yo all...

currently there's a single storey house at ayer itam, penang, which i am thinking of buying up... the cost is more than RM300k but it's really an old old house....
location wise, i think it's still not too bad...ayer itam in penang is quite a good or Ok location...definitely not a bad location... but i was thinking is it worth the money to buy up the old house...

because i was thinking of the renovation cost next... it will definitely cost a bomb for me...imagine the flooring is still old cement type..and the roof also going to KO soon...and there's a big land at the back, but the land is not flat...means the land is going up hill type...not the flat type.... and to give you guys an idea how old the house is...the house got it's own sewerage system...means the toilet connect directly to one big sewerage well at the back of the house...

put it this way...i will definitely need to put in additional RM100k to renovate the house...definitely more than RM100k i guess...

i can't decide if i should buy a new house instead? or just buy this old house and renovate later?

because i am considering getting a new house...and save the money + hassle to renovate the old house... and then if needed...use the money for furniture...

the only thing i like this current old house is i have been staying here for a long time and I am quite comfortable with the location...
but buying up the house cost a lot if to include in the renovation cost....

any inputs?
thanks!

It really depend on what you want. I got one friend bought an old house (>30 years) at 360k in Island Grade and spent 160k for the renovation. He is happy with it

darn... means he paid like RM520k...

with that much money...i will be like forever paying for a house...and then paying for renovation...

right now...i can afford to buy the house....but quite a bit risky...if BLR goes up...i die also...hehe....

but once i buy the house...definitely no money to renovate...so my position is not like your friend's position...

If its a good place, good sourounding, then its good....

If i got money i'll take it rather than get new terrace house...

U might want to do some research whether that area could be develop in future or not...
U might get a bomb when u sell it later.

if you like old house, and comfort with it (like me), go ahead and buy it. i always feel comfort in old type of buildings, the material, the design, the feel. it's a headache u'll need to renew the water pipings, electric wires, etc. reno part can do part by part when u got the $$.

if not, just get new property, but you'll need to renovate (minor) anyway. and you'll need to check out the surroundings, will it traffic jam, how pack is the surrounding population, and empty space which could develop into a high rise building blocking you views and sunchine, etc.

good luck in headache-ing.

well... yeah... most of the stuff in the house is really aging and it's really almost time for replacement...

if i have the cash and i'm rich, i might consider buying...but right now, since i don't have cash...the decision is more to...tak nak... at this moment...

sigh...

but again, i hvae been living at this old house for 26 years (22 excluding the years i spent away studying at U)...so there's a bit of sentimental value for me...

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Added on September 5, 2007, 8:39 pmalso, i heard that houses near a highway is a big NO?

anyone have details on PORR?
i tried searching at internet...but i don't have detailed information on where the PORR will cut through the penang road...


This post has been edited by kevyeoh: Sep 5 2007, 08:39 PM

kev, 3 things :

1. What is the market value of the property?

3. How much rental p/m?

2. Do you foresee yourself staying & working in Penang over the next 10 years?

pai...

1. Market value is very subjective... two years ago...my neighbour house sold for around RM290k... right now...i got the value range from RM320k to as high as RM380k...but that's just a quote right away without proper valuation/inspection at property... my own opinion, it's around RM320k

2. Rental is RM600/month based on my neighbour's rate

3. Yes. Born and bred in penang...will stay at penang forever...if possible...


one important point to note is...my father has a house at penang..but the location is not so good... so that's why i'm considering to buy up this current house i'm staying because i am quite comfortable with the location... only thing is, it's old... and need at least RM100 to RM150k for renovation alone...

This post has been edited by kevyeoh: Sep 5 2007, 09:39 PM

For a house that cost 300K and rental per month RM600 is not a good investment..

But again, if you really do love the place...be prepared to renovate and do up almost the whole house..Judging from the way you described it "the flooring is still old cement type..and the roof also going to KO soon"

minor stuff..when all add up together can really be an amazing sum.

Kev,

since u like the place for own stay + u dont foresee urself moving out in a distant future + family would be happy, then i believe u would be better off buying the property.

