Hi all,

I'm considering buying a condo in mont kiara for own stay. After some consideration in term of budget and environment, this 2 choices were made.

However, i've received a lot of advise from friends not to buy a condominium in Mont Kiara as the condos there are way oversupply, hence risk of price drop.

Some has also said that i'll be better of buying a landed house in cheras which is cheaper.

So i'm here to ask for your expert opinion.

If it's staying in MK, which one is better? I-zen or Kiara Designer's suites.

Or

Should i just buy a landed house in cheras and go through crazy jam every single day.

Your opinion is greatly appreciated.

Regards

i'm staying in anggerik area.. possibly lesser jam but looking at the new developments going on in cheras.. i don't really think MRT can help a lot.

the money left will only allow me to invest in cheaper condos/ apartment, which choices are very limited

i don't think i will invest in property in near future. Considering more and more policies are being implemented to ease the price rise, i believe gone are the days where you can make 20 - 30% capital appreciation per annum. Not to mention that the latest RPGT does not factor in interest expense as your cost, even if you made 10%, minus off interest expense, legal fees/stamp duties and other administrative charges, i think probably you'll make less than 3%..

i've seen Palma.. i think i need to spend some more money on touching up on the units cause all of them are old. The Izen units i saw was all facing pool..not facing highway so it's still okay i think. Is it really that bad in Kiara 3? KDS is not at the end of segambut though. Just now i browse through iprop, some units at 1888 Kiara is also below 900K! Time to reconsider my choice.

Yup..spot on.. i'm looking for prop below 1M. if it's 1M i would go for landed already.

Close by to KDS and 1888 Kiara, Aston Kiara 3 (1598sqft) is selling only at 800K.. but maintenance fees is RM0.50!!!!!!!!!!!

anyway thanks for the advise!

Been to couple of units again in Izen. A couple of points which i don't really like.

The down side of Izen are:
1. The ceiling is very low.
2. Mid floor units are very noisy with highway sound.
3. The layout is not very friendly (personal opinion)

The plus side of it are:
1. just beside a shopping mall
2. common area maintenance is alright
3. good rental (fetch at least 3.5K) - told by the agent.. need to double check.

My wife generally doenst like Izen.. she says the "feeling" is not right over there.

I on the other hand, feels that the place is a bit noisy. In the lobby, you can hear a lot of noise from highway. Don't think it is very pleasant.

Gonna go do field study about 1888 and KDS soon

Hi Ivan, thanks for your input. Actually if you compare the property price now. Mont Kiara's condo is surprisingly not overpriced. Some cheras new condo are selling at sub RM600K. Condo in places like Tmn Desa, ie, OBD garden, selling at the price range of 800 - 1M, new condo in kuchai are all above 600K. This makes mont kiara's condo a bargain because you can still see properties priced at sub 700K for the older ones.

IMO, It's a bit nasty to generalized people who buy properties at MK is just for "face". There is intrinsic value in MK's condo like the crowds are different, the environment deemed to be safer and easy accessibility.

As for the affordability point that you raised, i believe people who is able to afford a 900K house are likely to be financial capable and financial savvy. I strongly believe they can afford to eat good food everyday and shop at high end places. But if they find more value in eating economy rice and shopping cheap groceries, why not?


Some prefer would like to feel international, but that doesnt mean they go for the "face" issue. . i think for face, people would go and buy condo in KLCC area or bangsar.

Yesterday, i have finally done my visit to KDS.

The following are my opinions:-

Good side of KDS:

1) Low density. There are only 6 units per floor.
2) Good maintenance. Despite being a 4 years old condo, it is still looking good.
3) Quiet (except during schooling hours)
4) The units that i've viewed have generally good layout.
5) Acceptable ceiling level. It doesnt give me a "crampy" feeling like i-zen did.

Bad side of KDS:

1) The entrance is not as good as other projects, but it is still acceptable.
2) parking... you need to go round and round up to the visitor's parking.
3) If you're buying unit facing the front road, there's a construction going on not far away, or if you buy the tower facing Casa Kiara 1, you will notice that you're practically facing directly to another condo. (The one i've been to is facing Kiara 5 road. It's quiet and i really like it).
4) Maintenance fees is RM0.30 excluding sinking fund. It is high for some people.. but to me i think it's alright.

hi guys, just a quick update. I've decided to buy a landed prop instead because i got a good deal.

Closing this thread and thanks for the pointers.