Living in JB

[LeMans2011]

Personal experience, get your own from outside. Once you let one in, they will put a banner or a sticker prominently in front of your house. The rest who wants to work for you will have to pay them commission. Even your own contracters from outside. These contractors are pretty notorious, they work in a group, like gangster. Be extra careful.

Its advisible to lock your gate immediately once you get in. And tell them that you already have your own contracters. I think in Malaysia, it is very common to leave the house unattended for about a year to avoid all the troubles that these contracters can cause. Anyway, please take note of the vehicle numbers of contracters who keep pestering and complain to the RCs. Make a police report if you find them haressing you....

Depending on which development, getting your own contractor who is NOT one of those "resident contractors" has its fair share of problems... like the example i mentioned whereby one might just cut off your aircon connections while no one is around. Sorry i have no experience yet... but do take your time to select the right contractor... one who is responsible yet "strong" enough to handle harassment from the rest.

 

[yonglip]

For bros who are worry about powerlines when buying your johor prop, you will be interested in my following contribution.

In johor one can see basically 2 types of distribution pylons. the big 400KV and above type. These normally ply across massive fields. An example are those pylons that litters across the area around setia eco gdns. The other type is the smaller 275KV type which is fairly common in many townships. The main concern from these wires is the EMF/ELF emitted from them. Basically EMF/ELF are magnetic field radiation. Research have shown that for EMF, if exposed for a prolonger period at doses greater than 0.3 MT (Microtesla), it can be harmful especially to young children. Ambient EMF or background EMF readings range from 0.01 MT to 0.05 MT.

Unlike electric field which can be shielded, EMF is quite impossible to shield. However, the good news about EMF is that it decreases exponentially over distance. Research have shown that even for the 400KV pylons, anything more than 100m, the EMF goes to below 0.2MT. in other words, those ppl who buy Setia Eco Gdns really have nothing to worry about as these bad boys are located more than 100m away from the township. For the smaller pylons, safe distance will of course be lesser than 100m. That is why the buffer space (called easement) given for these pylons ranges from 50 to 100m from the nearest house/building.

i own an eletric field meter that is able to measure both EMF/ELF. i have personally measured such fields at those townships that are close to such powerlines and that is why i am able to test out many of the research claims and write this piece. In fact, for many of these areas, EMF will only spike up when the house is located directly below the wires or less than 20m from the wires. Once beyond 50m, the EMF drops very quickly to ambient EMF.

i would therefore suggest bros purchase an EMF reader which can be helpful not only when it comes to house hunting but also within the confines of the home....

For parents with toddlers or small kids who like to press themselves against tv or stand/watch close to the TV, my advise is BETTER PULL THEM BACK!. My own kids have these problems. I measured the EMF from my 32 LCD tv, it spiked at 0.9MT!!. For my 32 LED TV, it only spiked at 0.3MT. So it is indeed true that LED emit lesser radiation compared to LCD. The biggest EMF emitter in the house is the micowave oven. The readings will shoot through the roof!! - More than 10MT!! - when i place my meter in front of the microwave while it is in operation. lucky i only heat up things once a while...hahhaa.

i hope bros will find this piece of info useful.

 

[cathylmg]

Depending on which development, getting your own contractor who is NOT one of those "resident contractors" has its fair share of problems... like the example i mentioned whereby one might just cut off your aircon connections while no one is around. Sorry i have no experience yet... but do take your time to select the right contractor... one who is responsible yet "strong" enough to handle harassment from the rest.

Which is why waiting about a year before you start your renovation is a pretty good idea that some Malaysian owners choose to. At least so for the houses in my precinct.

The word 'strong' enough only mean 1 thing. That they pay them behind your back. Which will ultimately come from your own pocket. You will not realise it. But at least your are sure of their standard of delivery as you have already done your due diligence.

 

[cathylmg]

There are only 1 entrance and guarded by securities, I guessed they give some money to securities for Hari Raya goodies, haha.....

They are working on other houses in the same precinct lah. Which explain why they have free excess. Not only Hari Raya, other days also like that. They don't ask for permission to enter your property like those contracters did in Singapore. They just walk in and pitch their sales directly. And the rest queuing up outside.

