Living in JB

[ginfreely]

My debit card is issued from maybank Malaysia so no exchange rate issues. I just need to bank in the money to my account at the cash deposit machine.

Hi is there any monthly fee for debit card issued from Maybank Malaysia? Anyone knows which debit card got better petrol discount?

 

[Analytical Professor]

To the best of my knowledge, there should be no fee for debit cards.

Debit Cards are just like Savings account with a facility credit card to be used at Visa/Mastercard merchant terminals.

So there should not be any charge at all.

But i am not sure if Malaysia is a different market.

Hi is there any monthly fee for debit card issued from Maybank Malaysia?

 

[Analytical Professor]

Im with SCB KLIBOR based. Still very much confused.

I got the MRTA from them too.

MAybe i was rushing for time and hence could not research sufficiently at that point in time.

Was not aware of this forum too else would have requested Wuqi to help out with information.

As for Loan Packages - even the locals recommend me SCB & HSBC (Homesmart). They are cheaper than the local bank rates . I am much more impressed by these packages' flexibility (ignoring the lock in 5 yrs) -it seems to have such wing chun powers danteak tries to decribe - bend back, flex forward, side to side... incredible.

They will push MRTA but I decided not to do as seems expensive as pay upfront few thousands. Funny how Singapore & JB so close yet the Loan packages principles so different. At least I appreciate very much the differences in petrol pump prices

 

[Analytical Professor]

No one can deny Wuqi that privilege.

Can't thank enough Wuqi for starting this journey. QUOTE]

 

[Analytical Professor]

Yes the renovation challenges are a big hurdle that you need to cross.

The ID firms will try to con as much money as they can out of you.

Contra, I think you should chill. This is my advice i usually give out to everyone.

Do everything slowly. There is no rush. Yes sometimes we get impatient with the delay. But its still worth it Cause you will be careful and see through everything in detail.

If you rush into ID and furnishings you are sure to bungle up.

So do your rectifications first.

Now that you have time do as much research as possible like what kind of ID you wish to have, the furnishings you like, the kind of lights you like, the electrical points you want, the water pressure, grills, curtains etc.

Think through all of these issues slowly one by one with your wife and when you decide to implement do it slowly so you dun blunder.

Some of my friends had the grills guys/AC guys/Curtain guys coming on the same day. You can imagine the trauma and the mess.

So relax, do it slowly.

While the end product is what you desire, ensure that you enjoy the journey too.

Hi Wuqi,

Hi A.Prof,
I am getting excited yet nervous as my house is being built because of the renovation challenges (did you get yet any carpenter replies?) and list of things you shared and the experiences you guys faced . Will definitely PM you guys for contacts when times draws nearer.

 

[Jogs1]

Yes I am already staying in HH. Been looking around for new units to invest, esp in East Ledang side. Also exploring places like Setia Eco Garden as I am quite surprised at their high prices for semi d at RM 1.5 mil on average, when the golf facing supreme views semi d at HH cost just RM 1.2 mil

Setia ego garden quite near to power station, I think it abit overprice at $1.5mil.

 

[Damsell]

[
Hi Cathy,
If can afford the Int Schools (IS) in EduCity, go for it. I even saw the Ang Moh Singapore Expats in JB forum and they eagerly waiting for these to start. It will draw many international students.


Thats one of the reason my daughter enrolling there.(Monash/Newcastle).Anyway I just inked on the dotted line,becoming the new nusajaya resident.(3 mins to Educity).My next move will be another 2 properties for investment(East ledang and Puteri Harbour).Time to make more money.
Maybank debit card no need to pay fees(only the usual rm5 monthly for the account maintenance)
The eskimos already eating their ice cream halfway through.
The Japanese coming in herds so as the Indians.So,sinkies what are you waiting for?
For HSBC the MRTA is optional.They offer better rates,lock in periods and many other facilities.
When looking for properties,regardless for retirement or investment DO NOT stray from Nusajaya.
Bro Wuqi is right,once bumi lots released, who cares,just grab.And dont worry who is the next buyer(of course you will sell to the highest bidder).
AS long as His Excellency Mr.Najib Tun Razak the captain of the ship,so sinkies/foreigners dont worry about putting your money in mudland.
Cost of construction materials went up(steel,cement,sand,labour etc) as mentioned by REDHA.
Anxiously waiting to grow my greens.

 

[RafflesTiger]

Exactly. No one would wanna stay for 30 days one shot in Malaysia.

But there is one issue i would like to highlight here. The Immigration officers are supposed to scan the MACS data into the computer system everytime you enter and exit.

But for the longest time i have observed them, i have never noticed them doing this ever.

I think I saw them doing so yesterday. I am unsure what internet service provider to suscribe to.. The Maxis girl told me wven if you return the modem to them within 7 days, they need 6 weeks to process and refund you the money.. Thats 400rm... Only celcom claims there is no foreigner deposit. Only 100 activation fees.. If true, I will suscribe to celcom..Digi and P1 also have 300rm deposit for foreigners.. P1 uses 4G and they have this modem type box that they say can improve the reception, but need to sign 1 year contract.. Not sure how long they need to refund the money if you return within 7 days..


Anyone can advice??

