is it true that the developers arent allowed to collect booking fees before obtaining the APDL? and they will usually ask for cheque to process the “booking”?

also for ongoing projects, are there any reasons some developers insist on cheque payments instead of credit card / cash?

Buying property is a trap / money pit. Better invest in forex.

And leverage amplifies the risk greatly. Many can’t liquidate their property holdings, except with great losses.

oh i see, thanks for the info..

who uses cheques nowadays tho.. hmmm

1) Interest rates, legal fees (for transfer and sale later) and maintenance will eat into your profits pretty quickly. That 800k loan (assuming 1mil property with 20% down payment) at fixed 3% p.a. interest will incur more than 400k interest over a 30 year tenure at RM3k/mth instalments, so you're effectively paying RM1.4million on the purchase, which means you need to pray that 30 years later that property will appreciate at least that much. Meanwhile RM200k starting balance in investment, with a monthly additional contribution of RM3k, and a fixed 3% return rate annually, will get you over RM2million after 30 years, without including annual management fees from your UT fund house.

2) it's reliant on you to be able to service instalments, if you buy now at current low interest rates, if base rate for bank changes beyond your affordability you might run into problems

it's great as a form of wealth preservation if you buy at the right price and location, but as a way to profit? very bad 🤣 at least if you purchase a property within the past 6 years.

Don't be fooled by the idea of leveraged investment. The only one that truly works without big risk IRL in Malaysia is ASB loan

So those who listen and follow blindly jiak sai later loh.....

It's true that most investors buy to resell or rent ASAP. The main issue is that due to Malaysia's lack of transparency in housing prices and the rampant practice of inflating SPA prices to get people to finance up to 100% instead of maximum 90%/70%, over the years housing prices have been artificially inflated to the point of unaffordability for most people, especially in high demand areas where a property needs you to fork out nearly a million or higher, except in high density projects or affordable schemes or auction, which comes with their own set of problems. This is not in line with Malaysia's median salary and the relative wealth of the general population. Recent auctions themselves indicate the "true" value, in that banks are often forced to auction off at lower than 70% of SPA after several rounds of wait-and-see.

It means the average retail investor must be prepared to require the resources to buy and hold for a significant amount of time before they can sell a property if they attempt to do so in current situation. We've yet to see government or central bank make significant measures to address the practice of price inflation.

As for the latter, which is best will be dependant on, case by case, the investors' appetite for risk, confidence in cash flow/savings (for leveraged investing like property or margin trading), skill/knowledge in trading/choosing the right place to invest, and ability to stay invested. There's no ultimate best answer as it depends on the individuals needs, wants, age, and capabilities, which will change over the years.

Real estate/insurance/financial agent will obviously sell their own products first and foremost if blindly follow then you're asking for financial death, especially insurance (no insurance out there is genuinely worthwhile as a financial investment).

Ironically pandemic actually drove prices down to a more reasonable amount, with discounts and banks' increasingly conservative valuation still inflated but less than before. Oversupply and the increasing auction units will likely push prices even down, although I also predict not by much, because the bull run of stock market in 2020 and government incentives means many investors might have made a quick buck, enough to buy a house. High demand projects still getting nearly booked before official launch

Oh you'd be surprised at the number of insurance agents boasting of investment-linked life insurance/endowment plans being good investment because it pays the most commission it's also the most marketed and most misrepresented, it's only too late that many buyers who buy such insurance without understanding the numbers realise how much commission fees and sales charges will eat into the profits.

Dun forget bout rental play. The mechanism in leveraging opm ll b a bit complicated to newbies assuming all possible costs n fees n rental income n taxes come into pic.

Yes the interest rate does play a big part to determine the ROI fr time to time.

Do own DD lo when buying. Following herds sure kantoi faster wan. Follow bulu oso ll build huge debt to subsidise the fb posting with sui car sui gal nia. Later on sui jor oso bulu won't b liable ma.

I am also a REN, properties can work well as a shortcut to make returns based on leveraging if the purchasers brought the properties right.. I agreed to the extend that most of the REN who are saying a property good for investment does not really know the criteria of choosing a property from acknowledging the future trends, pricing, rental yield and to the other extend as well.

I as a REN ensures that the information is transparent. Why many people still lose money in the property market is because of poor research of the buyers and relied too much on the REN in giving input.

Sometimes when we try to tell the customers about the investment, the mind has been "brainwashed" and they seem like got the feeling that their decision is very accurate even though the calculations and analysis is pointing south. And also most of the purchasers made loss because they buy property based on their preference not the market acceptance.

For self employed with no fixed income? All banks will give you a hard time to varying degrees, depending on bank. Some are VERY strict (Public) while others will cincai approve as long as your DSR and CCRIS ok (CIMB, HLB) and they're confident you're good paymaster.

However due to pandemic changing so many people's cashflow and with NPLs on the rise + moratoriums cutting into bank profits, all banks will scrutinize high risk customers more intensely, not just because they're less confident people will service loan, but economic depression means crime and illegal activity tends to rise, so they'll be extra cautious of people/businesses where they cannot verify how you gained your income easily.

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..

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?

Glad to help! I would say also that don't overspend on first purchase Furnishings especially, you can and should take time to accumulate select good quality pieces that can last, like a nice sofa etc. Most people eventually move out/upgrade from their first home, especially near retirement, so focus on comfort and practical needs first. Too many built in furnishings especially if you do a lot of interior decorating in a particular style will affect future resale value because it can look very dated and out of trend in a decade.

Good luck!

Hi, I'm thinking of whether to buy directly from a developer or to engage a REN from IQI (probably the only known agency available at my place).

1. What are the pros and cons?
2. How much commission do I need to pay the agent and when?

If I recall correctly, this only applies to residential properties under commercial title (i.e. service apartments).

Developer would have initially applied commercial first as title is commercial.

Subsequently when VP you as owner when apply for electricity supply for your unit you can apply to get residential tariff. Some developers will claim to do this for you on your behalf.

Condos under residential title there is no need to convert, unless the land itself isn't converted to residential title.

I'm planning to buy my first property but I can't decide whether I should buy it for investment or own stay.
Let's say I buy my first property for investment and use to collect rent, 3 years down I decide to buy another one for my own stay, how would that affect my loan chances?

I still have many things to consider I guess, one of the reason I asked was because I was told by a colleague before that its better to do it this way as with the proof of rental income you can still get loans for the second house easily. But its definitely great to get diff opinions. Thank you all for the reply, it was really helpful!!