Living in JB

[spidey]

Bro IskandarRock, fully agree with what you have said . Nusajaya buyers are mostly in for a long haul. I even come across Singaporean hawkers , ordinary folks buying for own stay. These people couldnt be bother about rental yield , they simply leave it empty until the day they need it for retirement. Like most of us, they probably thinking that Nusajaya is the only place that they can visit friends / families in Singapore as often as they want in their retirement days.

Agree 110% - My priority is someplace near to Sing...not too far and not too expensive....i just wan a place where the kids dun have to travel too far to visit their old man and not too close to "disturb" their private lives...that's one of the main reason to get a JB prop bros...

 

[crystal_tiong]

hi guys

thanks for the wishes!!! finally back to office after a short break , still no mood to work .... lucky boss is back to hometown Denmark for christmas ...
so I still can snake snake a bit here .....

Bru Wuqi ,
I am truly sorry that I have dragged u in with regards to my post with "Lord"
Anyway , lets move on and ignore all those ppl who are not here to help our fellow singaporeans to have a quality life in JB.

Guys
I hope my next next birthday i can spend it in my own house .
Hope UEM can faster hand over the house to me ...

 

[DREAMorACTION]

Cool. Glad u had a great time. Another short break this weekend. Party time again lol

Sis, still waiting for your link leh .... Can share share? Thx :-)

hi guys

thanks for the wishes!!! finally back to office after a short break , still no mood to work .... lucky boss is back to hometown Denmark for christmas ...
so I still can snake snake a bit here .....

Bru Wuqi ,
I am truly sorry that I have dragged u in with regards to my post with "Lord"
Anyway , lets move on and ignore all those ppl who are not here to help our fellow singaporeans to have a quality life in JB.

Guys
I hope my next next birthday i can spend it in my own house .
Hope UEM can faster hand over the house to me ...

 

[maxpark]

Hi Bro sggecko:

I respect your decision. However, let me provide some clarifications and commments:

- I think you are confusing Nusajaya with overall Iskandar. Nusajaya is just one of the five flagship zones within Iskandar, and arguably the most matured. I would say Nusajaya is around 1/8 the size of Singapore. Nusajaya is the home of most of the confirmed developments, such as Educity, Medini, EL, HH, Pinewood, Marlboro College, Puteri Harbour, JSNAC Kota Iskandar, etc. It is located strategically between the two links and most accessible from Singapore. To me, land here is very limited as most of it is already master planned. Infrastructure, from what I can see, is outstanding.

- Before you jump into conclusions based on what ONE developer of ONE property tells you about rental yields, I would suggest you do an internet search for developments such as East Ledang or Horizon Hills. You will hardly find any availability. Even if you do, the going prices are exhorbitant. Remember - people are buying for investment, retirement, own stay, weekend stay - this does not necessarily mean that every single home will be available for rent. Rental yield will depend on exact location, accessability, security, infrastructure, availability, etc and will never be the same for every single development. True, there is a potential for healthy supply in Nusajaya, but there is a potential for healthy demand as well, once the planned 'catalytic' developments get completed.

- Getting an apartment for same/similar psf in KL does not necessarily make it a better choice. As many of the bros rightfullty pointed out, your choice depends on your requirement and some of us are committed to Nusajaya because given its proximity to Singapore the price is still very attractive. This is one place where we can live and still be attached to Singapore.

- Some folks have already pointed out that the 90% figure you have for foreigners is a bit over the top. Also, there is a difference, these foreigners are not 'remote control' investors from PRC or India or Corporations who will start dumping the properties once the economy goes south. But, these foreigners are mostly Singaporeans, and a good chunk have purchased for own stay, retirement or weekend stay, besides investment. These folks are proudly committed and are in for the long haul.

- Developments within KL has its own pros and cons. Before you take a plunge just based on the price, I suggest you do some research as to why the price is so attractive. And you dont have to do much beyond going to our old friend google.com. Here is what I came up with regarding the Orion condo:

http://www.propwall.my/jalan_tun_razak/the_orion

Just scroll down to the 'Analysis' section and you will know why this is so cheap, given prices in some prime KLCC developments are hitting RM 3,000 psf. You get what you pay for.

Anyway, wish you all the best.

2 thumbs up! ... and thanks for the link too, very useful.
Cheers!

 

[DREAMorACTION]

Thanks bro odyssey for the reply. No no, I'm not trying to default. I'm just curious as to what will happen to each of the scenario mentioned that flashed to my mind. It's more like for knowledge only. I wont want to throw away my hard earned money. If such thing indeed happen, must find money from all sources to tie over the difficult period, instead of letting them confiscate the property. Agree that need to do the sum properly. Have done mine and I have enough holding power for minimally one property, I should be alright even if economy turn south and BLR increases. Thanks for ur advice.

