, the entrance is usually a one lane in and one lane out. Applicable even for many of those condos nearby KLCC. If the entrance could accommodate two lanes in and two lanes out, now that would be even better!  This is very useful during the peak hours in the morning. It would be even better if the driveway was built using classy paver instead of the usual normal premix tar road. Advantage of paver? It’s more durable, can be repaired easily, longer lifespan and hey it looks better too.

Security (Main) –
 The guardhouse should be big enough to accommodate a couple of guards. (Seriously, some are so small that it could accommodate just one guard inside and one guard outside. Pity the one standing outside…. By the way, if there are only TWO security guards and one falls sick, all the best to your development for that day.

Security (Tiers) –
 The more security tiers, the better lah. It costs more for the developers so that you need to spend less on them.  Good security additions include card access inside lift, digital entrance locks, CCTVs, panic buttons in the car park and even a built-in alarm for the unit. (Older developments would not have because it was really too expensive then but technology is now by far cheaper than a few years ago)

Modern outlook –
It’s good to have a modern looking building. Usage of glass, would be good. Usually, the more means the better because lights could go through and the building feels ‘spacious’ too. Colour combinations? Easy colours are preferable to something too striking for example. Thus far, my condo choices are usually pretty common and ‘easy to accept’ colours. Haha.

Visitors lobby
 – This is quite important. We do not wish to walk all the way to the guard house to bring our friends and we also do not want the guard to release just any stranger into the development, right? Plus, we also want our friends to have a place to sit down and wait for us too. Something like a resort-styled lobby would be a great plus.

Lift(s)
 – How many lifts are there to serve the whole block? Usually 2 lifts per 150 units would be considered pretty standard for a condo project. If there are 4 lifts servicing 300 units, then that would be considered good. What if there are 4 lifts for 200 units? Then, that’s great. A good brand? Schindler lifts. Anyway, when we are in the lift, we are usually able to assess ourselves whether the lift is good or not; quiet, fast and well designed.

Ventilation –
When we walk along the corridor, there should be sufficient space for the breeze to come through. Needless to say this usually meant that the whole development is not too cramped and it’s best for developments with a few blocks to be separated from one another. Some condos are designed with semi-d or bungalow concept and this meant that it’s more windy.

Well-lighted corridors?
 – This is beyond just well lit. There should be some space in between the units so that the sunlight could come through. Dark corridors are usually because the developers were maximising the space available and building as many units as possible for every floor. Again, if the design follows that of semi-d or a bungalow concept, then more natural lights could shine through. (Condos should not have dark corridors yeah….)

Main Door
 – What is the height of the main door? 8 feet should be the usual for a condo. When you open the door, it should feel sturdy. If somehow it feels light or flimsy, something must be wrong with the developer. Try asking your friend to stand inside and you talk to him from outside the door. It should provide sufficient noise blocking.

Ceiling
 – What is the ceiling height? 11 feet would be a good height. Use the main door as a measurement point. A good condo should provide this so that the whole unit look spacious. Please do note that sometimes, the show gallery’s ceiling height is not the actual height that you will be getting.

Wall finishing –
Does it feel smooth as you run your hand on it? The smoother the finishing the more attention has been given into completing the wall. Usually, this meant extra man-hours.

Thoughtful savings –
 Not just money but also renovation time too. When a condo comes with plaster ceiling finishing for the living room, all bedrooms and bathrooms, that is already savings of over a thousand ringgit, depending on whether you are getting a amateur or a professional to do it for you if the condo you are buying does not include it.

Floor Tiles (Living room) .
 These days, developers are usually giving 2 ft x 2 ft tiles. Just make sure you either like or neutral about the colour of the tiles because if you want to change all the tiles in your home, it can easily cost you RM20 per sq ft.  Note –  There is no need to knock on the tiles yet. You only need to knock softly on every tile to check for hollowness after you get the keys to your unit.

Wooden flooring in the room?
 – For my current condo, all my rooms are using wooden flooring. I think it’s more comfortable for the room. Aesthetically appealing too. I would not suddenly feel a chill in the morning when I step down from my bed after a whole night of switching on the air-con.

