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Living in JB 3 (Johore)

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mchia

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Just use JB contractors. There are many good ones out there too.

Agreed:smile: sometimes depend on luck too.
I believe these ID company also dun want to ruin their reputation (if they provide excellent service=more biz)Stupid to do one time biz means no one will ever recommend their service to friends.
Headache leh still no one can recommend a reliable ID company yet.:(
 

mchia

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could be double. i really wouldnt know. for me, peace of mind is important. pay a little more and worry a little less. having said that, the sg contractor can still screw up. even in sg, i dont use the mass mkt contractors. learnt my lesson when i renovated my home in sg. but then again, its just me. you may not be as picky as me.

How to tell whether it is a mass mkt contractors? Pls adv
Thanks
 

jasonjst

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How to tell whether it is a mass mkt contractors? Pls adv
Thanks

Oh they have a Phua Chu Kang outlook . Come with some stardard brochur like those from your letter box and very stardard package pricing . But generally acceptable , unless you have high stardard requirement.:biggrin:
 
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crystal_tiong

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A very eloquent piece by Eugene C. on "How do Malaysians feel towards Singaporeans?".

########## Start of Article ##########
I have resided in Johor Bahru (which is the city on the southern Malaysian Peninsula border with Singapore) since birth, of which over 12 years was spent commuting daily to school in Singapore while residing in Malaysia.

This might give me some insight into the general dynamics of the relationship between and the psyche of the average person on both sides of the causeway (the bridge link that links Johor & Singapore hailing from our British Colonial days) but by no means makes me an expert of any sort on the topic.

Personally, I would liken the Malaysian-Singaporean relationship to one akin to a sibling rivalry (at best) or competitive cousins (at worse) of sorts. The history, people, and cultural history are very much intertwined irregardless of the fact that some choose to conveniently forget this fact.

Malaysians, in my opinion, are quite accepting and friendly with Singaporeans in general. Granted there might some some underlying discomfort or even disdain towards the relative success of Singapore and in no small part to the ugly Singaporean phenomenon (that would be another post/topic altogether I would think).

Some points

Economy - Singapore is a developed nation with First-world status and its citizens are generally proud of the nations' achievements in being a World-class City with one of the World's best airlines, seaport, financial centers, etc. Malaysia on the other hand, is still categorised as a developing nation, with a good part of its economy reliant on resource exports in the form of Oil Palm, Rubber, and Oil among others.

Manufacturing and Tourism sectors are key contributors to the economy in both countries. Though I must say that Singaporean entrepreneurs are generally perceived to be more globally-aware, networked and better at marketing their products, and are backed up quite well by Government agencies setup for trade promotion (Internationa Entreprise Singapore) as compared to their Malaysian counterpart, Matrade.

Demographics - Singapore has an ethnic Chinese majority to Malaysia's ethnic Malay-Muslim majority. While both are multi-racial, multi-religious countries, Singapore does not profess to have an official religion while Malaysia's official religion is Islam.

Politics - has a strong ethic bias with political parties with an ethnic slant forming the major part of the ruling coalition. In Singapore, the ruling party, for all intents and purposes, portrays a multi-ethnic membership and lineup for elections though still basically being ethnic Chinese dominated.
That being said, both nations' governments have been unchanged since Independence for over half a century. This has led to increasing groundswell support for Opposition elements in both countries as the general populace feel that the incumbents have become rather complacent in their accountability to their citizens and clamor for a possible change; two-party system or erosion of the incumbents majority in parliament.

Governance - Corruption is a problem that plagues almost all the countries in the region, with Singapore being the only exception to this condition, which they have minimised by making sure Ministers and civil servants are well-paid, coupled with strong enforcement and sever punishment for those caught. the incumbent Prime Minister in Singapore is one of the best paid in the world, getting paid 4-5 times of what the POTUS might get while in office. Crime and public safety is a relative concern in Malaysia but with the heavy influx of migrant workers into Singapore from China, India, Philippines and further ashore, the safety and peacefulness of Singapore has been called into question in recent years.

