Store of Value
Haha... I like how you mentioned CPF as a "con-job".
When I read your line, my blood starts to boil and I wanted to write all kinds of expletives about the sick bastards. Telling what had gone real wrong and what should have been. Then, I stopped short …
Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Kommunist.
Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.
Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich nicht protestiert;
ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.
Als sie die Juden holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Jude.
Als sie mich holten,
gab es keinen mehr,
der protestieren konnte.
by Martin Niemöller
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
Fortunately, I am no fool. Why should I be a school master teaching these sick bastards how to skin further the poor cats. The bastards and the cats deserved each other anyway.
Let’s stay focus on our own mission …
By RM500k and below, are you referring to landed properties in Johor? Many 1 to 2 bedroom condos in the newer areas of Iskandar are already going for more than that! I think locals will avoid those.
… 10-20 years ago, anyone who bought some kind of property would have made good money ... It is so much harder to invest in properties today unless you have sufficient cash ... Even so, there is much less guarantee one can necessarily make money from them due to the oversupply (referring to SG and Johor).
Let put some assumptions out of our way first. But, I am no guru, just honest sharing.
The Printing Press (
The Crash Course, important lesson to be learnt)
Government’s spending must ONLY be balanced by taxes, but, that’s not always possible. Every year, their choir boys,
i.e., their mandarins, their army boys, their police kids, and what else have you, love to threaten to change their allegiance and claim their pound of flesh, as they were the current victors in the political game. The government (namely, the clan) has no choice but to agree. The choir would then be rewarded every year with bumper crop and performance bonuses. Where does the money come from? Definitely not from the clan, so the clan created the country’s printing press holdings and starts to print money from nowhere to “pay” them.
The choir, with the newly minted money, will start to bully the poor populace by grabbing their properties, assets, companies, businesses and what else have you, simply because they have the “money” to do it. Just look at Japan, their clan already owned almost 60% of all the largest listed companies in Japan. This clan and his choir boys are no different.
These additional printed moneys will add great inflationary pressure to all the asset classes. The net result is pure inflation with no additional benefits. The populace did not gain anything useful, but lose some more of their assets to the scumbags.
The printing press will not stop and inflation is here to stay till they break the economic system, just like Japan and Hong Kong, soon my place of birth and whatever.
Fortunately, this phenomenon is not present in Johor. The populace is still alright,
i.e., as long one works hard, the rainbow is still waiting for him at the end of the road.
Store of Value
A 3-room flat yesterday is a 3-room flat today and is a 3-room flat tomorrow. Its utility is the same throughout. Even if its amenities improve, it does not substantially change the usage of the flat.
The reason why it is worth more is essentially inflationary,
i.e., the money now is smaller in value and the tenant is willing to give up more in exchange for the right to stay in the flat.
Investment in property is nothing more than maintaining its value throughout the period,
i.e., if a property is worth 100 plates of char kway teow today, one would still be able to buy 100 plates of char kway teow tomorrow, even if a plate of char kway teow is then selling at $50.
Location
Johor, if not the rest of Malaysia, is a very interesting place.
Most of its developers are cowboys, i.e., they are free to abandon their projects, it happened to me previously, it is still happening now. So no worries, Johor is still very much Johor of the old. Nothing derogatory is planned, just an observation. Every now and then, when new shopping malls come on line, the older shopping malls will die and so will its surrounding properties. After about 20 years or so, these properties would be inhibited by foreigners and its state really deteriorates.
Because of this, one can see plenty of properties in various states of dilapidation everywhere in Johor and others. These properties frequently changed hands and yet nothing much is done to them. They are well located and fun to game with.
Location remains the single most important factor when deciding purchases.
One Possible Approach
Yes.
I do mean buying only landed properties. Many of my friends, me included, did not make a single cent in the condo arena. Whenever I mentioned the word “condo” to them, they always extract a drink or two from me and chided me for bad taste. But, when I mentioned the word “landed”, they gave me a drink instead. So yes, I have stopped talking “condo”.
If one were to buy a freehold landed terrace (1920sf) in Skudai at
rm200k 10 years ago, one can get rid of it easy today at
rm600k plus to any locals. But, with renovation, some are asking for rm800k. no one even bothers to view. It implies that those Johorians working in sg knew the current price and won’t be stupid to get a burden of rm800k. I knew a gal who works in sg for s$5k a pop (meaning rm15.5k a month), her budget die die also cannot exceed rm700k (instalment = rm2.8k or 18% of pay, she don’t dare to increase, pure fear). That’s the way of Johorians.
Interestingly, none of the Johorians I spoke to express interest in Bukit Indah or Iskandar or Horizon Hill, they said they were out of their convenience and range. Of recent news too, 3 of the horizon hills were auctioned off for
rm880k - rm1.2m each for land sized around 3.5k sf. Sad stories, I guess.
There are many dilapidated properties in Johor, they are our inspiration and source of strength.
Rubber Tapping
This Chinese New Year is good to the rubber tappers. The rubber trees are healthy and the cups are currently being sold for
rm5 per cup compared to
rm2.50 per cup 6 months ago. Indeed, life is good for the rubber tappers.
The above is my opinion. If moderator(s)
feels that the essay is problematic and bad taste, by all means delete it. But, I hope it could be published still, as the benefit outweighs the destruction, it might cause.
in metta …
And I can share your point about spending "more" in JB, now we eat more and watch movies more because of the relatively cheaper cost after currency conversion. Just drove back from Malacca over the new year weekend and also thoroughly enjoyed the mountainous views.
