Living in JB

[avelc]

Good discussion bro ....
So far I see Malaysian gov got different mind set from Singapore gov . In SG 85% stay in HDB , surrounding in fracture , MRTs , shops , etc are mostly own by gov and its GICs . As our gov say, nowhere in the world you can find developer doing upgrading your houses or even estate 10yrs, 20yrs after you made purchase. Mostly taxpayer monies if not profitable but will make us pay by asking you to move out to a smaller place.

Here in old JB city (mostly private own, 80%), who want to pay to beautify your houses, estates with gate and guards? Are the residents willing to pay? It is very much more costly to re-do an old town, profitably from a developer point of view. It is not going to happen until someone smell the profit and willing pump in the money.
Infact those new expressways are not going to bring business to the CBD, they are actually channeling business out of the CBD instead. Last time people used to stop at Jln Ah Fook to change money , rest and eat before moving on . Now people simply bypass such areas because of the new expressway. Do you want to make a detour to Jln Ah Fook for a cup of coffee and waste 15mins ? How about finding a place to park ?
With the increase in toll at woodland causeway and relocation of government house to Kota - iskandar , the wind is going to blow toward the Nusajaya area.

I would say Nusajaya is already happending and JB city is waiting for white knight to come to rescue. Why not put your money where the magnet is already in placed instead of hoping for something that might or might not happen ? Remember , investor hate uncertainty . By the way , properties prices in Nusajaya is not very big different right ?

Just my view , best rgds bros.

Great discussion. Interested to hear your views on Medini - the infrastructure works are ongoing and it is designated to be the business district of Nusajaya + lifestyle & leisure.

I'm wondering what's the delay for 1 Medini -- developers holding out for higher price, or some unknown issue?

 

[Jogs1]

My sales called up n told me that from next year onward, Myvi 1.5L will increase another rm$4k more..but 1.3L are not affected.

 

[jasonjst]

Great discussion. Interested to hear your views on Medini - the infrastructure works are ongoing and it is designated to be the business district of Nusajaya + lifestyle & leisure.

I'm wondering what's the delay for 1 Medini -- developers holding out for higher price, or some unknown issue?

Just my view ...
If I am not wrong , Medini and puteri harbour is keep for people who do not need to be in JB but want a piece of cake in case the Iskandar Story goes wild . More of a rich man toys , that you can live with or without . If you tell them their properties wont make a profit , they wont buy .

Bukit Indah , HH , Nusa Idaman , Nusa Duta and many new tamans around that area are for Singaporean and PRs , better to do Malaysian ... The down to earth people , we want to make full use of our hard earn money and live our dream in our little paradise. We dont really care if properties we are staying will appreciate or not . You tell them their property wont make a single cent after 5yrs , people still will buy !
Chances are the sucess of Medini / Puteri Harbour depend on the surrounding residential properties ( HH, NI , BI etc )
instead. We can do without Medini/ Puteri Harbour but they cant do well without the residents doing well , haha ! What do you think ?

 

[yonglip]

Just my view ...
If I am not wrong , Medini and puteri harbour is keep for people who do not need to be in JB but want a piece of cake in case the Iskandar Story goes wild . More of a rich man toys , that you can live with or without .

Bukit Indah , HH , Nusa Idaman , Nusa Duta and many new tamans around that area are for Singaporean and PRs , better to do Malaysian ... The down to earth people , we want to make full use of our hard earn money and live our dream in our little paradise. We dont really care if properties we are staying will appreciate or not .
Chances are the sucess of Medini / Puteri Harbour depend on the surrounding residential properties ( HH, NI , BI etc )
instead. We can do without Medini/ Puteri Harbour but they cant do well without the residents doing well , haha ! What do you think ?

to me..1 Medini will the future 'Core central' of JB...but few people can see so far..people get excited over things they can see,..not over plans. it will be another 5 years before the rest of the average joe realised they have missed the Nusajaya boat...and another 10 years before they realised they should have invested in Medini much earlier. i wont be surprised if 15 to 20 years from now, the number of motorbikes coming to work in sing is equal to the number of cars going into JB for work.