Education - In this respect, Singapore is clearly superior (I might be biased here). Singaporean University rankings have consistently been ranked highly in the region with the nations' oldest & most prestigious, National University of Singapore, being well ranked even in Global ranking of Universities. University of Malaya, has failed to bolster its reputation while sliding down in global university rankings. Coupled with the fact that Singapore has been actively promoting and recruiting Scholars from the ASEAN region with full scholarships through their ASEAN Scholarship initiative among others which cause some countries to suggest that Singapore is perpetuating a "brain drain" in the region, snatching up the best and brightest from its neighbors, from Primary, Secondary, up to the University Level. This is further exasperated by the situation in Malaysia where besides lacking a consistency required for educational policies over the years, the prevailing opinion that academic excellence plays second fiddle to ethnic quotas for University placement even for straight-A student, forces many bright academic talents to look ashore for educational opportunity based on merit and excellent track record like that practiced in Singapore.

Tourism - Our many cultural and social similarities and the the relative lack of a language barrier (a good number of Urban Malaysians speak English and ethnic Chinese usually speak Mandarin or common dialects like Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, etc) which lends to Singaporeans being the largest nationality in Tourist arrivals in Malaysia. This is of course helped by the fact that many people have family members living on both sides of the border, this is illustrated greatly by the great number of people who often cross borders to make visitations during festive seasons like the Lunar New Year and other significant holidays of the sort.

Food - a very strong paradox lies in this topic as it can be both a bridge and a divisive point to people in both countries, depending on whom you speak to. Though there are some unique dishes not easily found in the other neighbor, there have been some contention on some dishes being uniquely Singapore/Malaysian after some remarks were made by the Malaysian Tourism minister about dishes being uniquely Malaysian to the consternation of Singaporeans, and also which country has the better food culture. The fact that one of major draws of visiting Malaysia is our "better tasting" food at a relative cheap cost (due to currency exchange differences) . However I might add that the variety in terms of global cuisine selection as well as sophistication is generally higher in Singapore than it is in Malaysia.

Lifestyle - It is generally accepted that the pace in Singapore is greater and it is expected for one to be more "pressured" living in Singapore due to the pace of life, population density, cost of living, and associated stress of "making it" in the City State. Pace of life in the Malaysian Capital, Kuala Lumpur is not breeze in the park either, but is generally considered to be a couple of notches slower than Singapore. Does this translate into a "better" quality of life for the average KL City dweller versus his/her Singaporean counterpart? It is too subjective to say conclusively in my opinion.

Integration - Interestingly enough, in my observations, interaction & discussions, I've found that on the whole, Malaysians generally seem to spend more time interacting with people that might not be from their own ethnic background than Singaporeans as a whole, ranging from school, to work, to play. Coming back to that favorite thing we all love, food, I was quite surprised that in general, ethnic Chinese children seemed to have been less exposed, informed or even tried much food that wasn't Chinese, showing some sort of aversion to spicy food/curries, and knowing next to nothing about Indian and Malay basic cuisine, except maybe eating Roti once in awhile. Trust me, that certainly not the case in Malaysia, where we're so used to eating different types of food that we can often go through our daily 3 meals with having a different ethnic cuisine in each meal during the day. Perhaps its an upbringing concern, or the fact of being more "sheltered", or the pure fact of demographics at play here,

Cheers!
########## End of article ##########

Source: Quora
— with Chu Liong Ching.


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moochi

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Dear Wuqi,

I hope you can help me on this... Need some advise on the procedures for renting and also the template tenancy agreement if you can share yours.

Much appreciated.
 

Stevewish

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Are you financially ready to buy a house in Malaysia?

Posted on March 6, 2013 - Featured, Investment.

And what you can do if you’re not

Owning a home you can truly call your own represents the ultimate dream for many. But with escalating real estate prices and the burden of lengthy loan repayment periods that easily go into 30 years or more, buying and financing a home is not just a matter of saying “I like it” and signing on the dotted line. It is something that should be done with a great deal of sense and prudence.

For all aspiring Malaysians who are actively considering buying a home by taking a loan, here are three things to determine if you’re financially ready to undertake this life-changing endeavor:

1) Do you have enough for the upfront costs?

