Living in JB 2 (Johore)

[FHBH12]

Malaysia already had a pilot nuclear plant for years. Johor government and Iskandar development authority won't allow it to happen in JB.

 

[Funds Transfer]

Malaysia already had a pilot nuclear plant for years. Johor government and Iskandar development authority won't allow it to happen in JB.

If they do, it is likely to be in the Eastern side.

 

[Funds Transfer]

Then the voters will punish BN at the upcoming GE13.

Like Singapore, such moves would usually come after the elections! :(

 

[crystal_tiong]

last sat went to chua kee for dinner and while we just reached the car park and waiting for my bro in law's car , saw a family walking to take their car , the chinese driver was like talking to me in a loud voice , he said " wa , i feels like i am in singapore , so many singapore cars are here," so i looked at him then his relative responded to him , driving a sg car could be also malaysians . and when he drove away , he still gave me a kind of look ! his car plate starts from Bxx , wonder from which state.

then upon sitting at the coffeeshop , a not so old man came along to promote his medicated oil , we politely told him we dont want and he keeps saying , RM12 is not expensive if u convert to SGD etc , very annoying ! to shoo him away in order to enjoy our dinner , i paid him and took the medicated oil !

so not going to visit chua kee anymore , will try e new chua kee ! hope dun have all these irritating ppl !

 

[Funds Transfer]

last sat went to chua kee for dinner and while we just reached the car park and waiting for my bro in law's car , saw a family walking to take their car , the chinese driver was like talking to me in a loud voice , he said " wa , i feels like i am in singapore , so many singapore cars are here," so i looked at him then his relative responded to him , driving a sg car could be also malaysians . and when he drove away , he still gave me a kind of look ! his car plate starts from Bxx , wonder from which state.

then upon sitting at the coffeeshop , a not so old man came along to promote his medicated oil , we politely told him we dont want and he keeps saying , RM12 is not expensive if u convert to SGD etc , very annoying ! to shoo him away in order to enjoy our dinner , i paid him and took the medicated oil !

so not going to visit chua kee anymore , will try e new chua kee ! hope dun have all these irritating ppl !

Like the foreigners in Singapore, we are also fast out-staying our welcome in Johor. What do you think?

 

[Investor]

I do think it is unlikely that prices will go back to the level of 2 to 3 years back where HH gateway intermediate terraces were selling below $400K but consolidation is likely.

So the current price level of Iskandar properties has still eventually got to be supported by Singaporeans and SPRs buying for residence as well as the high resale/rental values of Singapore HDB flats. The foreign investors(whether they are aware or not) are mainly buying into this factor, as this is the main push to catapult their property prices.

Brilliant, you are very sharp indeed.

I'm one of those investors who came in betting purely on the factor which you've mentioned above. There are opportunities in every situation, it's how you find it. When I invested in Nusajaya in late 2010, I didn't look at whether or not there'll be rental demand, nor was I concerned that Nusajaya needs to be very successful, in terms of having critical mass and having enough high paying jobs for locals, in order for me to make profit from this investment. That's because I can bet solely on the increase in demand from Singaporeans, as more of us get to know Nusajaya, to make handsome profit in the million(of course that depends on your invested amount).

To talk about Nusajaya having the need to be so successful isn't wrong because you guys are talking about long term sustainability. I respect you guys, including our old friend Analytical Professor who brought this up long ago, for having such detailed knowledge and professional view points about sustainability of a city. But when this opportunity is viewed in an investment point of view, which is ultimately to make profit and nothing else, there's no need to hope for Nusajaya to be very successful in order for us to make handsome profit.

There are opportunities even at present prices. You have mentioned about the current high prices but prices varies quite greatly from different type of products. For example, I would agree that;
- High-end condos at RM 1,000 psf is high (RM2 mil for a 4 rooms unit with 2,000 sq ft built-up)
- But high-end landed at RM 300 psf is not high (only around RM 0.8 mil for terraces with 4+1 bedrooms and 2,700 sq ft).