 

[jasonjst]

to me..1 Medini will the future 'Core central' of JB...but few people can see so far..people get excited over things they can see,..not over plans. it will be another 5 years before the rest of the average joe realised they have missed the Nusajaya boat...and another 10 years before they realised they should have invested in Medini much earlier. i wont be surprised if 15 to 20 years from now, the number of motorbikes coming to work in sing is equal to the number of cars going into JB for work.

Bro , fully agree that Medini area might became " core central " and properties up many time compare to the resident area . And those people in Medini become so attas and forget that their sucess is bought about by the hard working people from the surrounding tamans over the years. This is how all great cities are built . The sucess of SG is bought about by PAP or its people ? They claim that SG cannot do well without the MIW and need millions for their pay and stay in D1 district that was once a upon a time ....

 

[lastresort]

Great discussion and input from the brothers and sisters here. I believe Nusajaya as well as Tebrau are self sustaining cities that do not depend on each other to survive. In fact, these 2 cities are currently the hot spots in JB in terms of offering of new housings and they cater to different groups of people.

Let me just share my views on Nusajaya.

Nusajaya is very much a greenfield city with the entire master plan done from stretch. You have an educity, international destination resort, a CBD, a logistics and industrial cluster, a medical park, a habour and theme parks all planned. You will also notice the tamans are planned in such a way much like new towns in Singapore where every town is connected to a few other towns via 4-5 entrances and exits. Take for example Nusa Idaman and Bukit Indah. There are at least 4 roads linking Bukit Indah to Nusa Indaman, and to get from one town to another, you do not need to pass by a third town.

Just for the sheer number of upcoming world class developments e.g. Legoland, Educity, Marlborough college, Indoor Theme Park, Puteri Habour, Temasek & Khazanah project, lifestyle mall, I believe a 20% premium for properties here is justifiable, but the fact is some of these developments are still priced below those in the Tebrau region (definitely not hard to find). There are also areas like Puteri Habour, East Ledang, Horizon Hills, Ledang Heights, Medini, etc that cater to the very well to do, something you cannot find in many other cities.

Living in a small taman so close to Legoland and Puteri Habour beats living in another taman surrounded by many other similar tamans.

The housing developments in Nusajaya are also very much differentiated, you have Horizon Hills which is very much one with nature, Puteri Habour, one with marinas, East Ledang and Ledang Heights with their proximity to Legoland, Medini and Educity, Leisure Farm if you consider it as part of Nusajaya, Nusa Idaman a hillside estate and of course Nusa Duta, Besteri Hights and Bukit Indah located walking distance from bus interchange, cinema, Jusco, Tesco and Giant.

Residents of Nusajaya have no need to visit other regions for shopping, food, schools or attractions because it has almost anything other regions have but residents from other regions may need to visit Nusajaya for school, medical needs, theme park, golf course, work in admin centres etc.

It is equally close to causeway and 2nd link, with highways that connect all parts of Nusajaya to the core centre.

 

[yonglip]

Great discussion and input from the brothers and sisters here. I believe Nusajaya as well as Tebrau are self sustaining cities that do not depend on each other to survive. In fact, these 2 cities are currently the hot spots in JB in terms of offering of new housings and they cater to different groups of people.

Let me just share my views on Nusajaya.

Nusajaya is very much a greenfield city with the entire master plan done from stretch. You have an educity, international destination resort, a CBD, a logistics and industrial cluster, a medical park, a habour and theme parks all planned. You will also notice the tamans are planned in such a way much like new towns in Singapore where every town is connected to a few other towns via 4-5 entrances and exits. Take for example Nusa Idaman and Bukit Indah. There are at least 4 roads linking Bukit Indah to Nusa Indaman, and to get from one town to another, you do not need to pass by a third town.

Just for the sheer number of upcoming world class developments e.g. Legoland, Educity, Marlborough college, Indoor Theme Park, Puteri Habour, Temasek & Khazanah project, lifestyle mall, I believe a 20% premium for properties here is justifiable, but the fact is some of these developments are still priced below those in the Tebrau region (definitely not hard to find). There are also areas like Puteri Habour, East Ledang, Horizon Hills, Ledang Heights, Medini, etc that cater to the very well to do, something you cannot find in many other cities.