In Malaysia, most banks offer up to 90% of the property’s price (margin of financing) for your first two residential properties. If you receive that 90%, you need 10% cash to pay for the rest of the property’s price.

Say you’re targeting to buy a condo in Cheras for approximately RM400,000, you must have a minimum RM40,000 to pay upfront, be it from your savings or money from your parents, siblings or partner.

2) Do you have extra cash for miscellaneous fees and charges?

First-time home buyers may not know it; but buying and financing a home takes more than just the deposit and the loan, it also involves miscellaneous fees and charges that include, among others:

1. Stamp duty for transfer of ownership title (also known as memorandum of transfer or MOT) = 1% for the first RM100,000; 2% on the next RM400,000, and 3% on the subsequent amount.

2. Sale & Purchase Agreement (“SPA”) legal fees = 1% for first RM150,000 and 0.7% of remaining value of property within RM1 million

3. Stamping for SPA = Less than a hundred Ringgit

4. SPA legal disbursement fee = A few hundred Ringgit

5. Loan facility agreement legal fees = 1% for first RM150,000 and 0.7% of remaining value of loan within RM1 million

6. Stamp duty for loan = 0.5% of loan amount

7. Loan Facility Agreement legal disbursement fee = A few hundred Ringgit

8. Fee for transfer of ownership title = A few hundred Ringgit

9. Mortgage Reducing Term Insurance (ie. think of it as a life insurance for your home loan) = RM1,000 or more (some banks waive this amount)

10. Government Tax on Agreements = 6% of total lawyer fees

11. Bank processing fee for loan = RM200

*Note: The percentages are based on recommended numbers and industry averages. Actual figures may differ.

To put things into perspective, a home valued at RM400,000 with 90% margin of financing comes close to about RM20,000 in fees and charges – which will have to be borne by you, the buyer. Now consider this: do you have the money to make it happen?

3) Can You Afford to Pay the Monthly Installment?

Unless you have the financial muscle to buy a property with cash upfront (in which case, this article probably wouldn’t apply to you), you’ll need to secure a loan from a bank or a financial institution to help pay for your home.

Based on the current market rate of 4.2% to 4.4% p.a. interest for a standard home loan, you will need to pay a minimum of RM1,760 per month over the next 30 years for a 90% loan to finance a RM400,000 home. To quickly calculate the monthly installments charged by banks of Malaysia for a home loan of any value, you can use online calculators.

As most financial experts recommend that you allocate no more than one-third of your total income to pay off your home loan, this means you or your household should have an income of at least RM5,280 per month to afford the RM400,000 home.

Take note that Malaysian banks generally allow you to hold loans (including commitment for car loan, personal loan etc) of up to 80% of your income if you have a relatively good credit score, so you can always choose to increase your monthly installment and shorten your loan term. But make sure you’ve done the math and understood the financial implications before you commit!

What If I Don’t Qualify?

For those of you who can afford the monthly installment but do not have the necessary savings for down payment and legal fees & charges, hope is not lost.

For a start, you may consider looking around for properties with free SPA and loan facility agreements to save thousands of Ringgit in legal fees. This should be relatively simple as most new property projects commonly absorb the costs of legal agreements for home buyers.

To cut down on the initial payment needed to buy a home, do actively shop around for properties with low initial down payments. Many developers now offer competitive early bird or “easy entry” sales packages which include rebates of between 2% to even 10% of the property price.

Ultimately, buying a home is a serious life decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Though owning a home in a posh area is always nice, one should always consider one’s financial position when it comes to buying property, so you don’t end up being overly burdened for the next few decades. Hopefully, this article will serve as a general guide for all Malaysians who are thinking about buying a home now.

Very good article for new property buyer! I think SP Setia is one of few property developer that offers many incentives in helping new buyers. The selling price may look very high at first but closely look at the number of items being absorb by them esp the discount which can be 100k (cluster housing) really help new buyer with tight down-payment significantly.

Some old thinkers may think of saving enough for the downpayment and then consider buying. It will be too late by then as our saving cannot catch up with the rising property price.
 