Floor tiles (bathroom)
 – Tiles in the bathroom should not be the same one as that in the living room. It should be the ‘less-slippery’ type. Feel it to understand what I meant. It would be great to visit some tile shops to understand more. Continuous learning is fun.

Spacious living room
 – Ok, this is a personal preference ok. I like a spacious living room and as you know, with the limitation of space, it is either bigger living room or bigger rooms yeah. I like it when I step into the condo and feel that it’s spacious. As for the rooms, refer below.

Functional bedrooms
 – Rooms should be big enough to accommodate beds, cabinets comfortably. If there are some corners which could not be easily used, ask to see the show unit to get some ideas. Windows must be huge, well designed; sturdy and tinted too. I do not need a huge bedroom as I am not inside it most of the time.

Fixtures and Finishings
 – There are some condos which give you ‘bad quality’ fixtures and finishings and tell you that most owners would change it to their preference anyway. Let me tell you now, it’s NOT TRUE. If you give me quality fixtures, why would I change them? (Especially after paying hundreds of thousands of ringgit?)  Look at the BRAND that they give, open your smartphone and immediately look for the price. If the brand could not even be found, well…..

We will talk more about the facilities as well as the neighbourhood in the next article but briefly, I think for families, it is always good to buy a condo with a very good and conducive environment.
The developer should do a good video as well so that we know what we get.

We do not want a condo where when we drive in, the driveways are narrow, the drive up to the car park is narrow and dark, the guard house is more like a hut etc. In fact, the facilities and amenities must be good for family time. Spacious swimming pools and dedicated kids pool, jacuzzi area, well-thought landscaping with lots of space to run about, really nice views even from the car park itself as well as lots of community spaces and even the BBQ party area. There are a lot of things to talk about for the neighbourhood too. You can also drop by the few units that I viewed too.
New show unit
 is available for viewing.
 Just Waze to
‘IOI Galleria @ Puchong’
. Sales Gallery & Show Unit open daily 10am – 5pm. Contact:
+603 8060 8833.
  Happy selecting the best one for your family in view of the $$$ too.

written on 14 Dec 2017 (with assistance from an actual show unit I viewed recently)

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Condo in Bintulu; The Peak. Get to know it firstlar.

I have been to east Malaysia many times. Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Kuching, Miri, Tawau and many more. I have never been to Bintulu. I hope to be there one of these days. Seems that there are much growth there. Recently, I read about NAIM Land Sdn Bhd’s successful launch of their ‘The Peak’ condominium project in Bintulu, within its Bintulu Paragon integrated development. It is Sarawak’s tallest condominium tower at 34 stories high. According to Naim’s chief operating officer for Property Investment and REIT, Yong Kei Seng, “This demonstrates the resilience of Bintulu’s property market, primarily due to the economic development brought about by the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) and the LNG Train 9 projects, presenting property investors with unique investment propositions. “This also highlights a change in preference in favour of affluent high rise living such as that offered by The Peak,” said Yong.

Many of my friends have NEVER been to east Malaysia but they have been to Vietnam, Myanmar and kept telling me about the wonders of those countries. About the friendliness of these people which I have very little doubt. Most of the time, visitors to Malaysia also said that we are friendly to them! I like east Malaysia because it is still developing or in some smaller towns, the pace of development is still slow enough that when you arrive, you feel that you have been transported back in time, yet still within Malaysia. I love the nature trails which are really engaging, try riding the small boat at the Semenggoh Nature Reserve with crocodiles still roaming around. (just 24km from Kuching).  Try snorkelling just 30 minutes away from Kota  Kinabalu at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park.  There’s just so many attractions in east Malaysia that one must try before ever claiming so many amazing things about the other countries.

Coming back to Bintulu which I myself have never been. Some of the attractions I found online include the following. Similajau National Park, Council Negeri Memorial, Pasar Tamu, Pasar Malam, Kidurong Tower, Bintulu Promenade, Tanjung Batu Beach and more. This is more than enough for a good leisurely visit with my family in the near future. Famous food? There does not seem to ba a famous dish like Laksa for Penang or Kolo Mee for Kuching. However, there were many recommendations for good restaurants online that you may want to try.