Got 1 jumped queue to come in to my house, the one in front came in to my house directly and shouted to him very fiercely, rolled up the sleves like wanna fight...我在那里你没有看见啊？你要怎样算？你到底想怎样？Then all the rest in my house look away and pretend like don't know him.

My children were all scared so hubby became angry and chased all of them away....And off course we give the job to outside contractors lah... :o

 

[abugumgum]

This is one of the situations that I dread.

They are working on other houses in the same precinct lah. Which explain why they have free excess. Not only Hari Raya, other days also like that. They don't ask for permission to enter your property like those contracters did in Singapore. They just walk in and pitch their sales directly. And the rest queuing up outside.

Got 1 jumped queue to come in to my house, the one in front came in to my house directly and shouted to him very fiercely, rolled up the sleves like wanna fight...我在那里你没有看见啊？你要怎样算？你到底想怎样？Then all the rest in my house look away and pretend like don't know him.

My children were all scared so hubby became angry and chased all of them away....And off course we give the job to outside contractors lah... :o

 

[abugumgum]

Thanks for the write up, very informative.

For bros who are worry about powerlines when buying your johor prop, you will be interested in my following contribution.


i hope bros will find this piece of info useful.

 

[checkers]

They are working on other houses in the same precinct lah. Which explain why they have free excess. Not only Hari Raya, other days also like that. They don't ask for permission to enter your property like those contracters did in Singapore. They just walk in and pitch their sales directly. And the rest queuing up outside.

Got 1 jumped queue to come in to my house, the one in front came in to my house directly and shouted to him very fiercely, rolled up the sleves like wanna fight...我在那里你没有看见啊？你要怎样算？你到底想怎样？Then all the rest in my house look away and pretend like don't know him.

My children were all scared so hubby became angry and chased all of them away....And off course we give the job to outside contractors lah... :o

Wah...so scary...does this happen in all the developments or more frequent in certain places?

 

[yonglip]

Which is why waiting about a year before you start your renovation is a pretty good idea that some Malaysian owners choose to. At least so for the houses in my precinct.

The word 'strong' enough only mean 1 thing. That they pay them behind your back. Which will ultimately come from your own pocket. You will not realise it. But at least your are sure of their standard of delivery as you have already done your due diligence.

Now i know why some developments maciam like ghost town even though it is completed and owners have their keys. But i suppose it really depends on whether one can wait for 1 year...some couples cannot wait for 1 year...for me,..mmm...i will take the cue from my future neighbours..maybe if a few of us come together, maybe just maybe contractors can give group discount...hahaha.

 

[cathylmg]

Now i know why some developments maciam like ghost town even though it is completed and owners have their keys. But i suppose it really depends on whether one can wait for 1 year...some couples cannot wait for 1 year...for me,..mmm...i will take the cue from my future neighbours..maybe if a few of us come together, maybe just maybe contractors can give group discount...hahaha.

Its the case of see who can tahan longest lah... LOL! Once people see their neighbours moving in, the rest will start thinking of moving in also....thats what my Malaysian friends advised. Wait long long lah...

 

[cathylmg]

Wah...so scary...does this happen in all the developments or more frequent in certain places?

Heard from my Malaysian contractor friends that its like that all over the place. Thats why he choose to do his business in Singapore. More profit and less troubles.

 

[Alamaking]

They are working on other houses in the same precinct lah. Which explain why they have free excess. Not only Hari Raya, other days also like that. They don't ask for permission to enter your property like those contracters did in Singapore. They just walk in and pitch their sales directly. And the rest queuing up outside.

Got 1 jumped queue to come in to my house, the one in front came in to my house directly and shouted to him very fiercely, rolled up the sleves like wanna fight...我在那里你没有看见啊？你要怎样算？你到底想怎样？Then all the rest in my house look away and pretend like don't know him.

My children were all scared so hubby became angry and chased all of them away....And off course we give the job to outside contractors lah... :o

Yah, yesterday, at least 7 of them waiting for us -_______-"

 

[abugumgum]

Broadband in Malaysia 2011: Cost Comparison

May not be fully updated due to frequent changes to plans by providers.

 

[tansi]

There are only 1 entrance and guarded by securities, I guessed they give some money to securities for Hari Raya goodies, haha.....

