Living in JB 2 (Johore)

[arsenal]

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[sgtsk]

Used the EDL yesterday, while visiting JPO for the first time yesterday. I am struggling to see how the Malaysians can implement a toll charge by May'12 with no gantries being set-up as yet, save for the touch-n-go installed at the customs. But payment at the customs would go against Najib's promise that people who do not use the EDL need not pay. If they just target SG cars, they have to bear in mind that there are a sizeable no of Malaysians driving SG cars to work. Also the PAP is likely to engage in a tit-for-tat surcharge on Malaysian cars.

I think there are 2 likely scenarios. First is a booth set-up just before the Pusat Bandaraya/customs exit. That will take some time, definately not by May'12, going at the current speed. The second scenario is the Malaysian govt buying over EDL, and letting everyone use for free prior to the elections, before installing the gantries after the elections. Both scenarios are equally possible in my view...... Haha......

Let's use Edl as much as is needed before paying is required. Haha. I think I will use Edl to explore the east of Johor more.

 

[sgtsk]

In fairness, it's difficult for singaporeans, esp who have stayed in Singapore all their lives, to consider the possibility of a total change. We must also remember that most Singaporeans accept everything they read in the papers as gospel truth, ie crime rates etc.

If I had not married a Johor PR, I would have been equally sceptical. Like Bro Wuqi, I have asked a few close friends to consider but was either laughed at or met with disbelieving looks. Seeing is believing, but few have even made that step towards viewing that dream property. Some fear that they will be robbed the moment they step into JB.

I will hold a house-warming party when the house is ready and invite them over. Maybe they will be more convinced then instead of spending S$2m and all their lives to chase that freehold terrace dream in SG. But I dont know how many will turn up though. Haha...

Hi Reds, I would suggest you get your friends to play golf first. From my experience, my friends who play golf, boys or girls, are some of the most adventurous lot, with due care of course. They would seek out golf courses not tried before and normally drove around for makan in places like gelang patah, pulai, the lesser known places but known for golfers. They started almost every golf outing 5 am from Singapore to Johor and some of them did this 2-3 times a week. Also, people who like diving are also more bold and not too aversed to risk.

 

[crystal_tiong]

Hi Reds, I would suggest you get your friends to play golf first. From my experience, my friends who play golf, boys or girls, are some of the most adventurous lot, with due care of course. They would seek out golf courses not tried before and normally drove around for makan in places like gelang patah, pulai, the lesser known places but known for golfers. They started almost every golf outing 5 am from Singapore to Johor and some of them did this 2-3 times a week. Also, people who like diving are also more bold and not too aversed to risk.

erm , no la , i have so many friends playing golf ... they are still skeptical about buying a house in JB .
A day trip in JB is acceptable for them but not buying a house .
The been telling me when my house is ready , they wan to come over to stay for a night to play few rounds of golfs.

 

[sgtsk]

erm , no la , i have so many friends playing golf ... they are still skeptical about buying a house in JB .
A day trip in JB is acceptable for them but not buying a house .
The been telling me when my house is ready , they wan to come over to stay for a night to play few rounds of golfs.

Got to Agree. A day trip to JB is not like deciding to live in JB long term. There are more factors to consider. Coming over to JB for day trip would be good start for those who are too fearful of security in JB and build their understanding of JB gradually.

 

[avelc]

In fairness, it's difficult for singaporeans, esp who have stayed in Singapore all their lives, to consider the possibility of a total change. We must also remember that most Singaporeans accept everything they read in the papers as gospel truth, ie crime rates etc.

If I had not married a Johor PR, I would have been equally sceptical. Like Bro Wuqi, I have asked a few close friends to consider but was either laughed at or met with disbelieving looks. Seeing is believing, but few have even made that step towards viewing that dream property. Some fear that they will be robbed the moment they step into JB.

I will hold a house-warming party when the house is ready and invite them over. Maybe they will be more convinced then instead of spending S$2m and all their lives to chase that freehold terrace dream in SG. But I dont know how many will turn up though. Haha...