Can u further help to explain this? Taking the same scenario, if purchase price is 100k, bank only approve 70k. Means I need to cough out 30k. 10k is during the s&p stage. So for the remaining 20k, will I have the privilege to follow the progress payment schedule (as if 90% was from loan). Or must I pay the full 30% upon signing s&p? Thanks

Hi D/A,

I think u mean to say the purchase price is 100K, not the S&P.

Here's the sequence of monetary expenses u will hv to fork out:

1. RM1000 as initial booking (earnest) deposit to developer (can pay using SGD cheque).
2. 10% of property purchase price (less the RM1000 u paid earlier) to developer as 1st payment (can also use SGD cheque) within 1 month of signing. This is the S&P Agreement.
3. RM11000 for the State Authority Consent (applicable only for foreigners; RM10500 levy + RM500 associated lawyer fees)
4. RM6+K for MLTA to insurance company (if applicable, some banks dont require)
5. RM1000 (RM500 set up fee + RM500 initial deposit) to open savings account at the Malaysian bank for depositing housing loan installments after your loan has been approved.

That's roughly it. Why would u want to default on the remaining 20%? Buying a property is a big item business, u need to ensure u do the sums before u commit, and as advocated by most of the bros here spend within ur means. In any case, any good lawyer would have advised u accordingly before u sign on the S&P agreement.

Please advise if I hv missed anything out, everyone. Hope this answers some of ur questions an good luck with ur purchase D/A. : )

 

[crystal_tiong]

Cool. Glad u had a great time. Another short break this weekend. Party time again lol

Sis, still waiting for your link leh .... Can share share? Thx :-)

Oh pai seh .

Here's the link :

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/groups/horizonhills/

Not sure u can see or not if u are not a mem yet ...
Anyway , i think they just random mentioned abt price reducing , coz when I asked abt NI , it mentioned abt the early bird discount.
Btw , if u really gg to buy NI , u can use my name as referal and developer will give 1k or 2k fees coz i am Singaporean and there is a tax on it.
Then i will pass back to u .
Since developer earn so much from us , we should take some back from them too ....
My sales is Irene Lee but it doesnt matter if u already have yr own sales ppl coz this referal fees doesnt affect their commission . Anyway my sales told me they dun have commission de ... only variable bonus.

 

[arsenal]

This T3B guru guy, is always there selling and selling.. I attended his course in year 2005/6 when he is still very humble.. His students are now one of his greatest asset, where he can always sell something to or swing to some external partners like MF Global.. and also into joint property purchase to US or Myanmar.. Smart Alec but.... not interested..

Bro Arsenal, many of your property & investment views expressed here are very similar to mine, even your interest in golf and your work that involves lots of traveling (mine maybe 40-50% though)... Except I'm a long time (mostly suffering) Spurs supporter, hahaha... Peace, mate!

About Myanmar, apart from Aung San Suu Kyi and her long-drawn struggles, the catalyst is supposedly the lifting of the decades-old US embargo, which some are speculating will be as soon as middle of next year, something to do with Congressional schedule, those who are familiar with american politics probably know better.

You'll want to be in now, before the hordes come stampeding into the park... but catch is, properties there are apparently off-limits to foreigners currently, so you need someone local you can trust to front the purchases; biz partner, 2nd milk, take-your-pick.
So, how does your T3B guru plan to do his thing there, any idea?

Again, very high risk and possibly very high gains.

 

[IskandarRocks]

Thanks bro odyssey for the reply. No no, I'm not trying to default. I'm just curious as to what will happen to each of the scenario mentioned that flashed to my mind. It's more like for knowledge only. I wont want to throw away my hard earned money. If such thing indeed happen, must find money from all sources to tie over the difficult period, instead of letting them confiscate the property. Agree that need to do the sum properly. Have done mine and I have enough holding power for minimally one property, I should be alright even if economy turn south and BLR increases. Thanks for ur advice.

Can u further help to explain this? Taking the same scenario, if purchase price is 100k, bank only approve 70k. Means I need to cough out 30k. 10k is during the s&p stage. So for the remaining 20k, will I have the privilege to follow the progress payment schedule (as if 90% was from loan). Or must I pay the full 30% upon signing s&p? Thanks

Hi, based on my experience, you will not have to pay all 30 percent up front. You will pay the first 10% + the other expenses that bro Odyssey has explained. The 20 % will be billed to you by the developer based on construction milestones. After you pay the first 30%, the bank will start disbursing the balance to the developer and, in most cases, you will pay interest only until the handover. In case you default before the 30% is paid to developer, most likely the property will go back to the developer and they may refund you based on the S and P agreement. The bank will not have any charge on the property as they have not disbursed anything. However, you may be liable for a loan cancellation fee if you have signed the loan agreement and a cancellation fee is a part of the agreement.

