My experience usually one or both of the following;

1) high risk business/job (either because tendency of staff turnover/job change is high, or is a business where stability of earnings is unpredictable).
2) CCRIS/CTOS score sub par. Usually because got too many high risk loan (personal loan or credit card), high credit card utilisation, or the most surprising to most people, lack of CCRIS history (because person never applied card/loan before or settled past loans before applying house loan).

#2 is a shock to people because many think having no loan/card = bank more likely to approve loan, but in fact the lack of credit history is just as bad as having poor credit history, because banks aren't just evaluating your DSR but also your history as a paymaster. If they see no history it's risky because they can't know how good of a paymaster you are.

I was being confronted by one or two agents who wanted to recruit me. I asked about their knowledge on the Sarawak Strata on the leasehold and the renewal part, and it was quite surprising that their answers shocked me.

I went to Land and Survey and Sheda to check on the knowledge on the Sarawak Strata. Although I am not making a lot because I did not really focus on strata title properties in Sarawak, but I felt happy to share about the information to those people.

However, I felt bad for those purchasers who 100% trusted the agents in making their big time purchases. Not to say that I wanted to curse the decisions made, but based on my knowledge, even as an investor, the property is basically a "liability" instead of an "asset" in the long run.

Anyway, its good to have REN like you in the market. Bravo..

Is it true once HOC is over, SST already kicked in, house will become more expensive?

Some property agents told me on this.

Correct... there are many out there who are not aware that nowadays the bank will evaluate a loan applicant based on credit rating. With no credit card, loans means no CCRIS record.. No CCRIS record means no credit rating to be evaluate. When bank unable to evaluate a person, then the chances of securing a loan will drop.

Well you are not wrong.. if a property not generating income to purchaser, it's a liability. But there's a lot of gurus will say otherwise... They said it's an asset the moment you purchase a property. Cos the value will always go up. That's why so many ppl suffer nowadays because of this..

I like to share a story with my clients.. (those who willing to listen)

15 years and above ago, basically you can buy any property in KK, Sabah and you will make money almost immediately as there's lack of supply in the market. That's the time where all properties are asset.

Nowadays, if you simply buy one without doing DD, you might end up losing money if you dont have the holding power.

Reasons?

1. There are a lot of supply in the market for similar type of properties compared back then causing properties price to appreciate at a slower pace.
2. Some properties are sold at future pricing - some developer uses rebates to cover on the price tag, but when owner trying to sell, the selling price might not be able to cover the outstanding amount.
3. In KK, the economy concentrate in few areas only making those location property prices are very high.
4. many other reasons.

I personally think as a REN, we should provide information to public, not to take advantage of those who are not aware ...

2 cents...

apakah 🤣 you mean for buying house within nexr few months? no rush la because government said want to extend HOC, although with some changes

any SST on construction materials for current launches, developer long factored it in into the retail pricing don't be fooled by agents trying to prey on your FOMO

Klang Valley and Johor still having major oversupply especially for high rise, so don't rush into things, do your homework and due diligence for your investment first

How long do you think the current low OPR will stay in force?

correct... there surely got impact on the amount of money purchaser need to come out with once HOC ended. The MOT and stamp duties. Other than that, i doubt developer will increase the selling price at this current market situation. Probably the sales agent just wanted to quickly close the sales.

Like what DragonReine said, dont rush into unknown things.. do your due diligence first. Is this really a suitable property for you.

i think it's up to everyone guess..

Until economy goes back to normal.

Low OPR aim is encourage spending (via investing or loans) to get money circulating into the economy.

Think of finance and economy and the flow of money as one giant circular supply chain. When people put money in saving account / fixed deposits / money market funds, they're "dead" money because it doesn't actively flow in market. Conversely, when you invest/take loans, your money flows out to businesses, who then get capital to grow, which then can grow more money for the broader economy to partake in.

To answer this, most of the projects with the HOC one which I come across usually the sales quite slow one.. Those without the HOC package, usually are the ones with consistent sales performance.

