My gf (wife soon to be) and I are planning to get a condo / apartment for ourselves. We would like it to be somewhere along Selangor / Federal Territory. Places like PJ, SJ, KJ, OUG, Puchong is fine... Not out of the way places like Cyberjaya, Rawang, Selayang, etc.

I think our budget should be around RM200 - 250k. Our monthly repayment should NOT be more than 2k. Where is a good location right now? We both live on landed property and will continue to live in landed property. This condo / apartment is for like weekend stay or maybe later on rented out. Where is a good location?

Since we have never lived in condo / apartment before, what are some of the rules that will apply to us as buyers? There's some maintenance fee but how much is it these days?

Appreciate those who can guide / point me in the right direction. For those who wants to say its unwise to do that, etc, please be supportive or advise accordingly. If you're into flames, please stay out because I dont know, I baru ask.

Thank you.

IF u r talking about OWN stay. 200-250K u can get many places. so u need to zoom down may be like : lease hold or freehold ? size ? facility ?

if puchong : 175K can get Villamas puchong, nice place to stay, not for rental or appreciation.

PJ : u may try Crimson apartment / D'aman Ria,rental not bad. tomoro i m going to view both , for my own update.

SJ : small size , subang court.

Bukit jalil : vista komanwel or condos near by.

nowadays maintenance fees is around 14-18cents for existing condo, new launches r around 15-25cents.

seriously for about 2K/m loan repayment, u can get 350K property oso....

When we settle down, we will still live in our landed property. We are from Klang. We would like our apartment / condo to be somewhere middle nearer to KL city / PJ / Bdr Utama / Sunway. Klang it a bit far if we have to travel, especially if its jammed.

PJ... Where is Crimson apartment? Places near The Curve there, I've seen apartment that like 6 or 8 floors high and quite nice. How much is it I wonder and whats the area called? Let me know your views tomorrow for both.

SJ... not really.

Bkt Jalil... Yes, this seems like an interesting places as its near to Old Klang Road and go KL / Cheras easily. Is the only condo place near IMU there?

When you said 15 - 25 cents means what? I thought the monthly payment is something like... RM120 - RM180 per month? Not sure how to calculate when you give me in cents.

I'm saying MAX 2k... I'm hoping to be below 1.5k so shared one month, each pay RM700 suffice to get us a small getaway home in the city. Or sometimes too tired to come back Klang, can live in the condo.

Oh ya, one more important thing to note... LOW POPULATION, meaning lesser unit in a floor to avoid congestion / packed.

Check out the Damansara Perdana thread.

It's quite a nice area.

Puchong..Asean Puteri-bandar puteri...Luxury condo with 2 car park free...but mainteince Rm3++

@Pennywise,
Condo maintenance is calculated based on the square feet so take whatever figure (15-25 cents) and multiply it by the built-up of ur unit and voila, U get the rough estimate of ur monthly maintenance fees.

Also, U do realise it's going to cost u a lot more to have 2 homes?

PJ has some decent condos available at 180-250k along LDP highway, perhaps you can check out kelana jaya area with condos booming in that area. a bit bad on traffic though if you ask me. high density too. if you're looking at those low-rise condos, i think they're a bit out of your budget, some of the cheapest in PJ area cost at least 300k.

bkt jalil will have some decent ones too, and are within your budget as well. there are some condos/apts further in from the one that you mentioned, the one near IMU (vista komanwel if i guessed correctly the one you're referring to).

an easy explanation for the maintenance fee. it's counted per sq feet. say your maintenance fee is RM0.20, and your unit is 1000sq feet, your monthly maintenance fee would be 0.20 x 1000 = RM200.00. hope it helps.

your 2k max is inclusive of all these maintenance, utilities fee or exclusive? i'm assuming inclusive, since your monthly installment for your budgeted property wouldn't be that high. but if you can afford to pay 2k a month, i think you can look at condos around 300k as well, which in a way, should promise lesser units and lower density in population.

Check out Casa Suites studio's in Damansara Intan, completed and I beleive still got developer's unit, circa 200k+

Also worth checking out is Pelangi Damansara Sentral at KotaD, a studio cost less than 170k. However, wont be ready for at anytime before 2010.

Reason why I suggested studio's -> Faily easy to mantain, and has a fair record in terms both rental and capital gains.

@Pai,
I find studio units difficult to dispose; it's not appropriate for families or newly weds, but that's just MY opinion.

ditto..

for rental wise.. it might not be a long term tenant.. but might be ideal for me.. to run away @ weekends.. get some peace...

lol....

There's probably a bigger pool/market for 3 bedroom apartments/condos as that's quite sizeable for a family. Even 2 room condos are difficult to dispose but easier than studio units.

Depends on one's perspective. Your r right to point out that there's much, much bigger pool market for 3 bedrooms condo. However, bare in mind that there's much, much, much bigger supply for 3 bedrooms condo as well.

In fact, its easier to dispose studio's due to the following reason :

1. Cheaper entry cost as its smaller comparatively to a 3bedroom unit. Plus TS wanted to use it for their weekend getaway or rent it out, so I think studio fits the bill.

2. Higher rental yield. Using Amcorp and Casa Mutiara as an example, a studio unit (cost 160k) can be rented out for up to 2k, but the 2 bedroom (cost 310k) current rental rate is at 2.8k. Capital gains for studios has generally outperform the 2b or 3b within the same development.

3. Lastly, high rental demand but limited supply. U wont believe how fast I cant rent out my studio's and the returns im getting.

@Pai,
Like I said, it's just MY opinion. And studio units are really not suitable for long term stay.

i know its your opinion. Im just merely stating reasons for my suggestion, nothing personal lah

@Pai,
Yup Yup nothing personal at all. And it's good to give TS wider options.

We Malaysians are a bunch, who view ownership of dwelling house as one of the basic necessity in life.

Therefore, rental is seen as an interim but not permanent solution to family's housing needs.

In terms of rental return, definitely studio better due to lower capital outlay.

ehhh ehhh.. pai you seem pro in property. you must be visiting to a lot property fair / showroom.

any studios nowadays that gives high yielding? but again, they are not so good for capital appraisal right?

what u meant by capital appraisal?

R u referring to capital appreciation or capital gains?

shit.. capital appreciation -.-

lol...

I personally think studio's at the RIGHT location will enjoy excellent capital gains. Bought one in May 2007 for 160k, and im getting regular calls asking to sell for at least 230k.