 

[maxpark]

Hi Arsenal, point well noted.
Thanks.

 

[lastresort]

yup, especially if you golf too.
Cheers!

yeahh ok. i'll also be playing the mini golf in Fairway Suites.

 

[CameraMan]

Finally, after much deliberation, I bought my first property in Malaysia. What a relief to weeks of agony in intense considerations (Buy or don't buy. Why buy? What if this happens and that happens?). Having said that, I am still not entirely sure what I am getting myself into. However, walking around my future kampong yesterday, I felt good. Definitely a getaway from the human congestion and pigeon-hole in Singapore. Hope this will pan out well for me.

Look forward to meeting some of you staying in the same kampong when it is ready.

 

[investjb]

Oh pai seh .

Here's the link :

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/groups/horizonhills/

Not sure u can see or not if u are not a mem yet ...
Anyway , i think they just random mentioned abt price reducing , coz when I asked abt NI , it mentioned abt the early bird discount.
Btw , if u really gg to buy NI , u can use my name as referal and developer will give 1k or 2k fees coz i am Singaporean and there is a tax on it.
Then i will pass back to u .
Since developer earn so much from us , we should take some back from them too ....
My sales is Irene Lee but it doesnt matter if u already have yr own sales ppl coz this referal fees doesnt affect their commission . Anyway my sales told me they dun have commission de ... only variable bonus.

Irene not bad. i dela with her before eventot at the end i didn't ebuy the unit. very friendly.

would like to get a terrace corner for investment and now looking back at NI again. hopefully still have good unit left :(

 

[crystal_tiong]

http://horizonhills.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/malaysias-debt/

It’s a little known but true fact that Malaysia is in debt. In today’s context, we’d expect Asian economies to be thriving with strong, positive balance sheets, Malaysia is an exception.
According to this news article, Malaysia has been in debt since the 1970s..and the federal debt has been doubling every 5 years! Supposedly, the Malaysian government is sitting on RM450billion of debt right now. Yikes!
The silver lining is that the government has assured us that this mounting debt will be reduced to a more controllable 50% of GDP by end of 2012…but as with all politician talk, I personally suspect this will be an empty promise.
Debt on it’s own is not a bad thing. The problem with Malaysia is that alot of initiatives are held by government linked bodies…of which most are debt ridden. This is dangerous because if the government stalls, the state-linked enterprises will fall, which also means the Malaysian economy will very much affected. I say this because so many projects, from housing to roads to businesses are all linked to the Malaysian government.
I really think that in order for Malaysia to prosper, the Malaysian government needs to step up their game – It’s really very surprising that Malaysia is in debt when it has petroleum resources…I mean, can you imagine what Singapore would be like if we were oil rich? LOL!
To cut a long story short, the implication of a debt ridden government is that as debt increases, more money needs to be used to pay off the debt interest. Depending on debt levels and ability to service the debt, this interest may increase. When this happens, there will be less money to go around to improve the lives of citizens and the local economy. This is not good for business, and therefore not good for investors.
While I agree that bankruptcy is definitely not on the cards for Malaysia, I rue the day that the oil reserves run out. Hopefully, with the Iskandar project coming along, the government will be able to attract more investment and capital inflow into the country. It would also be definitely be more encouraging if there were more foreign investors other than Singapore! I don’t feel like my assets are diversified if the fate of Iskandar is closely linked to the prosperity of Singapore.

Nonetheless, all the money in the world won’t help if the government continues to mismanage resources. Hopefully, with the new generation, Malaysia boleh!

 

[investjb]

My personal opinion about Johor/iskandar/nusajaya:
1) big change over the past 3 years. 3 years ago 'lepak' ard bukit indah, saw less Sin plate no car. 1 out of 30 maybe. today, 1 out of 10. ;p
2) Jusco bukit indah - 3 years ago easily find parking lot. today, 'fight for life' to get a parking lot during weekend. (can't imagine when cinema 'live', wat goin to happen next)

we know the past but we don't know the future. nothing is perfect and life is about 'risk' 'risk' and 'risk'....

no risk no gain.
know risk know gain.

Happy new year to all JB supporter and opposition here. cheers...

 

[DREAMorACTION]

Hi bro, got u, thats the procedures/flow I was trying to understand. Thanks so much!