Living in a small taman so close to Legoland and Puteri Habour beats living in another taman surrounded by many other similar tamans.

The housing developments in Nusajaya are also very much differentiated, you have Horizon Hills which is very much one with nature, Puteri Habour, one with marinas, East Ledang and Ledang Heights with their proximity to Legoland, Medini and Educity, Leisure Farm if you consider it as part of Nusajaya, Nusa Idaman a hillside estate and of course Nusa Duta, Besteri Hights and Bukit Indah located walking distance from bus interchange, cinema, Jusco, Tesco and Giant.

Residents of Nusajaya have no need to visit other regions for shopping, food, schools or attractions because it has almost anything other regions have but residents from other regions may need to visit Nusajaya for school, medical needs, theme park, golf course, work in admin centres etc.

It is equally close to causeway and 2nd link, with highways that connect all parts of Nusajaya to the core centre.

eh bro..i wonder whether u are working in a small planning office located at kota iskandar. haha..comprehensive analysis..

what i know is in a situation of resource allocation, more will be given to region where the centre of govt power is.

 

[Puteri harbour]

To put things in perspective, what would you would if you want to rejuvenate the CBD of Johor?

1) city planning is of course very important?
2) attracting foreign investments also important?

If that is the case, can you enbloc the whole CBD?

That is the reason where is it easy to start build the CBD in a new and convenient area to have a modern city planning.
Nusajaya was the location selected between the two links, in this way it will reduce allow Singaporean whenever they stay in Singapore easy access.

At sometime when the rental demand fall in old jb city and less and less businesses there, private owners will be forced to rejunvenate their building or sell to an new owner. Similar to relationship between MBFC, Suntec City and Raffles Place. JB city will eventually have its relevance an an historical city. The the metropolitan develops, there will be no difference between nusajaya city and JB city. Just that nusajaya prices will move first and pull along others....

Some examples to think about... On locations...

1) gleneagles hospital vs Thomson medical
2) Marlborough college
3) pinewoods studio
4) Lego land
5) various universities and international schools

Whenever I do investment, I will research on the topics that I am interested and just follow some common sense and facts such as those highlight above. Why all these people choose to invest in Johor (nusajaya) over KL and and other places? The truth is because they will be near to human capital and an efficient city.

Hope the above help. Houses that are divide by just one road an have very difference pricing. Property is about location, location and location. It sometimes pay to pay a premium.

Before I makeu purchase to nusajaya, I also face with a cheaper alternative that is developed vs that of a more expensive and non-developed regions. The choice should be for cheaper and more develop but the potential and safety are very different. Whichever your choice, I have chosen mine and I wish all of you the best in your decisions....

Cheers,
PH

 

[Batok Seri]

Learning and gathering information as i go along, so brothers and sisters please bear with me...

1) Does anyone know how to hit Tuas 2nd link from Nusa idaman without having to do the "U-Turn" from BI Jusco side? Was looking at some pictorial map it showed the Coastal Road connecting to Tuas 2nd link highway coming down from NI precinct 7 that side. Need confirmation and will try out the route.

2) How is the weekday school term traffic like at Tuas 2nd link at around 6.45am?

3) i have notice JB houses are not very keen on split unit air-con. i thought i have read this topic in this forum somewhere that ease of maintenance, installation and cost savings are the reasons. Would appreciate some more input on this.

Still have a whole lot more questions to ask :p but i think the above three will do for now. The wifey asked me why i like to think and worry all these nitty-gritty thingee? i told her thinking no need money one, dreaming also no need $$ one so why limit our brains.

1. Follow the road outside Kiara Hill. Once you hit the highway you will come to a roundabout. You can either U-turn or take the 3 o'clock which will lead you to East Ledang then join NS towards Tuas from there.

2. Need to be 6.45am after Singapore customs if you want to get kids to school on time.

3. Split aircons are almost everywhere these days. I think you must mean multi-split a/c (one outdoor compressor shared by two or more room units). One to one single split is still better for cooling power and redundancy when there is no HDB like restriction.

 

[lastresort]

No offense to anyone, below is just my personal view.

