Iskandar Residences @ Medini

[potter]

While you may not be able to fully enjoy the property if you are not staying there, you can still enjoy your property in JB during the times you do go there, and perhaps even look forward to it. And while commuting across the Causeway or 2nd Link is out of the question for you at present, things may still change which may make it more do-able in the near future.

I agree that SG condos are very expensive. They are simply out of reach for me. I can't even touch them. I got a friend who say that it is cheap to own an EC for $780K, but for a fraction (1/3 or less) I can buy a similar sized condo in JB, although one probably cannot expect the quality to be like most SG condos. And because it is in relatively accessible JB, compared to say buying a property in Vietnam or Penang or Australia or London, it becomes an attractive proposition for many who find themselves priced out of the SG market. So for me at least, I am more grateful than proud to be able to own a condo in JB, something with my name on it.

I suppose the Medini perks (trade off with being leasehold) are meant to entice investors, with apparently low entry and exit options, though whether the ROI can be met is doubtful for now and near future. I believe people generally prefer freehold, but may not mind leasehold if that area is very desirable and has a lot going for it.

Bought my closed ones to stay 1 night, then hor, now they keep on jio me and pre-book my condo !! tio hooked or maybe I have opened their 天眼. wahaha...
i don't see wow wow factors for SG normal condos those that i visited, but i'll of coz wow wow and the main excitement is the condo price, i'll sure WOW WOW:p :p

 

[Tekkun]

Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, No choice. I am prepared it will be tough or impossible to find tenants and buyers. So I have to leave it as it is and probably just go back as and when I can. It's just my lifestyle and work which make it not conducive to live/work in JB/SG or go back every weekend. It's definitely a very expensive "holiday home" as xebay11 mentioned. But oh well... Whenever I can go back, I'll make sure I enjoy it.

Yes, SG condos, be it private or EC, are ridiculously priced. I find the prices are beyond the reach of many commoners. Seriously, even if I work out my finances and find I can afford it, I won't buy it. It's not a dignified life to live in something so small yet be in debt for decades. I think SG properties are no longer "investment grade" also. Way overpriced. That's why even the rich are now willing to quickly cut losses of several thousand $ or more than a million $ to sell away their SG properties.

I've always felt the prices of properties, even HDB flats, should have been better controlled by the government. They were too money-minded back in 2005-2012 and did a terrible job in many areas which caused a lot of the commoners to suffer.

As for Medini, I didn't know Malaysians in general prefer freehold properties. I assumed wrongly Malaysian properties work like SG, where even leasehold ones carry a lot of value. Many have advised me exiting or making profits is going to be extremely difficult/impossible in years to come or even in a decade. I'd be lying if I say I don't regret buying in Medini but no point beating myself so much over it every day .

"Expensive holiday home" but one thing you can be sure of is you actually have a home and something to look forward to everytime you are back. It is a place where you can buy a piece of art or place a picture of your family in the living hall. Or have the wall papered to your wife's liking. You can't do it if you are living in a hotel or to a lesser extent a rented premise. This is something money cannot buy. The objective in any investments is not just the money alone but the process and the fun of the journey.

 

[potter]

Put some $ in good Reno, furniture n bed etc.rather than buying those cheapo things as ppl think only come in once a week or so. I see many sinkies doing it. But tell dun u y...:p

 

[Frodo]

"Expensive holiday home" but one thing you can be sure of is you actually have a home and something to look forward to everytime you are back. It is a place where you can buy a piece of art or place a picture of your family in the living hall. Or have the wall papered to your wife's liking. You can't do it if you are living in a hotel or to a lesser extent a rented premise. This is something money cannot buy. The objective in any investments is not just the money alone but the process and the fun of the journey.

I agree with Tekkun.

Don't look down upon your purchase as an expensive "holiday" home as if you have to tolerate it in a detached manner. Look at it as "your second home bought at lower than SG prices". You can do what you like with it, spruce it up with good furnishings with the strong exchange rate. Turn it into a dream house that cannot be done in SG. Install that projector TV with a 150" screen and a solid home theatre sound system!