House-warming party will be good, provided they show up! Maybe after they visit your house, they might be even enticed to buy from you, and you can cash out on your JB property + reinvest the profits.

TV news and papers, and lack of an open-mind is the biggest factor why most S'poreans will be deterred. Suspect some will be more open to JB/Iskandar, with the opening up of Legoland / Indoor Theme park end of year -- more will realize there is such a place as East Ledang, Puteri Harbour, Horizon Hills et al.

 

[wuqi256]

Agree with all, its not easy to get people to think of something they are not taught or accustomed to. As a friend said jokingly to me once,

"There are no ten year series for Johor lah bro! At least not yet!"

"We need a ten year series to progress anywhere you know as in 10 years before we can even take any action!" "Only way is for the papers to broadcast else no one will move first"

He clearly meant it as a joke but its pretty true.

 

[RedsYNWA]

House-warming party will be good, provided they show up! Maybe after they visit your house, they might be even enticed to buy from you, and you can cash out on your JB property + reinvest the profits.

TV news and papers, and lack of an open-mind is the biggest factor why most S'poreans will be deterred. Suspect some will be more open to JB/Iskandar, with the opening up of Legoland / Indoor Theme park end of year -- more will realize there is such a place as East Ledang, Puteri Harbour, Horizon Hills et al.

Haha already got 1 friend telling me he dont dare to show up liao because he's driving a SG plated Honda Accord! That said, its a pity that JPO is so far out. I suspect the outlets do not make much on weekdays. If JPO had been situated near Bukit Indah or Danga Bay (where there are sizeable plots), they would have garnered more local support. Such a pity.... Haiz.

 

[Narmi]

Exchnge rate today not bad. I got Rm244.2 for $100.

 

[wuqi256]

Haha already got 1 friend telling me he dont dare to show up liao because he's driving a SG plated Honda Accord! That said, its a pity that JPO is so far out. I suspect the outlets do not make much on weekdays. If JPO had been situated near Bukit Indah or Danga Bay (where there are sizeable plots), they would have garnered more local support. Such a pity.... Haiz.

Ok, i need to do like a certain forummer here and do this LOL.

My learned friends will think he must be driving a gold plated Honda or a Honda GT500 in that case.

There are still lots of people driving branded cars like Jags, your ubiquitous BMWs/Mercs, quite a few Maseratis and i also saw a couple of Lambo/Ferrari as well as 1 time a Bentley if i wasn't mistaken near LF. All SG plates.

Dodgy area yes one should avoid and don't drive out late at night to areas you are not sure of. Don't drive a branded car in areas where you know that are secluded/infamous, etc. Saw regularly a Z4 zipping around town here.

Actually there are lots of plans for that area (hidden or otherwise already in papers) that many are still unaware of, Kulai area is still part of Iskandar (IDR) and will be increasingly developed as things progresses. Already people in the know in SG has already started things rolling and more are doing so.

There will be lots of developments there, Jusco is setting up shop there to compete with the other guys there.

 

[Narmi]

I've mentioned to a few friends about buying Iskandar properties, but most either smiled and didn't say anything.

One asked a bit more, but no reply after that, when i said i could show him the Impiana brochure (he had an unsuccessful attempt to buy a French property last year -- imagine, after submitting all the paperwork including proof of HDB title deed, they rejected almost all buyers, as they wanted proof that buyers had the property purchase price amount in their bank accounts!).

Another said he needs to make more money first, which is possibly true, only issue is whether their earnings/savings can be faster than property inflation price.

Another relative has plenty of savings, but husband is very conservative while wife is more aggressive. Husband even exclaimed why we even wanted to buy a property in JB (to them the mention of Iskandar or Johor will evoke the thoughts of JB town -- unsafe, rundown, etc).

Bro

Just last Tuesday while having lunch with my colleagues the topic on property cropped up and when i mentioned abt why not consider property in Nusajaya/Iskandar as retirement/wkend hse.