Every time I visit Kuching I tell my wife we should get a condo there. Yet, every time we were there, it was always packed to the brim and we hardly have anytime to view any condo. Every time we go home to Sandakan, I try to view one condo but none has managed to attract me yet after I missed a good one 3 years ago which would have enabled me to earn a tidy profit last year. Sigh. After I visit Bintulu, Would I be saying that for Bintulu? Hard to say, will update after my visit there. Alternatively, I welcome sharing if you are familiar with the Bintulu Property market here. We learn together.

written on 13 Aug 2014

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RM582,125 missing from condo management body accounts

When it comes to strata units, usually high-rise, all the unit owners would have to pay maintenance fees. Well, usually a receipt is issued when we pay the maintenance fees. If something is not right with the receipt, we would definitely ask the management office. Maintenance fees are needed so that when any maintenance is needed, there are funds to pay for them. Someone has to pay for security, cleaning, repair of facilities and more.

Well, this following condo has just found out that RM582,125 is missing from their accounts. Yea, the amount is over half a million. Not a small amount and it was reported to be an amount which started missing from 2017 to 2020.

Article in freemalaysiatoday.com
  Brickfields commercial crime investigation department are investigating a case of a former housing management corporation employee who is alleged to have absconded with more than RM500,000 from the company.

Brickfields district police chief Amihizam Abdul Shukor said in a statement, “Preliminary investigations found that the suspect issued residents’ maintenance receipts that differed from the amount of collection money entered into the company’s accounts between July 2016 and September 2020.”

According to the company, investigations by a forensics accounting firm found that RM582,125 had gone missing from the management body’s accounts between 2017 and 2020. Do read the full article here:
Article in freemalaysiatoday.com

Check and Balance is really needed

Hopefully more details will be available so that it can be a learning for all the management committees in terms of check and balance. How it happened and what really happened would be a key lesson here. As for when it actually happened, when we do sufficient audits, it would definitely be discovered earlier rather than later.

As per the report, the amount from maintenance and the amount which was in the issued receipts differ. Hmm… Well, it’s really time to check on the receipts which we receive yeah. If we like to help to ensure our maintenance funds remain where it should be, better be sure than sorry later on. As for mine, my wife’s the one paying and she’s a woman. Definitely better than me where checking receipts are concerned.

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Condo, the new boom in secondary towns?

I just came back from Sandakan after a week long CNY holiday there at my wife’s hometown. Just less than three years ago, I got to know about Sri Utama Condo project by IJM. If you have never heard of this project it is ok because the project is in Sandakan, Sabah. Of course I do not simply buy any condo but when my brother in law told me he booked a unit at just RM210k and the size was 1150sf, I told him I also want a unit. I failed to secure one and by the time the third block was launched, it was RM280k. Yesterday I visited my brother in law’s unit. The bumi allocated units had just been released. Pricing starts from RM380k onwards. Oops, I think I really did miss a good opportunity.

What are the key learnings? Well, if it is a proper condo in a good location by a reputable developer and it is below RM200psf, the answer is clear; buy one. It may or may not rise so high like this one but there is a limit to the overall production cost even if the land may have come cheap. There is another condo project coming up by IJM in Sandakan. It starts from RM280K onwards and today I visited the project. Well, most of the units were taken except for the Bumi units. This time, I do not feel bad. I really cannot afford it. I only have limited resources but unlimited wants.

In terms of opportunity, I think there are still a lot of opportunities in many secondary towns, not just in Sandakan. Reason being, most of these places have not seen a lot of such condo projects. The number of new units offered are still small compared to the total population and thus it would be easily absorbed by the current population as well as the sons and daughters who have gone to work in Penang, KL or Johor and is thus well aware of the new trends. In fact, some working in Singapore or Hong Kong may even opt to buy a bigger property so that their parents would be able to stay in somewhere more comfortable too.

written on 8 Jan 2014

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Condo market in Ipoh

Ipoh? Condo? Are you out of your mind? I remembered even my parents said condo does not have a market in Ipoh. There are so many landed properties available in Ipoh and much cheaper! I asked them, would they want to move to newer areas since those areas are also much cheaper. They can sell their current place and move over. They said NO.  I have friends whose parents stayed in Kg Bercham all their lives and when my friend bought his first property, it was also in Kg. Bercham. My uncle meanwhile said his place Pengkalan is the best because his shop is nearby his house.