I believe no one is a property prophet here, whatever predictions made based on past info and extrapolated into the near future, can also turn out to be wrong. Since MY govt known to be whimsical and suka suka change policies, you never know when they might surprise you with a new policy or new action plan that may work in your favour. 15 years ago perhaps nobody ever predicted there would be a MY Iskandar development but things changed. 10 years ago Nusajaya was like nothing but right now there is a lot of things going on. Perhaps in less than 10 years from now things will work in your favour, perhaps not by leaps and bounds, but still in your favour. House is still there, still yours, you haven't lost the asset.

 

[Frodo]

Bought my closed ones to stay 1 night, then hor, now they keep on jio me and pre-book my condo !! tio hooked or maybe I have opened their 天眼. wahaha...
i don't see wow wow factors for SG normal condos those that i visited, but i'll of coz wow wow and the main excitement is the condo price, i'll sure WOW WOW:p :p

Nice! I am also excited to see my condo unit slowly rising from the ground. When it is ready and done I would like to use it to host friends and their families when they come over to visit. I think when 2018 comes and lots of condos are done, it will also be quite exciting. Who knows, when fellow Singaporeans see completed projects which they can touch, see and compare, versus buying off plans in 2013/14, they may be more willing to buy that condo unit that they have been "itching" to buy. ;p

 

[Frodo]

Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, No choice. I am prepared it will be tough or impossible to find tenants and buyers. So I have to leave it as it is and probably just go back as and when I can. It's just my lifestyle and work which make it not conducive to live/work in JB/SG or go back every weekend. It's definitely a very expensive "holiday home" as xebay11 mentioned. But oh well... Whenever I can go back, I'll make sure I enjoy it.

Yes, SG condos, be it private or EC, are ridiculously priced. I find the prices are beyond the reach of many commoners. Seriously, even if I work out my finances and find I can afford it, I won't buy it. It's not a dignified life to live in something so small yet be in debt for decades. I think SG properties are no longer "investment grade" also. Way overpriced. That's why even the rich are now willing to quickly cut losses of several thousand $ or more than a million $ to sell away their SG properties.

I've always felt the prices of properties, even HDB flats, should have been better controlled by the government. They were too money-minded back in 2005-2012 and did a terrible job in many areas which caused a lot of the commoners to suffer.

As for Medini, I didn't know Malaysians in general prefer freehold properties. I assumed wrongly Malaysian properties work like SG, where even leasehold ones carry a lot of value. Many have advised me exiting or making profits is going to be extremely difficult/impossible in years to come or even in a decade. I'd be lying if I say I don't regret buying in Medini but no point beating myself so much over it every day .

Yes. that's the spirit! Enjoy your own condo as much as you can! Be more optimistic and look on the bright side. Who knows, in a few years time you would regret having ever regretted over the purchase of your condo unit.

 

[xebay11]

I agree with Tekkun.

Don't look down upon your purchase as an expensive "holiday" home as if you have to tolerate it in a detached manner. Look at it as "your second home bought at lower than SG prices". You can do what you like with it, spruce it up with good furnishings with the strong exchange rate. Turn it into a dream house that cannot be done in SG. Install that projector TV with a 150" screen and a solid home theatre sound system!

I believe no one is a property prophet here, whatever predictions made based on past info and extrapolated into the near future, can also turn out to be wrong. Since MY govt known to be whimsical and suka suka change policies, you never know when they might surprise you with a new policy or new action plan that may work in your favour. 15 years ago perhaps nobody ever predicted there would be a MY Iskandar development but things changed. 10 years ago Nusajaya was like nothing but right now there is a lot of things going on. Perhaps in less than 10 years from now things will work in your favour, perhaps not by leaps and bounds, but still in your favour. House is still there, still yours, you haven't lost the asset.

Go ahead and put and find your house broken into and house cleaned out.

