Living in JB

[Analytical Professor]

My oh my! Spare me sia!

Invite the more learned forummers will share their views on this wonderful post.

I am happy reading the post as well since i stay at Jalan Setia Tropika (Kempas Lama).

In the face of such positive news if i am going to say something it may not be to everyones liking.

Im the Devils Advocate you see!!

Would like to hear the views of everyone here regarding investment of properties in Iskandar, especially friends like AP who held a view that Iskandar is not a great place for property investment. Lets have a healthy discussion, with constructive criticism when needed, instead of a war

My view is simple, Iskandar is Big, 3 times the size of Singapore, so investing in the right location and right project is the key.


By the way, those highlighted and 'color coded' statements below might answer some of AP's past questions like;
1) Why did the lady AP met sell her property at a loss instead of gain?(Highlighted in red)
2) Why would an investor choose to invest in Iskandar instead of Singapore or KL?(Highlighted in blue)

Prices surge in Iskandar

 

[euphony]

Previously the Bestari area was unknown to me as well. Without going into the interior lanes you could take a slow drive along the main road of Jalan Bestari end to end in the slower lane and get to see whats happening around. Did that at noticed cycle repair shops. he he..

AP do you know any shortcut to by pass the toll area and get back onto the pasir gudang highway from bestari area? the way I go always take me to skudai interchange further down. otherwise i give up and pay the perling toll. will explore the area in greater detail in the months to come and see what treasures lie in it. currently only doing the jusco-tesco loop in the area.

 

[Analytical Professor]

Nice one man... I would wanna consider it as well.

Yes Incomeshield is the cheapest. No second thoughts on that.

But once they find a problem with you no matter how minor or insignificant they will be only too happy to exclude you from it.

Bro, I chose the Aviva using moratorium underwriting as I had previous medical issues.. Once I passed 5 yrs without medication & consultation, it would be covered. Pricing is more ex than NTUC but think their price will not escalate much as they had a last payer clause.. however compared to AIA, GE & Pru, its still cheaper based on accumulated premiums till age 62.

 

[Analytical Professor]

That is why you need to give the Funds time to perform.

As an example if you look at ETFs the only way they can go is up despite the upheavels in the market.

Yes the index may go up and then down. The ETF will follow suit... But in the long term the index goes up and up. So the ETF heads north too.

So giving your fund time to perform is essential.

In my humble opinion one year is not a time frame to look at funds cause human errors do occur.

There are top funds that have recorded negative growth in certain years.

However in a 3-5 year horizon they may give you returns of 10%-15%.

hehe that's true, but don't know how to trust them...last year top performing fund may be bottom of the heap this year...past performance not indicative of future

 

[cathylmg]

Nice one man... I would wanna consider it as well.

Yes Incomeshield is the cheapest. No second thoughts on that.

But once they find a problem with you no matter how minor or insignificant they will be only too happy to exclude you from it.

Professor, isn't it like that with all the insurance company? Anyway, don't really trust insurance company. They suckup all the blood that you have and leave you to die on your own when you run out of blood. :P

 

[euphony]

My oh my! Spare me sia!

Invite the more learned forummers will share their views on this wonderful post.

I am happy reading the post as well since i stay at Jalan Setia Tropika (Kempas Lama).

In the face of such positive news if i am going to say something it may not be to everyones liking.

Im the Devils Advocate you see!!

i think most of us are buying to say or rent dare not think too much about capital appreciation from the house. anything more that comes out of it is treated as a big bonus. those who went in much earlier in 2007/8 would have been the most advantaged. The latter ones, because of the surge of supply as well as developers pricing in the future potential makes it that much harder for the later comers to enjoy any further appreciation. my dua sen. =p

 

[Analytical Professor]

Ofcourse have.... Alternatives to toll roads must be provided.

My wife for one hates to travel thru new roads. She prefers to stick to tried and tested roads in Spore/JB.