Even if a serious crisis hits and Singapore's property prices drop by say 40% to something like S$480 psf for landed. RM300 psf for a high-end terrace in Nusajaya which converts to S$120 psf is still just 25% of prices in Sg, that is still a very good bargain for Singaporeans. I would say that, in the next 2 years, there is still a room of at least 30% increase in price for such landed in Nusajaya and this price can easily be reached as the number of Singaporeans who will get to know and visit Nusajaya will be hundreds of times more than the present numbers when Nusajaya comes alive this Sept and with good reasons(like theme parks and shopping) for Singaporeans to visit. Yes, potential upcoming supplies can be a factor to suppress price, that's why we have to choose the prime land in Nusajaya's city center which are limited. I think undeveloped land in such prime area will be built with more condos instead of landed because landed developments are land consuming. Other high-end landed can only be built further away from the city center(even 2km is considered further out already). Sometimes even right across a street, prices can be a lot lower due to lack of crowd.

Prime land but which development?
That specific development but which unit?
Landed properties but terrace, semi-d or bungalow?
All those decisions will yield different returns too.

 

[crystal_tiong]

Like the foreigners in Singapore, we are also fast out-staying our welcome in Johor. What do you think?

true lor , haiz ... sinkie so pathetic , no place to welcome them ... and our dear mr pinky still wants us to integrate with the new citizens and immigrants!
but in jb , we never disturb or annoy them at all , we have min 500k to buy the properties , we are not fighting houses with them .... they have to be a little open lor ....

 

[Mingchye]

but a quick check with the my malaysians beauticians and manicurist , they sounds like dun bother to vote at all . if majority ppl are like that , then too bad la ....i told them its a chance to vote and hope the country change !

Johor is BN stronghold (kinda like AMK GRC and Tj Pagar GRC). The voter attitude is different in KL/Selangor where you see the opposition winning 10/11 KL parliamentary seats and the Selangor state govt. Reminds me of Hougang and Aljunied
The recent Bersih 3.0 turnout in KL and the police actions have hardened the people's attitude against BN in KL/Selangor. I predict these will remain in opposition hands post GE13 and possibly more state/parliamentary seats near Kuantan area (where LYNAS plant is located) will fall to opposition.

B is Selangor state (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Malaysia#Peninsular_Malaysia)

 

[jasonjst]

Malaysia already had a pilot nuclear plant for years. Johor government and Iskandar development authority won't allow it to happen in JB.

Dont worry lah , very unlikely to be in JB city and Iskandar Area . You think they are that stupid meh ? Will be at least 50km away from these areas.

 

[wuqi256]

but wondering which JB area they are going to have the plant leh ...

Hi sis crystal, i have very important things to update you, i promised to keep an eye out so PM me once you see this.
Back to nuclear power, the fiasco at Fukushima affected other parts of Japan even though it was hundreds of miles
aways. Johore is big but the sea surrounding it is also the same sea that surrounds Singapore.

If this happens here as in nuclear meltdown, no one, not even the detractors in SG will be laughing.
Everyone will still glow in the dark unless you live in a shelter aka Fallout style.

 

[wuqi256]

Newbie raised some good points about prices here, etc. Agree with some of the points but if we only look at this place for own stay, i seriously don't see where we can go far wrong. Only if one buys too many, is leveraged to the hilt and exceeds ones own income by a certain percentage, etc.

There are already several properties i have seen that deserves a red flag but problem is too many people are buying into them now. One sold
100 plus units out of 2xx plus available.

Using KL prices as a guideline, it should not exceed too much if one uses psf as a general guideline yet some are already 1100 psf. I normally would not go for anything above 500-600 psf.

All my investments until today, none of them ever exceeds 500 psf even the most recent one. Even my commercial ones never reached anything near 1100 psf. Once you cross the 1000 psf mark, i would humbly think its akin to crossing the shark line protecting the beach.