 

[xebay11]

"Expensive holiday home" but one thing you can be sure of is you actually have a home and something to look forward to everytime you are back. It is a place where you can buy a piece of art or place a picture of your family in the living hall. Or have the wall papered to your wife's liking. You can't do it if you are living in a hotel or to a lesser extent a rented premise. This is something money cannot buy. The objective in any investments is not just the money alone but the process and the fun of the journey.

I had such an "expensive holiday home" in Perth from 1995 to 2003, it was expensive as I wished I had the variety to check into different hotels instead on the same old house all the time and also each time we came, it was spring cleaning time, beds had to be fitted out, carpets vacuumed, toilets washed etc. and mind you OZ is very very dust free, but still at least half day needs to be spent, whole packing process needs to be done when going home, really was sian after a while.

Later when we sold the house, we were liberated and could travel anywhere in OZ without a hang up of having to stay in the "free hotel" just to make money's worth.

I stopped owning any foreign property till now and am buying again for my daughter's use only and maybe retirement only but at least it is properly lived in.

 

[ECboy]

I had such an "expensive holiday home" in Perth from 1995 to 2003, it was expensive as I wished I had the variety to check into different hotels instead on the same old house all the time and also each time we came, it was spring cleaning time, beds had to be fitted out, carpets vacuumed, toilets washed etc. and mind you OZ is very very dust free, but still at least half day needs to be spent, whole packing process needs to be done when going home, really was sian after a while.

Later when we sold the house, we were liberated and could travel anywhere in OZ without a hang up of having to stay in the "free hotel" just to make money's worth.

I stopped owning any foreign property till now and am buying again for my daughter's use only and maybe retirement only but at least it is properly lived in.

Perth is amazing! Unfortunate that your experience is not so good :(

 

[Tekkun]

Perth is amazing! Unfortunate that your experience is not so good :(

When you buy a holiday home, you buy one that is least problematic. You do not buy a house. You buy a condo with least surrounding to clean up.
Or you can appoint the management to get your unit ready whenever needed. Unfortunately it is usually the more expensive units.
Holiday landed homes is a chore. Small size condos are the best way forward.

http://thetowersperth.com.au/the-towers/

 

[xebay11]

Perth is amazing! Unfortunate that your experience is not so good :(

Ha ha after selling the house, the experience with Perth is even better, my parents are heading down again this Oct.

 

[Frodo]

I had such an "expensive holiday home" in Perth from 1995 to 2003, it was expensive as I wished I had the variety to check into different hotels instead on the same old house all the time and also each time we came, it was spring cleaning time, beds had to be fitted out, carpets vacuumed, toilets washed etc. and mind you OZ is very very dust free, but still at least half day needs to be spent, whole packing process needs to be done when going home, really was sian after a while.

Later when we sold the house, we were liberated and could travel anywhere in OZ without a hang up of having to stay in the "free hotel" just to make money's worth.

I stopped owning any foreign property till now and am buying again for my daughter's use only and maybe retirement only but at least it is properly lived in.

I don't know what your arrangements were with this Perth holiday home, but if it was about having to fly over every week/month to enjoy your expensive holiday home I can very well imagine how soon the fatigue would set in, not to mention the cost and hassle involved in flying over there, check in check out, and getting an expensive cab into Perth city. Now, compared that to having an "expensive holiday" house in JB, where it is a drive away, if you plan your timing and trip well you can even reduce the time caught in the causeway jams. If the JB "expensive holiday house" is also expensively furnished to your own liking into a luxury resort or just something you like, I don't see why it would be a dread going there every week. Perhaps your Perth expensive holiday home did not quite make it for you, but you can't project your experience to everyone else, right? Most likely it wasn't practical for you to visit your Perth home regularly, but then again, JB is not 4000km by air away, but perhaps less than 40km for most people by land. Again the JB distance advantage is one main plus point for why some people prefer to put their money into JB property.

 

[Frodo]

Ha ha after selling the house, the experience with Perth is even better, my parents are heading down again this Oct.