On the occassions i force her to drive thru the newer ones i wanna try .... my i gotta listen to a lot of .....

So anyway there was this occassion i went for a massage at Eminent. My wife was fast asleep at home. So i hailed a cab (lucky to find one) along the Bestari road and headed for Setia Tropika.

The guy drove from Eminent towards Sutera Utama passed it reached Giant Skudai and U turned.... and voila thats the short cut.

But where do you stay by the way?

AP do you know any shortcut to by pass the toll area and get back onto the pasir gudang highway from bestari area? the way I go always take me to skudai interchange further down. otherwise i give up and pay the perling toll. will explore the area in greater detail in the months to come and see what treasures lie in it. currently only doing the jusco-tesco loop in the area.

 

[Analytical Professor]

Wuqi always says that the appreciation part is a bonus. Agreed.

The rest you have analyzed pretty well.

i think most of us are buying to say or rent dare not think too much about capital appreciation from the house. anything more that comes out of it is treated as a big bonus. those who went in much earlier in 2007/8 would have been the most advantaged. The latter ones, because of the surge of supply as well as developers pricing in the future potential makes it that much harder for the later comers to enjoy any further appreciation. my dua sen. =p

 

[Analytical Professor]

One of the forummers mentioned the Broadband Discover Day plan for internet. Not bad i suspect.

http://shop.digi.com.my/store/ChoosePostpaidPromo.aspx

 

[Analytical Professor]

Actually it is like that with all.

Thats why Incomeshield gives you the best value for $ provided you are in pristine health condition.

Income shield a bit like pap does not give you a second chance.

Others atleast offer inclusions with higher load.

Professor, isn't it like that with all the insurance company? Anyway, don't really trust insurance company. They suckup all the blood that you have and leave you to die on your own when you run out of blood. :P

 

[Analytical Professor]

When you find time just hit the Jalan Bestari road....

If you turn left (which means Eminent Massage/Giant is on your right)

Go straight till Sutera Mall atleast

Make a U turn

Drive past Giant...

Go all the way straight till you hit construction activity.

Make a U turn at that point again and that should be pretty decent

Always be on your guard though.

AP do you know any shortcut to by pass the toll area and get back onto the pasir gudang highway from bestari area? the way I go always take me to skudai interchange further down. otherwise i give up and pay the perling toll. will explore the area in greater detail in the months to come and see what treasures lie in it. currently only doing the jusco-tesco loop in the area.

 

[Analytical Professor]

Hey Cathy so are you staying in Singapore or Johore now?

How do you manage to pick up your kids and stuff?

What time do your kids reach ST again?

 

[cathylmg]

Hey Cathy so are you staying in Singapore or Johore now?

How do you manage to pick up your kids and stuff?

What time do your kids reach ST again?

It takes on average, 1 hour with non busy traffic and 1 1/2 hrs with busy traffic to reach our house at ST. Never gone beyond that yet. Hopefully traveling hours will be shorten further after the completion of the EDL. The kids K.O. at 9pm+ automatically.

My hubby's car is red plated. So have to be at the carpark by 7am and can only go out of the carpark after 7pm. Just nice to send the kids off to school in the morning. My flat is not rented out yet so it serve as a temporary holding area for now until it is fully rented out. Will convert the car to normal plated when we find the money, proberly later this year, then I'll be able to fetch them back to ST after school.

The kid's remedial lessons ends at 3pm. Actually its just enough time for me to bring them to a library nearby to do their homeworks and assessments. Do some shopping if needed and have dinner at 6pm. And start our journey home at 7pm. Still thinking of putting them up for Kumon lessons on weekends at ST or hire a tuition teacher to come to my house at ST on weekend to give my kids tuition.

It takes a little bit of planning, juggling and getting used to but the kids have settled down into a routine. Not much problem for the past 2 weeks or so.