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1nottiboy

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How to tell whether it is a mass mkt contractors? Pls adv
Thanks

they have standard packages that are pre-fabricated. this keeps the costs down. they go for volume. usually not keen to customise to your dimensions. they wont tell you they cant do. they will just quote you a very high price.

if you are singaporean, go to IMM and take a look. Tons of them there.
 

1nottiboy

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Just use JB contractors. There are many good ones out there too.

i agree there are good ones out there. but i dont know any. so those who know may want to recommend.

i am just sharing what some other ppl are doing. some singaporeans may prefer to let the sg contractor/designer do their renos. going in and out of JB can be time consuming.
 

FHBH12

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i agree there are good ones out there. but i dont know any. so those who know may want to recommend.

i am just sharing what some other ppl are doing. some singaporeans may prefer to let the sg contractor/designer do their renos. going in and out of JB can be time consuming.

I have seen some good ones hanged advertising banner on the balcony or gate. These guys won't run away or leave things half-done since everyone can see the company name and contacts. Just take down their particulars and they may come in useful one day. I know of one contractor but I got no time to renovate now. Probably end of the year then I do a major one.
 

Stevewish

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Agreed:smile: sometimes depend on luck too.
I believe these ID company also dun want to ruin their reputation (if they provide excellent service=more biz)Stupid to do one time biz means no one will ever recommend their service to friends.
Headache leh still no one can recommend a reliable ID company yet.:(

Usually ID company and contractor don't do everything by themselves, it sub-contract some of their works to other contractors. Hence, the workmanship depend on who do they engage and it varies.

My sis used to engage one contractor and was quite impressed by the work and recommended to her friend. Later then they found out that the work and quality were different, upon asking the contractor then they realized that it subcontracts to another contractor. The regular good subcontractors that they engaged were tight up with other projects.

Probably can avoid year end, before / after new years, TOP etc, to prevent rush jobs.
 
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crystal_tiong

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I have seen some good ones hanged advertising banner on the balcony or gate. These guys won't run away or leave things half-done since everyone can see the company name and contacts. Just take down their particulars and they may come in useful one day. I know of one contractor but I got no time to renovate now. Probably end of the year then I do a major one.

erm , ERA also have big big banner displayed at the house they renovate but still run road ! somemore he drive a SG plate honda car wor ....
 
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mchia

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The more I read the more I worried, so I think die die also must try la. Let's me start first n see how lor. This ID company said they will design on draft FOC for us to see n decide whether we like it. if not also never mind can find other ID company. Maybe we are the first customer in EL for them so they will do it good for us. Hopefully lor!
Wish me luck:smile:
 

potter

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Hi all,
Anyone has any opinion of The Marina View at Permas Jaya? Going to sign S&P next week. Defred Properties(Singapore jewellers). rm850 PSF on mid floor straits view. 1559 sqft. freehold.

Is on commercial land, big private lands infront. fyi
 

ginfreely

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Hi all,
Anyone has any opinion of The Marina View at Permas Jaya? Going to sign S&P next week. Defred Properties(Singapore jewellers). rm850 PSF on mid floor straits view. 1559 sqft. freehold.

It has good size and very class furnishing with marble flooring (although heard it is middle east marble) and only four or six units per floor - i think got SG condo standard..
 

potter

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mly prop, no matter wat, i still prefer big boy developer. Eat Bee Hoon steaily.. titter.gif
 

1nottiboy

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friendly reminder... on draft and finished product are 2 different matters. nonetheless, i have no vested interest discussion on this issue. i wish you all the best.

The more I read the more I worried, so I think die die also must try la. Let's me start first n see how lor. This ID company said they will design on draft FOC for us to see n decide whether we like it. if not also never mind can find other ID company. Maybe we are the first customer in EL for them so they will do it good for us. Hopefully lor!
Wish me luck:smile:
 

1nottiboy

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because I have business interests in the property sector, from time to time, i will hear news from various property players.

just sharing some updates on a no-name basis. i was asked for my views on a piece of land in Kempas and Danga Bay. My views on that piece of land was negative (over priced, etc). As for the Danga Bay piece of land... even before I had a chance to look at it, it was sold; so was that piece of land in Kempas.

It seems everything is selling and moving and developing in Iskankandar. Genuine interest or speculative??? Draw your own conclusions.
 
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