You can see all the older generations love the place they are currently staying. For children who loves them, where do you think they would stay? What happens if the places that they want to buy is already fully built and the prices are becoming more expensive? What about children like me, who has stayed in high rise for the past 16 years and moving back to Ipoh? What about Penangites or KLites who just want a nice place to spend their weekends instead of always being in the same place all the time? Think about the convenience that a smaller condo may have instead of two old folks trying to maintain a 35 x 75 semi-detached landed property? Deteriorating security?

Now, do you understand why many of the earlier launched condo units were snapped up? Why some condos, as soon as they launched their second block, sales slowed down? Perhaps because the price has become too high in the minds of the buyers? From the last conversation I had with a prominent Ipoh developer, there were no less than 6-7 new high rise projects coming up in Ipoh. I actually told him that if it meets my price and location requirement, I would buy one. As for the question of whether there is a market for condos in Ipoh, no one would know unless the launches of new condos reaches thousands of units. When that happens, then we would know if there is indeed a condo market. If there are just hundreds of units, sorry, no one can answer you today because the current market can still absorb the units.

written on 2nd jan 2014

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Condo transactions slow down and possible price correction

According to VPC Alliance Malaysia Sdn Bhd, James Wong, condo transactions would slow down and most probably face price correction. If this is true it will affect condo buyers like myself. Yet, somehow I agree. I think with the high growth in transactions beginning 2010 – 2011, the total number of completed condos should be high and with the prices going to levels which may not be affordable to a lot of middle-income families, a correction is necessary for a pricing level to stabilise before regaining its momentum though it would this time be slower.

There are plenty of other reasons for this. The market remains uncertain, especially with so many cooling measures, both in terms of RPGT as well as stricter Bank Negara control. Besides that there would also be more affordable condos being launched this year. If I can potentially wait and the new property is RM500 psf or lower compared to current prices, I would buy the new launches instead. There are plenty of places where the condo prices are RM600 psf or even higher. Just go to any online sites and you would be able to see. When my wife and I went to view a condo in Kelana Jaya, the buyer would only want to sell it for RM600psf and it was leasehold. Yet we felt the quality was no better than our Penang condo which was still selling for Rm500 psf and free hold. Please note that RM600 – Rm700 psf condos do not yet belong to the luxury category.

It is a different story for landed residential sector and it will continue to grow especially the gated and guarded ones. Nevertheless I would only agree for developments which are integrated and not so much on a one-off type of project because with this slowdown, a good brand name helps more than just continuous advertising.  If you buy landed properties and can wait it out, the capital appreciation is almost guaranteed. This is because there are still lots of land in the whole of Greater KL but no one wants to stay far away. Everyone wanted to stay close to places they deem as convenient and ‘classy’. Yes, when you have the money to spare, you would also add ‘class’ into whatever you buy. Just look at the number of ladies with branded handbags which are most of the time more.expensive than the monthly salary of a junior manager!

Though I continue to love condos, I think the time has come to see what’s the actual value of your condo. Don’t worry though, it would not fall below the price you paid. Merely making you hate yourself for not selling earlier when the market was still on a uptrend. To those people, think positive. You have already earned so much, why not let genuine buyers buy a slightly cheaper place to stay? After all, urbanisation is continuing and demand would continue, just that the time is not now and not suddenly. Investment continues.

written on 15 Jan 2014

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Location, Location and Location is the mantra then and is still the mantra today and for the foreseeable future. Let’s understand this yeah. The only reason why people are willing to buy ever further away is because of price. If the property prices nearby KLCC is still low and the property is an attractive one, the first preference is definitely to buy nearby. However, do we know the factors affecting all these property investments? There are these 4 things which are much more important to understand versus just the location alone. Please allow me to share with you my topic this Saturday.  “Choosing that right condominium by looking at the 4Ps.” #People #Price #Policy and #Preference.
REGISTER here yeah.

See you all this Saturday yeah. Details as follow or refer to the image below.

Place:  Datum Galleria (Just type into Waze or Google Map)

Date: 6th October 2018 (Saturday)

Time: 12 – 2pm.

