Living in JB

[jasonjst]

Thanks for bro wuqi ur thoughts is js same like mine i bought at the middle row middle house which will avoid the car sound(tat 1 is 2nd link high way)

Besides that ppl kindly take note the show house is 36x75 which is 760k+++(i tink i is 8xx k now) the actual size u may visit middle row for 32x75 which is slightly smaller bt overall still very big n comfortable =) i got 1 worry which is they may have leaking prob for those who bought there too plz take note of the leaking

Dont worry BH houses there wont leak one . They have metal roof structure / powder coated metal roof , unlikely to leak . Should last at least 30years , for such design. Why I know ? I just checked my shophouse at the same are , hence should be similar design they are using lor .
Talking about makan at Chef Wah , you guys can also try the craypot rice at Old Place , located at last row behind Chef Wah.

 

[mathstub]

Re: Investing in Nusajaya

Bro Wuqi, I have just got a chance to look at the posts here after leaving for so many days. I am so sorry to hear that you have encountered such a jerk who made use of your kindness. Anyway, lessons are learnt. I am sure this type of things should not happen to you again in the future.

I am definitely not prominent but i have bought 3 units resale, the rest straight from the developer. 2 to invest and 1 was at least 50% because i wanted to help someone i thought was my "bro". Anyway hard lesson learnt there. No issues with the other 2 units subsale.

The main problem (actually only problem) i had with a subsale was in the unit i bought from this "bro".
The one i thought was my only real friend in Johore.

Anyway its really sad but to cut a long story short, towards the end, didn't honour what he said earlier and made it worse by repeatedly promising (and not delivering) and not transferring DMC. Even said i maligned him when i spoke online about it(when first i tried to contact him many times and he did not respond for months) Then sent me rude SMS when i said i wanted to resolve this amicably. Maybe i wasn't tactful or nice enough. For all the shennigans, in the end, he did all this in vain. Lawyer side told me lots of stuff and in a way some of the people he knew also tried to drum me up to take action but i declined, just felt sad enough at that time.

Turns out in the end it would affect him adversely if the DMC (with HH and etc) wasn't completed (taxation and other issues) and then he asked lawyer side to chase me repeatedly.(probably fearing i would do the same to him)

I didn't want to make things difficult for him and by the time the lawyer side called me, i already did all the necessary things and paid up the necessary stuff so the transfer went ahead smoothly. He probably will never know this but i paid all the tax stuff ahead already for him before i even did the rest of my other properties, didn't want to affect him buying other properties as he is still young.

Still, no hard feelings any more but just to share all on the pitfalls, just get all the paperwork done and don't just depend on trust no matter how much you like or trust someone. Imagine, back then i trusted this guy more than alot of my family members.

I still do alot of business based on trust but i learnt a hard lesson in life.

 

[mathstub]

Bro, Mind sharing how much you spent on furnishing and renovating the houses you rented out? I have heard one needs to pay high percentage of tax if you are a foreigner and earn rental income, right?

Bros who are thinking of buying properties here mainly to rent out. Only some areas are good, most aren't so great, at least not yet.

A bro of mine has several and most of his are terraces. His are $2500-$2800. He shared with me only has one family (his tenants) that he likes a lot (i actually recommended them to him if i am not mistaken) so always kept low for them. My semi-d neighbours has no issues with renting out at 5000MYR or more. These are fully furnished units, just sharing some experience in The Gateway, your mileage may vary.

I was able to rent out some units and some references:

The Gateway:
1. Terrace - $2600 MYR
2. Terrace - $2800 MYR
3. Cluster - $3600 MYR

All fully furnished with aircon units, curtains, dining sets, wardrobe sets water heaters, sofa sets, queen/king sized beds, lighting/fans, kitchen stoves, etc. Only things required are some shelves/cupboards and personal clothing. Average of 1-3 months within taking of keys to rent out. Rented without the use of agents except for the Cluster one as i wanted a higher price.

 

[euphony]

Re: Investing in Nusajaya

how to do defect checking?

i'm lucky in a sense, the very sales rep whom i interacted with turned up on the day I got my keys. She went through 1 round of checking pointing things out to the estate manager nudging him to record them as defects (fairly minor) even as I was scratching my head and what to look out for. Perhaps you could ask the person who dealt with u? The sales reps go in and out of houses much I think they might have a keener eye.

 

[yonglip]

Dont worry BH houses there wont leak one . They have metal roof structure / powder coated metal roof , unlikely to leak . Should last at least 30years , for such design. Why I know ? I just checked my shophouse at the same are , hence should be similar design they are using lor .

yes. roof is metal with steel truss and radiant barrier. saw it when they put it up.

 

[mathstub]

Bro Wuqi, just realize you were sick. Please take care and hope you have recovered.

Wuqi, health is worth much more than wealth ...

 

[mathstub]

Do we reserve the right to ask the tenants to live if we find out they do not take care of our property properly? Of course, how to ask tenants to leave is another practical difficulty. Anyway has experience in this?