Was a unanimous thumbs down fr them and i just gave a polite smile while hearg them regaling horror stories of residents in jb being robbed, beaten and burgled etc etc. When Mentioned Jb as retirement place one even smirked saying hahah then even much easier you become sitting duck since u cannot outrun or outfight the criminals....Its ok i tell myself as i will hv a home (semi-d)that can be passed down to my next generatn in perpetuity + a pigeon hole while d person who talked have a pigeon hole to pass down for 60yrs atmost?

 

[wuqi256]

Hi Narmi,

Unfortunately, many still thinks that they can pass down a leased property to their children.
They have no idea that the flat they have is actually never theirs, at least not in the actual
definition while they are still paying property tax. :(

To each his own, i respect others views and never smirked even when they said they are going off to Tonga, PPNG, etc for long term.

 

[ODYSSEY]

Unfortunately no, as recently as a couple of days back, people still asked me what property company i am with or what angle i am on.

I guess everyone is too jaded with every other person trying to sell your something. Its either MLM, insurance or some other thing.
You asked them to buy Canadian maple years back when gold was low, they think you are a dealer. You asked them to buy some shares, they think you are stockbroker. You helped them win some, lose some but in the end overall make some but no no no, you words still never good enough.

Never mind these people lah, some just dont see light. I think by your starting this thread 3 years ago and your posts you had converted many more of us than you imagined - and we are thankful to you for that. Their lost is our gain and we have all benefited much from you lol.

Hi folks, been busy setting up our place at HH Golf since we got our keys. We fixed up the lights ourselves and as soon as those and the fans were up, we couldnt wait to stay over. So we bought a couple of foldable traveller's mats and started our weekend stay (thats how excited we were). Things are more comfortable now as our living and dining sets arrived last weekend, together with the bedroom sets for 2 rooms. We bought a bar fridge to chill our drinks, wine and the occasional sausages, an induction stove, the ever indispensible microwave oven. Our utensils and cuttery are also in place and we are now ready for a homecooked meal lol.

Initially, we wanted to do quite a number of renovation works but decided to heed Wuqi's good advice instead and take our time; as he appropriately pointed out that the place is freehold afterall. And thats what we did, we fixed the essentials first and made the place liveable within a short period of time. The journey had been smooth sailing for us thus far, and we would like to wish this for anyone here as well.

 

[Narmi]

Bro

Just last Tuesday while having lunch with my colleagues the topic on property cropped up and when i mentioned abt why not consider property in Nusajaya/Iskandar as retirement/wkend hse.

Was a unanimous thumbs down fr them and i just gave a polite smile while hearg them regaling horror stories of residents in jb being robbed, beaten and burgled etc etc. When Mentioned Jb as retirement place one even smirked saying hahah then even much easier you become sitting duck since u cannot outrun or outfight the criminals....Its ok i tell myself as i will hv a home (semi-d)that can be passed down to my next generatn in perpetuity + a pigeon hole while d person who talked have a pigeon hole to pass down for 60yrs atmost?

Never mind these people lah, some just dont see light. I think by your starting this thread 3 years ago and your posts you had converted many more of us than you imagined - and we are thankful to you for that. Their lost is our gain and we have all benefited much from you lol.

Hi folks, been busy setting up our place at HH Golf since we got our keys. We fixed up the lights ourselves and as soon as those and the fans were up, we couldnt wait to stay over. So we bought a couple of foldable traveller's mats and started our weekend stay (thats how excited we were). Things are more comfortable now as our living and dining sets arrived last weekend, together with the bedroom sets for 2 rooms. We bought a bar fridge to chill our drinks, wine and the occasional sausages, an induction stove, the ever indispensible microwave oven. Our utensils and cuttery are also in place and we are now ready for a homecooked meal lol.

Initially, we wanted to do quite a number of renovation works but decided to heed Wuqi's good advice instead and take our time; as he appropriately pointed out that the place is freehold afterall. And thats what we did, we fixed the essentials first and made the place liveable within a short period of time. The journey had been smooth sailing for us thus far, and we would like to wish this for anyone here as well.

Bro Odc

So happy for you bro! Looking forward to my turn hopefully very soooon

 

[avelc]

As we all know, HDB is never yours, you're just a lessee from HDB.