To be fair, some of us are looking for a comfortable town to call home, for others who are investors, actually do brothers and sisters here see a large over supply of similar towns mushrooming up in Tebrau corridor with a slower rate of catalyst developments. Many of these are developed by private or public listed companies with the sole aim of maximising profit and land use (land banks are privately owned and developed). But for government link companies, do you see them having a wider objective and aim. If being close to Singapore is a good enough factor for investors, then Permas Jaya and Taman Molek would probably have been boom towns long ago. If people living in JB bought their homes just for the purpose of going home everyday after work straightaway, then I think being close to Singapore is enough, afterall, we can do all we want in Singapore and go back to JB hotel, but if we are buying a lifestyle in JB, then I think there are more things to consider.

 

[lastresort]

eh bro..i wonder whether u are working in a small planning office located at kota iskandar. haha..comprehensive analysis..

what i know is in a situation of resource allocation, more will be given to region where the centre of govt power is.

haha, i just know having travelled far and wide in JB I haven't seen a region quite as unique and wang as Nusajaya. Even in other towns with a shopping mall like Jusco, you don't literally walk from your doorstep to the mall. I also see more SG plated cars coming this way and it just feels safer to be roaming around here.

 

[lastresort]

But having said all these, a hot spot for investor may not always remain as one as price differentials change all the time. The best investments are often not obvious to the general investors, these are usually the unspotted gems that people over look. When prices go up too high in an area, perhaps we should start to re look at places again.

 

[euphony]

i think both has its allure and represent very different propositions for very different persons. i guess the basis of nusajaya is covered and the potential is bright. Tebrau on the other hand caters more to the true blue Johorians or the working class close by. it has many factories that stretch all the way into pasir gudang, the mecca of employment and the area is set to go much further with huge petrochem and associated industries flanking it, Najib's announced big honchos joining the fray there too. ikea if it takes is set to solidify there. There are international schools and colleges even unis in the vicinity, mt. austin is developing its own theme park etc. The good part of it is that all the amenities are here including all the international banks at tmn molek. To the Johorian majority this is where good life could be had.

Because of the abundance of work in this area, they won't travel from nusajaya back down using the hopeless pasir gudang highway therefore a paucity of the commonfolk at the nusajaya side. the tebrau catchment and demand is strong. Plus, it gets very high foot traffic from SG for now. rather than say everything is happening in nusajaya, I'd say Johor is trying to develop like KL, with colorful projects in putrajaya and KL sentral/bukit bintang etc still persists where most of the action are.

 

[pasture8]

2. Need to be 6.45am after Singapore customs if you want to get kids to school on time.

Thanks Batok Seri

wow, traffic actually heavy at 6.45am already even at 2nd link ...

 

[jasonjst]

No offense to anyone, below is just my personal view.

To be fair, some of us are looking for a comfortable town to call home, for others who are investors, actually do brothers and sisters here see a large over supply of similar towns mushrooming up in Tebrau corridor with a slower rate of catalyst developments. Many of these are developed by private or public listed companies with the sole aim of maximising profit and land use (land banks are privately owned and developed). But for government link companies, do you see them having a wider objective and aim. If being close to Singapore is a good enough factor for investors, then Permas Jaya and Taman Molek would probably have been boom towns long ago. If people living in JB bought their homes just for the purpose of going home everyday after work straightaway, then I think being close to Singapore is enough, afterall, we can do all we want in Singapore and go back to JB hotel, but if we are buying a lifestyle in JB, then I think there are more things to consider.

Bro , you are damn right , distance is a major factor out of perhaps numerous other factors such as prices , liking ..

 

[lastresort]

A view of The Golf West from Fairway Suites. =)

 

[geritan]

Hi Sobrielo, sorry to read about ur son's bad experience. It may be time to change the housing agent. From what I read, the agent and the lawyer seemed to side with the owner. Since you r the one who's going to pay the lawyer, u should appoint ur own lawyer to ensure that ur interest takes precedent and is protected. In this case, ur son did the right thing! Remember not to use this lawyer again.