The rental market target in Johore is small and the "classier/richer" ones will get those high-end G & G Tamans. I have friends who rented out their landed terraces and besides the usual problem of delays in rent payments, the sight of the condition of the houses really breaks their heart. Not to mention the extreme cases where evicting tenants becomes near impossible.

 

[wuqi256]

Bro, Mind sharing how much you spent on furnishing and renovating the houses you rented out? I have heard one needs to pay high percentage of tax if you are a foreigner and earn rental income, right?

Each about 30k on average. Yes up to 26% if you are foreigner but not if you are a tax resident here. As in if you stay here at least 182 days a year, you qualify and can just pay the tax from 1-26% (depending on your income bracket) as if you are a local. Certain deductions apply to you too.

 

[wuqi256]

Re: Investing in Nusajaya

erm still can invest simi ah ?
Can use cpf to buy gold when its low price then hold till price go up since cannot withdraw cpf?

Buy bonds and gold. If you have spare cash, buy real gold from UOB or if you want, go online and get Canadian Maple Gold coins.
Good way to hedge against inflation if one is certain about prospect of golf appreciating further.

 

[mathstub]

Re: Investing in Nusajaya

Bro, May I know what the dimension of land next to your house for the corner lot?

Hey Gin! Yeah of cos i rem u, well i got myself a corner end lot at NI! well not as convinient as Duta, but it has a nice residential environment. Would have taken a unit at Duta but i was still in initial stage of search at that time. But no regrets, both are ncie developments. U are also waiting for completion eh?

 

[yonglip]

Re: Investing in Nusajaya

i'm lucky in a sense, the very sales rep whom i interacted with turned up on the day I got my keys. She went through 1 round of checking pointing things out to the estate manager nudging him to record them as defects (fairly minor) even as I was scratching my head and what to look out for. Perhaps you could ask the person who dealt with u? The sales reps go in and out of houses much I think they might have a keener eye.

agree bro. sales rep in general is helpful. but still they work for developer. such tactics could be deployed as a distraction that takes your attention away from critical defects which are costly for developers to rectify. they will appear helpful and point out multiple but sometimes frivolous defects. end of the day, you have the impression they have helped you a lot in spotting and rectifying the problems. sorry for being paranoid bro...but you will be surprised how many tricks sales people have up their sleeves.

for bros with no prior knowledge what to look for, one way is to hook up with a reno contractor and get him to go through the house. he will be more keen to get the critical defects rectified so that it will make his job that much easier when the carry out reno later. example, if the kitchen tiles are hollow, he will be quick to point it out cos he has to mount the cabinets later.

cheers.

 

[wuqi256]

Re: Investing in Nusajaya

Hi Crystal, I have a friend holding very high post in govt on urban planning.. He should be an expert in property.. However until today he has yet purchased any property.. Since year 2004, he has said the property price is too high and not sustainable.. Until now he is saying the same thing.. If you are buying a house in Singapore, I will ask you to think twice as it is too expensive... If you are buying a house in JB, I think it is still affordable by Singapore standard.. So have some cushion in case you lose your job.. maybe 0.5 to 1 year of saving in case you can't find a job?

Donkey years ago when I first purchase my exe flat at a high, I was very worried if I lose my job.. However thanks goodness, youth is a strength and easily employable.. Don't wait until you are too old.. I think... Maybe find a hubby to share the burden with you? ha ha.. A good hubby worth 10 houses..

Very good words of wisdom. Debt incurred for gambling, etc = in vain. Debt incurred while one is still young and
banks willing to lend for properties, etc = a good way to leverage on ones youth while it still there.

Imagine if you are already 50-60, even if you are still gainfully employed and drawing a decent salary, how many
banks would loan to you and even there, for how long? How long more does one intend to work when one is already 60?

Another 20 years and straight to final resting place 6 feet under? When wouldthey allow us to rest and take a breather?
I certainly would not be moving about much nor being able to enjoy much of life at age 85 unless i am still hale and healthy.

Demographics about life expectancy does not equate to reliability of mortality 10-20 or 30 years from now.
It may be longer or even shorter. Who can say for certain? The experts? We see so many studies that are
proven to be wrong by yet another study and yet another. Who can say for certain? The only 2 things
certain in life are death and taxes. No one can guarantee an age where one would live to when the very people
making such rules are subject to the same uncertainities about death.

Its just an arbituary number that they put up there when they talked about age 85.

 

[wuqi256]

Re: Investing in Nusajaya

Thanks Mathstub for your kind words.
One more such case and i would really lose faith in most people.
I still want to believe people would do the right thing and still
give chances even when we shouldn't.

 

[wuqi256]

Re: Investing in Nusajaya

Hi Wuqi, can share how to do defect checking? If you don't mind, can share your checklist?

The main critical defects i have mentioned, mainly the roof and the flooring area.
Its a bit subjective as some have homogeneous tiles outside whilst others have it
done differently. Yet others have ceramic tiles while others have parquet or hardwood
flooring. I would look at the critical parts and bring along my contractor to help check.

Always make sure you inspect the manhole and major points of the house for sewerage
and drainage. Also check on electrical wiring as well as water pressure etc.