I have come across some funny cases whereby the price in the pricelist was inflated to give the perception that the price has been deducted 10% from the pricelist. However, based on the pricelist given before the HOC, which was deemed as HOC price is certainly an 'overvalued pricelist' which i dont think the banks are going to accept it as the valuation point of the project.

By the way, it in turns become a very effective marketing tool to promote the property. But there are still developers who have market it right then those funny cases that I believe is quite misleading.

☝️ Bolded above.

Very important for investors especially those intending to flip to do homework, which means either nicely enquire with your favourite bank officer to help get a verbal valuation, or use tools like Brickz (which records transactions based on subsale, but subsales do give a decent benchmark on the REAL value of the area i.e. what people are willing to and have already paid for) and do your own self valuation. If for rental, look up advertised rental for already completed and existing projects in the area which has similar amenities/room size/furnishing etc., and to be safe deduct 10% from advertised rental because sure got arrangements where advertised rates are not the same as real rates .

Apparently the developers have 2 sets of pricelist, one was for the marketing of the properties indicating the price has been marked up before deduction of the 10% which was the one I mention that the banks will not approve based on the pricelist. Another one was given to the bank which is for the purpose of approving the End Financing facility for the project.

For those who wanted to be safe, definitely properties which are completed with Occupation Permit as it will be subject the more thorough valuation by the valuers. And my advice like you have mentioned also, be proactive with the appointed banker, sometimes the vendor overprice the properties and denied that it was their problem then suddenly blame that the buyer loan got issue which was quite bad.

How much cash should I set aside for renovations and cleanup of a subsale property? Painting, flooring, ceiling, wcs, kitchen, etc.

For me, it based on what type of purpose you are buying the property for.

Be extra careful in handling these renovations as some property owners have overspend on the renovation and ended up in liquidity problems. At the end of the day, went they try to sell, sometimes its difficult than the original structure especially when the extension is not preferred by the new prospect.

If cash limited, would suggest take each petty step and not to rush for it.

bought a house (still under development) and plan to rent out upon completion.
Thinking to rent by rooms separately to maximise the returns. Anyone has the experience of having separate electric meters by rooms so that we can charge the tenant accordingly?

This post has been edited by JimK: Apr 26 2021, 11:58 AM

Assess the property for defects and identify areas which will affect the long term integrity and cause major problems. The 'big four' to look out for are

1) Water damage
2) Plumbing/sewerage
3) Electrical/wiring
4) Presence of termites/major pests like rats

These are usually issues that can cost you up to hundreds of thousands if not nipped in the bud early.

Get a reliable home inspection company to check the property for you and then approach a contractor for costs for fixing/preventing these defects.

Things like painting, appliances, cabinets/wardrobe etc. can be done piece by piece/in stages as and when you get funding.

General recommendation is to not spend more than 10% of the property price on renovation, unless you're rich and this is going to be your forever home/holding it for at least twenty years.

If old house I plan to do like this, please give some pointers if wrong

1) Water damage - Re-do roof struts + replace roof tiles (15-20k), change part to cement when extend front (Extension front 35k)
2) Plumbing/sewerage - Re-do + change toilet position (10k)
3) Electrical/wiring - Re-do (3k use indon)
4) Presence of termites/major pests like rats (2k inject chemical down 5 years guarantee for termite prevention)

Should be ok, although admittedly I've not kept myself updated for past two years prices.

If also staying there for long term and have extra funds for it + big rooftop, might want to look into installing solar panels to take advantage of savings/earnings from net metering scheme. Banks these days also have interest free/low interest loan on installing panels with zero/low upfront cost. Currently savings on monthly electricity for solar panels is around 20% to 30%, which can mean a cool few hundred if your house is big.

Just that it might not be aesthetically pleasing

do you have much cash flow in hand? what type of property and for investment or own stay?
it is better for you to get quotation from few contractor before decide what to do...
if you are tight in budget and not in hurry just do it phase by phase, remember to allocate more budget and calculate how much cash flow after deduct your loan etc