For anyone buying from sub-sale, the earnest deposit is currently 1% and u shouldnt be paying more than this. If the agent were to ask for 2% or more, they r usually trying their luck and acting on the instruction of the seller. The norm is 1% - and they know! So, try not to give in. But I know this is hard to do; especially when u've found ur dream home. lol

When I bought my house, I made my earnest deposit in an SG cheque made payable to my lawyer - NEVER to the housing agent! The amount to write is the equivalent after conversion to Sing Dollars. I then passed this cheque to the agent to pass to the lawyer. An agent worth his salt would know how to get in touch with the lawyer. Ensure the agent issued u a receipt for this.

Sign the option form provided by the agent. Usually, u will not get to meet the seller so, please dont expect to. After u hv signed, the agent would then bring the same form to the seller for his signature. Depending on the time of day u signed the form, and how hardworking or busy the agent is, the option form can be signed and completed by the seller within the same day, or if not, by the next day. Request a copy of the option form, after all the signatures had been gathered, from the agent, via email. After this, the agent would hand the completed option form with ur earnest deposit to the lawyer.

The lawyer would then call/email u to let u know that they have received the payment and the option form. If u do not hear from ur lawyers, u can call/email them to check. : ) Give them something like 10 days (plus minus a day or two) to get the Sales & Purchase Agreement drafted. Some can get this done very fast (copy from template only wat!). Once the S&P is ready for ur signature, the lawyer's office would usually get in touch with u. Ask for a copy of the S&P to be emailed to u to read first before going down to their office to sign.

Spend some time to read the draft, pen down any questions u have, or concerns u may want to raise with ur lawyer. At this point, u can get ready to remit the balance 9% (10% less the 1% earnest deposit u paid earlier) of the purchase price to ur lawyer. I did mine thru my SG bank's Telegraphic Transfer facilities, the method used is up to u. Make an appointment with ur lawyer to sign the S&P, usually at the lawyer's office.

Before u sign, the lawyer should go thru each point on the S&P with u and this is where u ask those questions that u have prepared earlier. If the lawyer didnt go thru every point with u clearly, u would know instancely if u hv got the right lawyer haha. Whatever......, get the lawyer to go thru and explain every point with u. Sign the S&P.

If u r taking a loan from the bank, the lawyer would also have prepared a Loan Agreement for u to sign during that same visit, thus saving u an additional trip to his office.

After the signatures are all done, the lawyer would then pass u the statements for their Professional Charges (bill lah). Usually the "bill" would have two parts: Legal Fees and Disbursement. There is nothing much u can do about the Disbursement part, but u can certainly ask for a discount on the Legal Fees. If u dont ask they wouldnt give, hurhur. As a guide, be prepared to pay 4.5 to 5% of ur house purchase price to cover the Legal Fees and Disbursement for the S&P (this cost include the State Authority Consent Levy and relating fee for foreigners); and about 1% for the Bank's Loan Agreement. U r not expected to pay this yet till u pick up the keys to ur newly purchased house at the lawyer's office - which can be 3 to 4 months down the road. For foreigners, this may be longer cos of the State Authority Consent.

What next?

After all parties (buyer and seller) had signed on the S&P, if u r a foreigner buying, the lawyer would proceed to submit ur application for the State Authority Consent. This is estimated to take about 1 to 2.5 months.

What next?

Wait for ur keys lor, which may take about another 3 months. In the meantime can start planning what u want to do to ur house.

Disclaimer:

This is just a guide and is based on my recent experience buying a house in JB thru sub-sale. Yours may vary and can be better than mine. Wuqi, r my above points correct? All good bros, pse feel free to add or correct. Thanks and all the best to all in the process of Living in JB!

For my case, state consent only took a week to approve. It will be wise to include any prior agreement, whether verbal or written to be included in the SPA. Cos after signing of SPA, all others will be invalid. So if your vendor does not want to honour what he agreed, there will be no legal re-course.

 

[Aisanbo]

Singaporeans fake car theft in JB to claim insurance.
http://www.thestar.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/12/14/nation/10089219&sec=nation

 

[Icyraine]

hehe, how do u get up so high?

 

[maxpark]

hehe, how do u get up so high?

yeah man, how did you get this nice pic?!
any more to share, lastresort?