I didn't use a checklist but i would go inside the house first, inspect each room and then bathroom of each floor and moved from
top to bottom. Once i make it to the exterior, i would then inspect further. Go with some rolls of black tape (ubiquitous but always
essential) and use it to mark out areas where you find suspect. Hairline cracks on walls are very common. Check on tiles on stair
cases if they are hollow or if the glue has dried out on parquet flooring.

A 20 cent coin would do nicely as a "tapping" tool and the sound would inform you of the condition. (doesn't matter if its MYR or SGD)

 

[mathstub]

Re: Investing in Nusajaya

When I was in the US, I saw a lot of times some house owners hired some professional people to inspect and check for defects for them and commented on what looked right and what did not. Are there some professional people who do this type of job in Johor? There are also professional people who do valuation of the value of the house after its renovation or make an estimate how much the landed property is worth after doing a certain degree of renovation.

Alamak... just when i was abt to feel better abt the negativities of my developer, you plant a new negative thought in my brain.... if the foundtion work wasnt done probably.... which is not unusual.... I did came across articles which says alot of the Sp Setia houses at Shah Alam are having cracked walls, pipes and drainage due to poor foundation work...

There are really 101 things that can go wrong if i'm gonna be the unlucky one... even houses at the very exclusive EL can have workshipman problems.... it's all about the kind of contractors the developer engaged....But then again, it could also be a case of developers engaging cheap cheap contractors, hence producing lok lok end product.... Things that we cannot control, just dont think abt them anymore... make ur life miserable only... i was a victim :*:

For now, my intention is to not shift in upon getting the keys... i'll give the house 1 year to withstand the rain, the heat, the soil shifting and also at the meantime wait for more occupants to shift in... every now and then i will go in and check for new defects....(also do more good deeds hopefully will help make everything soon soon) ensure that everything is okie liao then start reno...

 

[mathstub]

Re: Investing in Nusajaya

Bro Wuqi, what is the land size on the side of semi-d house? Mind sharing? thanks.

Another relative had issues with his neighbour who kind of damaged some part of his house
when doing renovation. He is starting his own renovation today so invited him to stay over
and wrote a letter for him to IJM management.

A friend of mine showed some new friends around during the weekend and i think they really
like the place now. Yet another colleague just pinged me asking about semi-ds available in
Gateway.

 

[wuqi256]

Re: Investing in Nusajaya

When I was in the US, I saw a lot of times some house owners hired some professional people to inspect and check for defects for them and commented on what looked right and what did not. Are there some professional people who do this type of job in Johor? There are also professional people who do valuation of the value of the house after its renovation or make an estimate how much the landed property is worth after doing a certain degree of renovation.

Yes, not a lot here but the contractors, especially those who are mainly doing your neighbours one might know best as they already went through some rounds of checks before you. Lots of firms do valuation but not all are done very accurately. Those renovation that increase your total sqft has a slightly better chance to increase the value.

 

[wuqi256]

Re: Investing in Nusajaya

Bro Wuqi, what is the land size on the side of semi-d house? Mind sharing? thanks.

I can't remember now but normally the semi-ds in The Gateway is about 35x80. Land size differs quite a bit. Those units near to the road side like No. 88 has very little land to speak of.

 

[euphony]

Re: Investing in Nusajaya

agree bro. sales rep in general is helpful. but still they work for developer. such tactics could be deployed as a distraction that takes your attention away from critical defects which are costly for developers to rectify. they will appear helpful and point out multiple but sometimes frivolous defects. end of the day, you have the impression they have helped you a lot in spotting and rectifying the problems. sorry for being paranoid bro...but you will be surprised how many tricks sales people have up their sleeves.

for bros with no prior knowledge what to look for, one way is to hook up with a reno contractor and get him to go through the house. he will be more keen to get the critical defects rectified so that it will make his job that much easier when the carry out reno later. example, if the kitchen tiles are hollow, he will be quick to point it out cos he has to mount the cabinets later.

cheers.

good point! I did not think of that though i did not need any renovations. an independent professional 3rd party is an insurance policy in itself. how i did it was i look up, my mum looked down sales rep covered everything in between

again I count myself lucky, 1 month plus moving in. the house has weathered through storms without leaks, 2nd floor water pressure is strong, mopping the floor myself, i don't feel empty tiles. Cross fingers I hope it stays in this state though...

 

[avalon74]

Re: Investing in Nusajaya

I think the situation is slightly different with the bukit indah houses... many of them are eager to do reno and shift in as i would say most are locals working in singapore... they want to quickly move in so that they stop staying in their current rented place...

Just worried that if i only start my reno after my immediate neighbours have moved in, i will be a nuisance to them...

thanks for the consolation cathylmg....hope luck will be with me as well...

Like what Wuqi & other forumers say, inspect during VP for cracks & water seepage..
You can visit the place after rain to check on the condition..

For me, even did the backyard extension also no problem with heavy rain..
Go ahead & renovate after key collection, besides you are already paying for the place so why not use it..