Buyer's Guide : Part One

Looking for property to BUY? Where to BUY? How do I do it? 


I am no expert but having been in the real estate industry as a Senior Real Estate negotiator for 4+ years now, I do have some tips to share on real estate. There will be a series on Landlord guide, Tenant guide, and now buyer's guide or relevant information on real estate in Malaysia. Follow me on my blog if you want to know more. Feel free to leave your comments if you need me to respond to your queries. I'll try my level best to answer your queries.


(Note : All contents shared are my personal observations & experiences,  without prejudice to my rights).

A few days ago, Rocker57 & I were looking at some properties to invest. This set me to thinking that I should digress into Buyer's guide and let Tenant's guide take a back seat as I believe my readers are all in the investing or buying stage instead of renting. So here you go :

Check list before you buy:

Considerations & questions you need to ask yourself :

• PURPOSE ? For own stay or for investment purposes?

• BUDGET ? How much budget have you set aside for the purchase of the property? Conduct a survey to decide on the location & type of property you plan to purchase. If it is beyond your budget, you may need to scale down first and work upwards later on when your financial standings are more promising.
• LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION ? Where would you like to buy? Near your workplace, your children's college or near amenities like eateries, public transportation, school for children, etc. Think of the costs incurred if you live too far away from your work place or children's college - fuel, tolls & parking, etc. Choosing a property in prime area may be costlier but you can be assured of better capital appreciation and higher rental yields. Eg of good locations includes Damansara Heights, Bangsar, KLCC and a few others. Also consider the area's potential for growth in short & long term basis.
• TYPE OF PROPERTY? What kind of property are you looking at? For own stay or for investment? Is it going to be a bungalow? Semi-Detached, Super-linked, Terrace, Town house, Condominium, Apartments or Flats?  
• FACILITIES / AMENITIES? Does the condo/house have facilities that meet your expectations? Eg, gym, swimming pool or nursery.  How much do you have to pay for maintenance & sinking fund per month? For house, is it a gated and guarded community? How much do you need to pay for the services? Does it have enough rooms for all your family members including one for the maid? If it is a condo, how many parking bays are allocated? Is there train/bus station close by? Is it within 10-15mins driving distance to a shopping mall/wet market where you can get your weekly groceries done? Where is the nearest petrol station for your weekly car wash or just to refuel? Do note that amenities nearby are always a plus point.
• AMBIENCE ? Is the place quiet? Is it near a busy street or opposite a playground? Is your condo unit just above the swimming pool? Is it facing eateries / restaurants? Can you put up with the noise until late into the night if it is close by to restaurants? How about putting up with pests (eateries do 'invite' pests somewhat due to excessive food wastage/ preparation discards)
• FACING DIRECTION? Does it face West where the afternoon sun shines into the master bedroom which will make it warm in the evening? Does the main entrance match your fung shui direction? Does it face a mountain? (bad fung shui for chinese), or is the house facing a karaoke joint or cyber cafe? Or facing a kindergarten?
• SECURITY ? Does the unit has grilles? For condo - special access card to your level only? Does it have CCTV? Parking bays brightly lit? Surveillance TV at parking lots? Is your condo's land line phone linked to the security office in the event of emergency? Is the house installed with alarm system? Does it have an autogate? Is the house under gated & guarded community?
• NO. OF PARKING BAYS? How many parking bays allocated? If you need more, how do you go about getting the extra bay? Is it on permanent rental basis or adhoc? Parking bays for visitors - any restriction on duration? FYI, some condo's near colleges allow visitors' parking from 7am to midnight only. Thereafter, the vehicle would be clamped. Most terrace houses has only 2 parking spaces. If you have 4 vehicles, where can/do you park the vehicles?
• REPAIRS ? Is the unit move-in condition or does it need to be repaired. If so, How much would it cost you for repair works or renovation? How long would it take?
• RENOVATED? Is the unit renovated? Does it already have built-in wardrobes, kitchen cabinets, ACs? Is the renovation to your liking? If it is, then it will save you considerable savings on renovation & refurbishing the place. If not, consider the estimates how much you will need to spend on repairs & renovation works. Some can come up to a hefty sum!
• FOR INVESTMENT? Is the unit tenanted? How much is the rental? Tenancy expiration date? Type of tenants? Any tenancy agreement drawn up? How much notification is needed to ask present tenant to move out? How much deposits has been collected? Proof of receipts & agreements is a must for verification. Stipulate the clause in your Sales & Purchase agreement. What is the kind of yield you can derive from the rental? Net or gross return on investment?

There's more where this info sharing came from. So join me in my next blog on Part 2 of Buyer's guide.

HAPPY BUYING / INVESTING!! Cheeeers!!!