I believe it is a matter of management. 2 years ago when the first batch of buyers took their keys and began all sorts of renovation, the security would block any contractor from entering the gate and called the owner to verify.
Owners compared prices quoted by outside contractors, set up a facebook to exchange info and got a group of interested owners to go for the same contractor. Though the price paid could be higher than what locals have to pay due to the location, but the quality of work is better as the contractor knows what he does is how he advertise himself.

 

[Alamaking]

I believe it is a matter of management. 2 years ago when the first batch of buyers took their keys and began all sorts of renovation, the security would block any contractor from entering the gate and called the owner to verify.
Owners compared prices quoted by outside contractors, set up a facebook to exchange info and got a group of interested owners to go for the same contractor. Though the price paid could be higher than what locals have to pay due to the location, but the quality of work is better as the contractor knows what he does is how he advertise himself.

I agree the management can have a better control of contractors coming to the premises, think I will give my complaints to the management, thanks.

 

[lastresort]

Personal experience, get your own from outside. Once you let one in, they will put a banner or a sticker prominently in front of your house. The rest who wants to work for you will have to pay them commission. Even your own contracters from outside. These contractors are pretty notorious, they work in a group, like gangster. Be extra careful.

Its advisible to lock your gate immediately once you get in. And tell them that you already have your own contracters. I think in Malaysia, it is very common to leave the house unattended for about a year to avoid all the troubles that these contracters can cause. Anyway, please take note of the vehicle numbers of contracters who keep pestering and complain to the RCs. Make a police report if you find them haressing you....

Hi Cathy Sis, I didn't know it's that bad. Cannot imagine leaving the house unattended for 1 year. However I've heard for the place we stay, once any resident complain about a particular contractor company, that company will be blacklisted and banned to come in forever, so no business for them for the whole estate. So over here, residents have a lot of say and contractors normally don't dare to try anything funny. They also have strict rules to follow, like that time, they left a lot of sand on the driveway, the guards have to summon them back to clear up the dust and repair some damages they made and so they did. They are also barred to enter on Sundays and have to leave before 6 or 6.30pm from Mondays to Saturdays. We have seen the old guard riding bike to chase contractors out after 6.30pm. This was the case, but now, seems like the old guard has changed, they have relaxed quite some.

 

[lastresort]

and yes, for people delivering furnitures to our place, the old guard would ride his bike to our gate and ask whether there's such a delivery. even after letting the truck in, the guard would follow closely behind on his bike. This was also the case when we went to "The Golf" to view a resale unit, even after we got a pass and made a phone call and let the guard verify, they had to send a junior guard to follow us on his bike until we met the owner. Then we went to view another resale unit after the first one, but owner was not around, so a guard at one of the checkpoints saw us and asked us where we stay. We said we are residents at The Gateway and came to view the resale unit here. He called back to the guard post and found out we went to another unit, so had to ask us to leave. I think the security was rather tight.

 

[ginfreely]

Of all the people from neighbouring countries like Sg, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand etc, don't know why it's the Japanese who are particularly interested in properties in Iskandar. If the 100 Chinese investors from Wenzhou, who will be visiting Iskandar early next month, are also interested in Iskandar's properties... ... Boomz! (Ris Low's famous word)

I've come across Hongkonger with HK address buying two units close to each other in one estate. Maybe for retirement also?!

PRC buying? Possible, read somewhere they've been buying up properties everywhere, including USA and Singapore.

 

[ginfreely]

juz like the taiwanese lady who bought the entire block at keppel bay based on sifu advice

The interesting thing is the newspaper reported this Taiwanese lady has a HDB address and is residing overseas most of the time....multi millionaire foreigner - rich enough to buy entire block at keppel bay - allowed to own HDB?!

 

[ginfreely]

Heard from my Malaysian contractor friends that its like that all over the place. Thats why he choose to do his business in Singapore. More profit and less troubles.

Recently when I called contractors from classified adverts for quotes to repair tiles in my SG place, a few of them said they are actually in JB! Wonder did they just come over from JB to do business or all along all the renovation contractors in SG are from JB?!

 

[Alamaking]

Recently when I called contractors from classified adverts for quotes to repair tiles in my SG place, a few of them said they are actually in JB! Wonder did they just come over from JB to do business or all along all the renovation contractors in SG are from JB?!

Have, got 1 guy doing window screens, he said can do in SG also, can do car screens also, hahaha.....