 

[hangyong]

also i just found out over the weekend that it is very beneficial to establish good relationships with whichever service providers you use. I went back to a furniture shop in Molek the sales lady remembered me. I told her I'll be getting furniture from there again and she worked out a fair bit of goodies for me even I dropped my jaws. giving me steep discounts as well as free delivery as far as LF/EL/LH however far I need it sent to! (and this is no discount store)

ho seh liao... when house ready and need furniture... need your help liao :-)

 

[hangyong]

As for children, Hangyong you mentioned about creating stress for them if they commute, well some see it as character molding but I say alternatives could be had to. Marlborough is coming up soon and with it I suspect a whole plethora of international schools in the niche developments. This in collaboration with Universities setting up shop could well mean your child would never need to go back to sg!

My son has Kumon, Wushu, PAL sessions in school, and he only entered Primary school this year.
For me, I want him to have a childhood like me, as much as possible, where I climb trees, run around bare foot, etc, but so far, I dun see it as a possibility in Singapore.
And seeing him having so many other activities, I really cannot bear to wake him up so early leaving home with me to go school.
So for me, I shape his character differently.

Not saying what others are doing is wrong, but rather each family has a different story to tell, and different way to handle things.

 

[hangyong]

Jusco is my fav, I find Tesco a bit messy. Sometimes no price tag and ever come across twice the promo price indicated on the shelf is not the scanned price, first need to convince them there is a promo - second time it happened i took photo of the promo price and show them - then wait for them to check and can be quite a long wait...

Went to Tesco at Bukit Indah once, and I gave up going there to buy fresh stuff since then... variety is not there (for fruits and vegetables).. and not as fresh as JUSCO

 

[abugumgum]

The P1 claims to be 4G right.

Is it really 4G?

Which area do you stay in?

The Discover Day Plan is only for the day right?

I do not know of the standard of 4G. I can get 1.1 to 1.2 MB/sec download speed (I am using the 1.2mbps plan)
Speed test results varies from 800kbps to 1150 kbps download.
upload is around 380kbps

I am staying near the Aminah Hospital area.

Yes, Discover Day is for 7am-7pm. After that, speed will be reduced to 128kbps. I have not tried at night yet.

 

[abugumgum]

TESCO good right? Rarely crowded.

And they quickly open additional counters when there is more traffic at the checkout counters.

The price is reasonable too.

Indeed, those are the strong points.

 

[abugumgum]

Jusco is my fav, I find Tesco a bit messy. Sometimes no price tag and ever come across twice the promo price indicated on the shelf is not the scanned price, first need to convince them there is a promo - second time it happened i took photo of the promo price and show them - then wait for them to check and can be quite a long wait...

Yes, the price tagging can be trying many a time.
Usually, I will just not buy that item if it will take a long time to verify.
On certain week days, the replenishment of shelves are not being done on time too. We will just skip those items.

 

[cathylmg]

My son has Kumon, Wushu, PAL sessions in school, and he only entered Primary school this year.
For me, I want him to have a childhood like me, as much as possible, where I climb trees, run around bare foot, etc, but so far, I dun see it as a possibility in Singapore.
And seeing him having so many other activities, I really cannot bear to wake him up so early leaving home with me to go school.
So for me, I shape his character differently.

Not saying what others are doing is wrong, but rather each family has a different story to tell, and different way to handle things.

I think P1 is still too young to take the routine. The kid has to be able to follow instructions. Go to bed on her own and get up in the morning without struggling. My youngest is P3 now. Adjusting very well. I wouldn't if she was still P1.

I don't believe in letting children have too many activities. Its kills them of independant thinking and in the end kills their creativity. Except maybe swimming to toughen them physically. They have finished their gold test long ago. There is simply not enough time for everything. So I don't let my children have enrichments lesson when they were much younger. I bring them for kite flying, barbeques, roller blading and now trying to do gardening with them. Am starting to teach my girl to play the chinese flute just to give her something to do during the holiday. Let them enjoy lah.