 

[Arowana88]

Ha, I thought only the civil servants or PAP will say serious bo....are you one of them?
Grad driving taxi is common these days.. Employers want cheap, young and Tua L.. Definitely not old birds..
I also don't see any wrong with driving taxi.. ha.. Maybe you are out of Singapore for too long..

My cousin used to be sales manager earning 6 k plus , kana kicked out. Now driving taxi.
Sinkiepore Full of risk, got to get taxi license for stand by also!!! Who knows in the future ....

 

[Investor]

Newbie raised some good points about prices here, etc. Agree with some of the points but if we only look at this place for own stay, i seriously don't see where we can go far wrong. Only if one buys too many, is leveraged to the hilt and exceeds ones own income by a certain percentage, etc

Exactly. Most of us who are here long enough know that you have repeatedly advise others here to;
- Buy within means
- Buy for own stay (that is if you like living in Johor in the first place)
That'll reduce the risk involved and one can take whatever price appreciation as a bonus.

 

[wuqi256]

Every one year we will see someone or her/his clone post something like that so take it with a pinch of salt. Don't take for granted what anyone, even myself says, see for yourself and always always do due dilligence. As a rule of thumb, for own stay, that should be fine.

Posting under another nick/clone does not justify the argument that was lost.

Rental from HDB should be counted on only as a passive income, we should still try to keep our day jobs as long as we can or have something supplmenting our income. Rent if you are seriously in doubt although we have friends of friends who rented and recently all went into shopping mode to buy including a nice couple from Austria. Even if one does not come in and live here, you can still get some or all your medical needs served here, like what our government wanted/intended.

Some unfortunately though will never buy, citing various excuses like interest rates, quality of finishing, etc as though these are something that cannot be fixed though defect rectification, etc. Things like parquet flooring, i have 2 houses which has it, fixed easily by developer, then renovation guys scratched it, i got it fixed again. Then after all the fixes, movers scratched it. This time i just gave up and got it polished and thats it.

Even if one in the end cops out (after making excuses about interest rates, etc) and still buy a condo in the end (seriously, not talking about you Arowana), defects are still part and parcel of every development, be it landed or not.

I own both landed and a condo and i see it from both sides.

 

[wuqi256]

My cousin used to be sales manager earning 6 k plus , kana kicked out. Now driving taxi.
Sinkiepore Full of risk, got to get taxi license for stand by also!!! Who knows in the future ....

I know a former sales director and someone who was one of the senior management in another company. Met up with them in the taxis
i took. Guess SG is too small. Seeing the bitter look on one of them, i pretended not to know him and gave him extra 2 dollars when i left.

The other one was more forthcoming, i discussed with him and understood what happened and how a Dumb Bank in Singapore retrenched him.
I got his contact and managed to find him a job. He remains one of my friends to this day.

 

[nickyu]

Exactly. Most of us who are here long enough know that you have repeatedly advise others here to;
- Buy within means
- Buy for own stay (that is if you like living in Johor in the first place)
That'll reduce the risk involved and one can take whatever price appreciation as a bonus.

yeah agreed...it's easy to get carried away when there is so many developments with low downpayment, discounts and etc...seems like developer are trying to match each other now in term of psf and buyers are snapping property like buying grocery...i always believe that there is opportunity out there and dont need to rush into making a big decision like buying property...

 

[wuqi256]

Exactly. Most of us who are here long enough know that you have repeatedly advise others here to;
- Buy within means
- Buy for own stay (that is if you like living in Johor in the first place)
That'll reduce the risk involved and one can take whatever price appreciation as a bonus.

Thanks, its sad however, the amount of misinformation that is out there in the market and thinks that Singaporeans are the sole reason why prices have gone up. Ask any banker worth his or her salt in the major banks to find out if truly its just Singaporeans that are buying and fueling the rise. I did ask again recently and got a shock.