However, why not consider buying similar property with better condition + some reno? U might have to buy it at a slightly higher price (320k-330k) but that also means u dont need to fork out your own 100k immediately.

Yea if you accually afford more than RM400k then i suggest u buy a new hse. I believe there are new and nice houses around that price. Better than spending RM100K to renovate.

yes...i was thinking of that as well...might as well spend the money and buy newer house... but one positive thing about buying old house is...you can buy at RM310k first...and later (god knows when) when you have the money...then only u renovate...rather than spending one lump sum at one go...

actually...the current house i am talking about...the reason why the price is quite high is because of the big land area.... but i don't see the real benefit of the land area because it's not flat...it's like at the back..half of the land area extended from the house...then it's like go uphill...and somemore land after that... hehe...

my father already have a house somewhere but the location is not as good as this current house...so for now...i think just stay at my father's house...instead of paying a big sum of money for this old house...i calculate the interest already...by 5th year, i would have already paid about RM62k of interest... assuming current loan package of 1% first year, 2nd year is BLR - 1.5%, etc....

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Added on September 5, 2007, 11:21 pmyeah...
actually...there's another property...not single storey terrace...but it's a 3 storey terrace apartment house type... it's like apartment strata title...but it's like a 3 storey terrace house...
selling about same price...around RM300k+.... freehold also...but the problem is...have to pay monthly maintainance fee...but the thing is...totally brand new...

so between these two...which is better?

I just confirm that the current old house i am talking about is easily about 45 yrs old already... like i said...imagine the house toilet with it's own sh*t tanking well at the backyard... where can you find this old type of house nowadays? hehe...

previously...based on heart + impulse decision, i would straight away decide to buy...but after spending 3-4 days thinking about it on loan + reno cost etc... i decide otherwise... hehe...

but decision is still not 100% firm because i can still change my mind...

This post has been edited by kevyeoh: Sep 5 2007, 11:22 PM

Well if you can afford the monthly maintainance fee then why not? I would definately choose a new hse rather than an older one as renovation will cost a bomb if you wanna convert it like a new hse. Even flooring alone will cost thousands.

This post has been edited by philyong: Sep 7 2007, 05:57 PM

kev, go for the landed as there's very limited supply of DSLs in Penang, and your cap gains after 10 years could be 100%. Looking at incoming supply for condo's n apt's in Penang, u wont get fantastic gains if u decided to sell 10 or 15 years later.

But pay a bit more for a decent condition DSL, instead of the rundown one.

i presume DSL will be double storey link? or what?

i agree with you Pai, but take a look at Bayswater apartment beside tesco... the price went up quite a lot...this is considered superb investment for apartment in my opinion... i guess there's still a few good apartment deals available in penang with regards to location...

next will be d'piazza....the location is quite good ....

Since we are talking about a minimum 10 years timeframe, the DSL would be a better pick. Apartments tend to appreciate 20% upon completion then usually remain stagnant. Plus, there are paractically no new supply of DSL in PEnang going for +-300k, while incoming supply of apartments on condo will alaways be there at that price range.


For me, if I plan to stay in an area > 5 years and then sell it off, i'll alaway go for the landed properties.

otherwise, I'd go for the apartment

Perhaps TS can explore other options for landed property in Pg island.

Landed property price in Pg island will only increase. Unless there's a way to make the island bigger.

But at the RM300k range, one can only look south (bayan lepas, batu maung, balik pulau).

the land how big is it........
in acres(ekar).....what kind of soil(tanah).......

coz if it is u can use it for agricultural perpose......

Actually, this is a pretty naive question to me. buying a property, is not like buying a car. properties appreciate with time. what make one particular unique is location, which it might be close to where u work, or any particular reasons.

Why naive lah? I dont get your point, fren

I personally thought that TS is doing a wise thing by getting as many inputs as possible before commiting himself to a 30 years, 300k deal.

for more than 30 years old house. I recommend you spend a bomb to renovate the house first before moving in. Recommend changing the piping and the roof truss or you could open up the roof and water-treat the wood.