If you are staying in Singapore and your holiday house is in Perth some 4000 km away and you go like once in a few months, I can see why going back there would be a burden and a dread as the law of entropy takes over. Of course it would be better now since that is out of your mind already. Probably the best thing to do too. But why weren't you renting it out?

 

[Frodo]

Go ahead and put and find your house broken into and house cleaned out.

Is that a 100% guaranteed thing that would happen to everyone who owns a condo in JB? I don't think so. Similarly not everyone in JB gets robbed or raped!

Back in my HDB flat there were cases of break-ins and even in the nearby landed houses there were police signs that break-ins had taken place and asking for witnesses. But no one would give up living in HDB or landed in Singapore. You might then retort and say the chances of that happening in JB is many times compared to Singapore. But my point is that, when shit happens to you, it happens, and none of these statistics are any comfort at all to you. Singaporeans can be lulled into letting down their guard because they take things for granted, and they can become easy victims of theft even in their own home country. But in JB one can exercise a heightened sense of personal security and live there for years without an incident till the day they kick the bucket.

 

[potter]

weekend house buy until so far away...wahaha...
just cross the border already got Oz properties liao..wahaha...

 

[xebay11]

Is that a 100% guaranteed thing that would happen to everyone who owns a condo in JB? I don't think so. Similarly not everyone in JB gets robbed or raped!

Back in my HDB flat there were cases of break-ins and even in the nearby landed houses there were police signs that break-ins had taken place and asking for witnesses. But no one would give up living in HDB or landed in Singapore. You might then retort and say the chances of that happening in JB is many times compared to Singapore. But my point is that, when shit happens to you, it happens, and none of these statistics are any comfort at all to you. Singaporeans can be lulled into letting down their guard because they take things for granted, and they can become easy victims of theft even in their own home country. But in JB one can exercise a heightened sense of personal security and live there for years without an incident till the day they kick the bucket.

Of course not guaranteed, don't listen to me, all of you guys are welcomed to furnish the condo mei mei.

 

[xebay11]

weekend house buy until so far away...wahaha...
just cross the border already got Oz properties liao..wahaha...

Huh? what are you talking about? Oz attracts people all over the world.

Using your logic, Johor just across the border, so near, no need even weekend house lah, I take 20 minutes on a good weekday to get across. So what for even buy house?

Oz is actually the nearest first world country to buy holiday home lah.

 

[sgcount]

Thanks guys. I've read every post. All of you got some very good perspective of things which make sense. *thumbs up*

 

[snowbird]

"Expensive holiday home" but one thing you can be sure of is you actually have a home and something to look forward to everytime you are back. It is a place where you can buy a piece of art or place a picture of your family in the living hall. Or have the wall papered to your wife's liking. You can't do it if you are living in a hotel or to a lesser extent a rented premise. This is something money cannot buy. The objective in any investments is not just the money alone but the process and the fun of the journey.

Suggesting to keep that "Expensive Holiday Home" must be the dumbest idea of the year.
You can have a wide selection to stay in many of the "luxurious apartment or bungalow" all over JB for a tiny little fraction of that cost and you can choose to stay at different unit in different area each time.
But first, how many days of holidays you can afford to spend there?
Perhaps 2 to 3 weeks the most so why bother to spend so much time (you need to spend time to upkeep it) and money on a piece of property for this purpose??
Now, one can stay in many of those newly completed apartments or landed properties for as low as S$35.00 per day.
A 4 bedroom "luxuriously furnished" apartment near the LEGOLAND is only asking for about $120.00 per day!
Go check the AIRBNB for more info!

 

[xebay11]

If you are staying in Singapore and your holiday house is in Perth some 4000 km away and you go like once in a few months, I can see why going back there would be a burden and a dread as the law of entropy takes over. Of course it would be better now since that is out of your mind already. Probably the best thing to do too. But why weren't you renting it out?

We were renting it out to students, it was a special built house with two living rooms, two dining rooms and shared kitchen.