Does that same principle apply to full cash purchase? Means I follow progress payment schedule also, but I would think that the developer as a biz man will want more certainty instead of letting buyers to get out half way and refund money, should a buyer decides to quit due to genuine reason? Im asking because one developer actually tried to tempt me into buying with cash and give me additional discount. I wasn't sure how the payment schedule work and in order to "save face", I didn't ask such question. Obviously he thought I was very very rich that I can afford full cash purchase. I'll take that silent "accolade" but Shhhh .... Lets Keep it within this forum and dont expose me lol :p

Hi, based on my experience, you will not have to pay all 30 percent up front. You will pay the first 10% + the other expenses that bro Odyssey has explained. The 20 % will be billed to you by the developer based on construction milestones. After you pay the first 30%, the bank will start disbursing the balance to the developer and, in most cases, you will pay interest only until the handover. In case you default before the 30% is paid to developer, most likely the property will go back to the developer and they may refund you based on the S and P agreement. The bank will not have any charge on the property as they have not disbursed anything. However, you may be liable for a loan cancellation fee if you have signed the loan agreement and a cancellation fee is a part of the agreement.

 

[curiouscat]

Hi CuriousCat, I can understand your frustration. But don't you think if Malaysia taxis are able to operate in Singapore from point to point, say from Jurong to Changi, they will be able to earn Singapore Dollar, competing with our local operators without having to pay a license fee and running at much lower manpower and diesel cost. What will happen to our domestic operators if they go JB and earn Malaysia Ringgit. Sure they can always look for long haul trips to KL, etc, but how often can they do this when they have their families in Singapore waiting for them to come home every day from other states.

Yes that is why I said if they want to ban taxis from a route completely in the others territory that is fine. Many taxi licences do exactly this. Even within the same country they limit competition by not allowing taxis to pick up AND drop off outside their "territory." It is really about control and limiting competition (often to preserve a reasonable profit to cab companies and drivers). This is a perfectly fine way to manage economic resources.

Because we are talking about 2 sovereign nations it isn't that uncommon to make taxi travel very inconvenient between the two. However, if you want to create on large economic zone (to benefit both areas) and want to improve connectivity - improving so people can easily take taxis from point to point between the countries is important. In the USA taxis are not regulated by the federal government. Therefore travel between states is traveling between 2 taxi authorities. Taxis must either pick up or drop off where they are licensed (by and large - the USA has local taxi authorities so probably hundreds of different rules - but mainly the taxi just needs to be licensed at either pick up or drop off point.

 

[sggecko]

This blog sums up exactly my thought:
http://horizonhills.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/so-you-wanna-buy-a-house-in-hh/

And as for capital appreciation…well, that’s really a very long play. Plus, we’ve already missed the boat. I doubt HH prices can continue to rise much more. The houses cannot be priced out of the range of the middle-class Singaporean (and by that, I mean families earning a combined income of maybe $10 – 15k a month). The main benefit of buying a home in JB is that it’s cheap. Period. If it’s not that cheap anymore, coupled with the inconveniece of having to commute plus other associated security risks, then what’s the point of buying a place here?

I'm not a Malaysian property expert because in fact I research Malaysian property for less than 2 weeks.
But that doesn't mean I can't get sufficient information through the field research and online.
My daily job is to gather information, summarize it and find solution. I use the same way to research the JB property recently: Gather info, compare it, why why why.. and conclusion.
And my conclusion is as above is for investment purpose (which is my objective).

I'm not buying for the retirement because I have not reached that stage.
And if you buy for your own stay and you feel comfortable with it. Just enjoy it. That's all what I can think of.

 

[spidey]

hi guys

thanks for the wishes!!! finally back to office after a short break , still no mood to work .... lucky boss is back to hometown Denmark for christmas ...
so I still can snake snake a bit here .....

Bru Wuqi ,
I am truly sorry that I have dragged u in with regards to my post with "Lord"
Anyway , lets move on and ignore all those ppl who are not here to help our fellow singaporeans to have a quality life in JB.

Guys
I hope my next next birthday i can spend it in my own house .
Hope UEM can faster hand over the house to me ...

Happy belated birthday "Tai Tai" - guess is for another week...hehehe...until yr boss is back!!

 

[crystal_tiong]

Happy belated birthday "Tai Tai" - guess is for another week...hehehe...until yr boss is back!!

haha , yes yes , he will be back 1 week later.
Life is good when he is not in office , lalalalalala , sing a happy song!!

 

[ODYSSEY]

Hi, based on my experience, you will not have to pay all 30 percent up front. You will pay the first 10% + the other expenses that bro Odyssey has explained. The 20 % will be billed to you by the developer based on construction milestones. After you pay the first 30%, the bank will start disbursing the balance to the developer and, in most cases, you will pay interest only until the handover. In case you default before the 30% is paid to developer, most likely the property will go back to the developer and they may refund you based on the S and P agreement. The bank will not have any charge on the property as they have not disbursed anything. However, you may be liable for a loan cancellation fee if you have signed the loan agreement and a cancellation fee is a part of the agreement.

Thanks IskandarRocks, I couldnt hv replied better. Happy New Year!