Just visited the property fair at MBS, very very few people there. Contrast this with the crazy crowds at Sky Habitat Bishan last weekend! 1600-1750psf (SGD) vs 460-490psf (MYR) for Impiana @ EL.

I joked with the UEM lady that few S'poreans dare to buy in Johor as most think of JB town... Dirty, dangerous, get mugged, etc.

P.S. I still think SG is more convenient esp when working in SG & with very young kids, however the crazy MRT and road jams the last week reminded me that not all is rosy here...

Hi Narmi,

Unfortunately, many still thinks that they can pass down a leased property to their children.
They have no idea that the flat they have is actually never theirs, at least not in the actual
definition while they are still paying property tax. :(

To each his own, i respect others views and never smirked even when they said they are going off to Tonga, PPNG, etc for long term.

 

[avelc]

Congrats bro. Welcome to Horizon Hills and Iskandar!

Never mind these people lah, some just dont see light. I think by your starting this thread 3 years ago and your posts you had converted many more of us than you imagined - and we are thankful to you for that. Their lost is our gain and we have all benefited much from you lol.

Hi folks, been busy setting up our place at HH Golf since we got our keys. We fixed up the lights ourselves and as soon as those and the fans were up, we couldnt wait to stay over. So we bought a couple of foldable traveller's mats and started our weekend stay (thats how excited we were). Things are more comfortable now as our living and dining sets arrived last weekend, together with the bedroom sets for 2 rooms. We bought a bar fridge to chill our drinks, wine and the occasional sausages, an induction stove, the ever indispensible microwave oven. Our utensils and cuttery are also in place and we are now ready for a homecooked meal lol.

Initially, we wanted to do quite a number of renovation works but decided to heed Wuqi's good advice instead and take our time; as he appropriately pointed out that the place is freehold afterall. And thats what we did, we fixed the essentials first and made the place liveable within a short period of time. The journey had been smooth sailing for us thus far, and we would like to wish this for anyone here as well.

 

[ODYSSEY]

Thanks Narmi and Avelc, we r going into JB later tonite.

 

[homeinjb]

thanks for your wishes Crystal!
we had visited HH 3 times and this time around we had the choice of corner units and ultimately i had to give into my wife's demand
i will take note of the points mentioned by you and infact u r correct to state that i should expect for only 85% of loan approval. there was an email from HSBC banker stating the same loan percentage. not sure from where they got my contact details...
I am thankful to you all, like wuqi (he is a real gem!!!), dream_action and others for sharing their knowledge and parting with valuable advice

hi homeinjb

congrats on yr new purchase ! wow last week you were still discussing NI with me and so fast u bought HH liao .
Anyway , happy for you !
When dealing with banks , please check with them any set up fees ,misc or postages charges .
They usually wont mention till u sign e dotted lines with them ....
how come u so confident u can get 90% loan ? The banks has tightened their loan policy now ....
Its better to plan at 85% then u can work out your payments ....
Avoid Uxx as I currently have bad experiences with them .....
When i bought NI , my sales exec will help me to contact the banks and send them my info.
U can try to inquiry thru respective banks via website , they will get in touch with u shortly.

 

[homeinjb]

Thanks again Wuqi!!!, will contact Kate during weekend and get the details.
can really see the ocean of information you have. am sure there would be n no. of people in this forum like me whose life would have been made easier by your immense knowledge power. hats off to u!

Likely HLB, OCBC, Public Bank as well. UOB is cutting down on doing loans like these.
Don't do the SG - MY thing, most banks will serve you well here local or otherwise.
These days are very different.

The one i used most often and so far the best: Kate Tee, she now works at OCBC: +60 16 660 8420

 

[homeinjb]

actually i was introduced to SCB banker by the sales executive himself. he even acknowledged the 0.5% stamp duty that the banker had asked for. might be he too has share in the commission...

There is a kind of stamp duty that tie to the loan. Check with the HH sales person serving you. I am using HSBC. They work fine for me..