If one buys on the assumption that one will be staying in it, one will never go too far wrong as worst case, just use it for original plan. Like what a learned professor (yes Sir Analytical Professor) always pointed out, there will always be changes and things may go south one day. For those intending for own stay or for own sons/daughters(yes me), then i think they are in a safer zone.

 

[wuqi256]

yeah agreed...it's easy to get carried away when there is so many developments with low downpayment, discounts and etc...seems like developer are trying to match each other now in term of psf and buyers are snapping property like buying grocery...i always believe that there is opportunity out there and dont need to rush into making a big decision like buying property...

Absolutely, psf is just but one way to guage, one also has to be slightly more careful when buying off plans from developers especially when they are still unrelatively or BELONGING to certain government holdings. Always check and ask if you have to sign an SPA that is non standard or if early buyers are having
issues with state consent. If more than 3 bank (2 still normal) refuses to support a developer and refuses a loan, check out the reason why first. Some developments, if they only allow 100% payment by buyer, don't go in at all.

 

[wuqi256]

I think i must be quite lucky today, a long trailer blew its tyres right in front of me at Tuas. Morning time at Alexandra area, 2 cars merged into the centre lane, one from the left, one from the right. Both not looking, both driving very fast. Finally, after at least 2 years of silence, i had to press the horn and decelerated after checking no one was at my six. Luckily for them i warned them as one was not even looking and would have smashed into the other.

 

[wuqi256]

Just heard from a friend working in Central Malaysian Properties that they are pretty disappointed with the progress of the Lido Boulevard project.

Again guys, my 2 cents worth (feel free to add on) don't buy if its:

1. Bad location because of any combination of factors. Once you have more than 3 factors, don't touch it.
2. Too expensive psf wise especially if other similar development are selling at much cheaper rates. Look for multiple precint developments
rather than just 1-2 as they are in it for the long haul so prices are usually better managed.
3. Out of your budget, always buy the biggest you can reasonably afford. Nothing bigger than that.
4. Land stability or type of land allocated to the development is not suitable for residential.
5. Weird format/additional wording or deviances from standard SPA
6. Slow state consent from earlier buyers because non payment of quit rent, etc. Anything that sounds lame.
7. Leasehold property which are leased from a private company
8. Known quality issues - Not the normal things which can be easily fixed. Referring to serious things like foundation, water proofing, sewerage. Not water marks on side of garden walls, slight hairline cracks in paint, etc - To be fair, ever development will have its own fair share of lemons. Too many lemons however means that the developer should be taken to task no matter who they are.
9. Good in KL does not necessarily mean that they will be good here.
10. If the banks won't touch it, neither should you.


- There will always be experts who will nitpick but they don't stay here and only form their opinion on one time visit.

As a rule of thumb, i never nitpick on the small things so as not to lose focus on the big picture. I know of someone who did not buy a house just because its number didn't sound good, some hairline crack here and there or that the light switches/toilet doors are not so nice. Getting in at a good price point will negate most of the negative parts especially if they can be fixed easily. In the end, those who overly nitpick tend to do the most disfavour to themselves.

One guy even said to a relative of mine more 3 years ago - Wuqi is only a Singaporean, what can he know about Johore that i don't? 350k is too high for a terrace in The Golf, he will never be able to sell it, mark my words. It will only go downhill - As recent as 1 year ago, he repeated the same thing but was laughed at by my relative. Recently this same chap bought 2 subsale units at one go.

A relative of a very good bro of mine, recently nitpicked over something small, in the end the dreamhouse which fulfilled 99% of all their needs was bought and taken away, all in the space of 24 hours. Another one, in the end left KL at 2am in the morning to drive here just to make a deposit.

Of course, one can always play it safe and remember that there will always be the next one. In the end, no right or wrong, only if it makes sense and different people have different priorities. Don't follow herd mentality and just buy/invest for the sake of buying. Buy only if it makes sense to you.

I bought 4 years back and straightaway without the houses yet having any kind of appreciation already started asking first my very good friends, then my relatives(yes some of my friends are closer than my own blood) and then fellow Singaporeans to also buy.