Register here yeah. (Click here)

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Condos of around 1,000sf or higher; my better choice

Someone asked me the other day, why do I focus more on condos which are around 1,000sf or higher. Well, I trust my personal hunch with or without statistics. Whenever we visit any mall, one thing will be very clear. The number of baby shops are increasing. Just look at the supermarket where you usually do your grocery shopping. There are now more rows for baby or children section. In fact, there are MORE rows for these versus the men or women. In fact, baby items are also the rage in the online shopping world of today.

As a couple, I have no issues to stay in a small SOHO unit, say 600sf. However, I would definitely want to own a bigger place when I have a family. When I have a family, I may need a maid’s room too. Perhaps my parents may be staying over. Still the 600sf SOHO unit? Haha. I hope you understand now, why I focus on condo units which are around 1,000sf or higher.  Yes, now for the next question which is why must it be a condo? Why not a flat, as long as the size is big enough?

Let me explain what my parents do when they are here in my home here in KL. My father goes out for walk around the park within the condo. My daughter loves the swimming pool and the playground and reminds us everyday to bring her to these two places everyday. Both facilities are well maintained and they are huge. To be honest, my father does not prefer to do his daily walking around the neighbourhood as I am not staying in a gated and guarded landed property. Most apartments may not have that many facilities for a growing family. Sometimes due to the price range, it may house a lot of foreign workers and I am worried. Do not get me wrong. I think majority of all foreign workers are here to earn a living for their family and I am okay but I cannot agree that 100% of them are like that. Yes, this may also happen in condos which are RM600,000 or higher but I do not think anyone wants to debate with me on the probability between the two.

For future, the size may also go smaller because of price. Developers have to build smaller to make it more affordable. I do not wish to doubt this. However, when we buy with the intention to sell in the future and our main aim is to sell to a family where both the husband and wife works and they just had baby and a maid, the choice is pretty clear. Of course, if we buy because we want to sell to another single or just a newly married couple, then any size is still okay. Anyway, when it comes to property, whatever size is still preferable than NOT to buy anything. Buy within your means because there are people out there earning a similar income with you who has yet to buy any. Happy investing.

written on 19 July 2015

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Condos should NOT come with just one car park

My good friend excitedly told me that she has made her
first purchase of a property.
 The said property is a new condo in a popular area with a mall right beside and a reclaimed beach within some walking distance away. I asked her what is the price per sf. She said the size is slightly over 1,000sf comes with one car park and it is just RM680psf. I asked if she bought another car park which she replied she did and the price paid was RM40,000. I told her, in this case, the actual price psf should be RM720psf instead. Actually, when you buy a SOHO unit of say 650sf, I think one car park is definitely a fair deal.

However, these days, when we buy any
condo with 1,000sf and above, we should expect two car parks.
 Please do not be fooled that the MRT is next door, MRT is within walking distance or even MRT is connected via the mall which is right beneath your condo. Answer is NO. A condo of 1,000sf would have a typical 3 room and 2 bath room format and more often than not, due to the price it will be paid for by a couple who may or may not have kids yet. Even if they do not, sometimes the parents would drop by, sometimes their siblings may drop by etc. One car park? Are you sure?

According to the sales data for cars, the number of cars sold is still on an uptrend. It’s just that during better times like today, more foreign branded ones are bought while during the crisis years, the local cars being sold are much higher. In fact Malaysians drive their cars way over 10 years, most of the time unlike in US or Japan where you may want to hide your face if you dare to ever drive your car over 100,000km which is a typical 5 years period or lesser. My Japanese GM in my first company laughed at me when he learnt my first car, Nissan Sunny was already clocking 190,000km then. By the time I sold it, it has already hit very close to 500,000km. Thus cars, whether your home is nearby MRT, LRT or BRT is a necessity.
 Car park space is needed, definitely.

Thus, my question to any condo project would always be do you have 2 car parks for all the units, at least? If the answer is no, please do get ready to have cars parked haphazardly outside your so-called ‘luxury’ condo which is totally not luxurious at all. Some may then argue that even with two car parks, some people might still park haphazardly outside the condo. Sure, but tell me which is worse? The prices MUST include 2 car parks and should not have one price for one car park and then if you need another, they charge you extra. To developers launching new CONDOS, please be very honest and transparent. Older projects, I have no comments but newer ones, it is a must in my 2.8 cents opinion. Happy buying a new condo.

written on 18 Mar 2015

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