 

[LeMans2011]

Hello
Does anyone know of a reliable aircon service company in JB? Seems like in JB people don't call for servicing unless the aircon has a problem.

 

[LeMans2011]

Setia ego garden quite near to power station, I think it abit overprice at $1.5mil.

There are 2 units of bungalow at Setia Tropika at 1.75m and 1.85m - ready built. The 1.85m unit has the house number "8". It is a much better buy compared to their 1.48m semidee. The bungalow built up is 4700 sft and land is about 7700 sft. Go see for yourself, i am not from SP Setia btw. I would have loved to buy it if i have not already committed to my limit.

 

[wuqi256]

JB's version of Rasif. The thing i don't understand is, why did they pay such a huge sum through a lawyer's account? I've only heard of 10% payment in law firm's escrow account and never more than that. That is the reason nowadays in SG the stakeholder's monies are held in law society account and not legal firm's.

Agreed, if crooked lawyers can run away with other people money in SG, they can do the same thing in other countries as well. Just be careful never to put in too much. Exactly, normally its just a certain portion and the bank will do disbursement (in the case of a loan) unless they are actually doing full payment for the house.

Note: I would never recommend paying in full straightaway even if you can do it. Just get a loan, use it to get current account, etc and then pay off when you are ready. By the way, just found out recently when i was trying to help a few relatives, that EON bank allows one to get a current account without having a loan account or even an existing customer to refer. You just need RM 5000 and your passport to get started. If you have someone to do the referring, you just need RM 1000. This is much better than other banks.

Seems the banks are starting to be stricter now though, some are asking for CBS reports even though the new customers are deemed to be financially sound. They wanted CBS reports from all my relatives but i managed to get them not to as its too troublesome for my relatives just for this.

 

[wuqi256]

Thanks for your help horizonhills, there are actually lots of them, one of them, opposite the Eurorich hotel, with a blue signboard called with the name York on it isn't too bad. I have tried to get numbers of more services here including maid, cleaning, etc. I will do a search and paste it here.

 

[wuqi256]

There are 2 units of bungalow at Setia Tropika at 1.75m and 1.85m - ready built. The 1.85m unit has the house number "8". It is a much better buy compared to their 1.48m semidee. The bungalow built up is 4700 sft and land is about 7700 sft. Go see for yourself, i am not from SP Setia btw. I would have loved to buy it if i have not already committed to my limit.

Sounds good, there are in fact electrified fencing on some of the developments, good design too for the bungalows. If not for the heavy traffic and the immediate surroundings, some of my relatives and friends wanted to buy there. In fact, i even took a few of them to the show house but they changed their minds when they got there as they preferred something different.

 

[wuqi256]

I can see that the entrance of the coastal highway from HH ( right after The Golf ) is seriously under major renovation now. Hope to see it open sooner so that we can take shortcuts back to Singapore. Also, those vehicles passing by HH from CIQ to Tuas area will see HH and hopefully will further boost the price. I was told recently that any semi-d could be rented out for RM 5000 and it will be snapped up fast. The highest on record for semi-d is RM 13800. WOW!

Yes it is, at first when i got my closest friends to buy, deep down, i was still worried as i will feel responsible if something happens. Then as things started to change, i felt safer and introduced to relatives and friends.

$5000 is actually quite standard now, you can definitely get above that if fully furnished. One of our nice neighbours asked a learned friend of mine today about property rental as they just got another one here.

 

[wuqi256]

Hi Prof, i would say value for money as they are quite good houses for staying actually.

 

[wuqi256]

Hi Contra,

Yes there are a lot of folks now into this, one of my learned friends went to their office (HH) today and there were so many people. Another neighbour even put down deposit for a few units (above 500k types) Quite a few of those buying
are locals. As for renovation, it will take a while but typically do your renovation only after the defect rectification. Always check your manhole before letting the renovation guys start their work and check to see if your pipes has any protective tapes that were not removed. If possible, don't install any outdoor antenna, use instead those Giant or Tesco brand ones that cost less than 10 RM and works just fine (albeit you need to get one for each tv) = This is still cheaper than installing an outdoor one plus gives you less trouble later for your roof tiles. As for water heaters, do try to get the ones with pump built in especially for the toilets on the 2nd or 3rd floor.

 

[wuqi256]

Thanks Cathy, if its that neglible, they should scrap it to begin with and offer priority to citizens for placement in schools. Yes, other countries are very stringent when it comes to placement, subsidies etc but we have only recently scrapped the subsidy for PRs, etc.

 

[wuqi256]

This I found strange as well. We assumed it would be a similar system like Singapore where they scan the passport through the reader, but we saw the officer flip to the MACs pages, read a bit then hand the passports back to us. Done. Looks like this mean that they don't officially have a record of us entering Malaysia?

It would seem that they don't, but i would suggest lets assume they do and stick to the 30 day rule just to be on the safe side.

 

[wuqi256]

There might be some discussion about JB in the Sunday times today.

 

[contra]

There might be some discussion about JB in the Sunday times today.

Wow, you really know e v e r y t h i n g in JB


By the way thanks for the tip on renovation timings - you too Analytical Professor. I will remember not to gobble too much food in one mouthful, and to pace myself - yi bu yi bu.