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wuqi256

Moderator - JB Section
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Bro Wuqi, during my time, it was comparable to the purchase of a say, Honda Accord but since the raising of the threshold to RM500k, its now comparable to a 3-room HDB flat .... This site provides quite good current info on Johor properties ..http://www.thissit.com/Default.aspx

True, i agree. The 500k is mainly to curb foreigners from buying out the cheaper properties and to prevent the locals from not being able to buy or get priced out of more affordable properties.
 

wuqi256

Moderator - JB Section
Loyal
talking about cars, i inquired about car loans from the banks here. Was told that I need to have a work permit and a local guarantor. But M**B*** say they can 'bend' the rules if i take the mortgage loan with them. Anyone got any experience with car loans in MY ?

No need,my friends and my car got financed at 70%(car loan for foreigners at 70%) without needing all the BS.

No guarantor too. Just have a mortgage loan with any bank and use that, your income documents to prove that you are in good standing. :smile:

I just realised one thing, locals use the housing loan amount you get as a yardstick to see your standing with the banks. If you get an 80% loan , you are the normal group, if you get 85% to the legendary 90%, you are the "doing really ok" group.

If you tell them you bought a million dollar property using cold hard cash, they would think you belong to the "bullshitters" group.
 

wuqi256

Moderator - JB Section
Loyal
Hi,
MIA so long, good news. Got loan approve from UOB, Alliance and HSBC however now the worrisome thing is State Consent.
State consent. At what possibility that after I had paid for it that they will disapprove me?
Also do you know where can I buy nusery for plants and tall trees?
Went to Jalan Taman Molek. Very high end furniture. Comparable to Lorenzo and Harvey Norman. However lighting still quite far in terms of quality like Strauss and Egyptian crystal. Know where to find?
Alot of auto workshop there. Finally found michellin tyres workshop now trying to get quote.

Overall experience was heart pounding and everything open/close door had to look around alot of times.
Found Ceramic World but quite far fetch from Soon Bee Huat. Found the wet market.

"Some of my closer neighbours here also know where to run to in case of emergency such as riots or attacks by zombies. :P"
Care to msg me the place so that family know what to do?

Cheers
ps can discuss trading soon? Long term or day trading?

Ok, thats good to hear. Normally state consent is a formality, sometimes it takes very long in rare cases but normally a few months is all it takes.

Yes, there are two, side by side, near to the Sutera Mall, on the way from Nusa Bestari, its on the right side. There are some past recommendations on lighting(cheaper type) in this thread. Avalon is mid end but i haven't had such a good experience with them. A lot of my friends use Trendy Lighting, opposite Eurorich hotel, blue signboard.

Autoshops are aplenty, i use the "Honda" shop near Sutera Mall as they are very reliable and can bargain. I tested them in the past with both SG and MY registered cars, same price.

The maintenance free battery i replaced recently, i got at 220 MYR without needing to bargain.
 

congo9

Alfrescian
Loyal
Maintenace free battery (BIG ONE) is around $120 in Singapore. The guy will ride the motorcycle right to your door step and to install the battery for you.

220MYR is around $100 singkie dollar. I got mine fix at workshop in singkie at $70 bucks.Not much cost saving in Malaysia !
 

wuqi256

Moderator - JB Section
Loyal
Maintenace free battery (BIG ONE) is around $120 in Singapore. The guy will ride the motorcycle right to your door step and to install the battery for you.

220MYR is around $100 singkie dollar. I got mine fix at workshop in singkie at $70 bucks.Not much cost saving in Malaysia !


Oh thanks for the information, i was just saying 220 MYR is the list price for reference. Its cheap Yokohama brand, there are other brands which are cheaper. I kept my old battery, it would be another 20 off if i traded it in.
 

Analytical Professor

Alfrescian
Loyal
Quite nicely written. What i really liked about your write up was the pain you took to describe the place and gave in so many details.

As rightly pointed out by wuqi "To Each his own" and there is no write or wrong here.

We express what we feel (Hopefully in the process no body hurts anyone). Honestly i liked the way you took time and effort to write your piece. So please feel free to contribute..

Share more of your experiences with us especially your experiences in JB

We bought a place at Nusa Idaman Phase 8A recently so here's my 2 cents on why :smile: We chose it after we did some research online and went up to look at HH and Bukit Indah's offerings (end June). HH and BI had websites so we could browse the available properties etc. before driving up. However NI didn't have a website which made us wonder if it was worth considering. We still kept NI in mind though since the plan was to look around in the nearby areas. We made it a point to steer clear of developments close to downtown JB due to the heavy traffic and security issues. And high price developments like East Ledang and Leisure Farm were way beyond our prince range. We loved the build quality and layout of HH (we were very impressed with HH actually) but felt it was slightly beyond our means and the price was on the high side for the particular property type. Besides we don't play golf and don't foresee using the clubhouse much. SP Setia (BI property dev) didn't have the property type we wanted available when we visited the sales office. We then drove to NI just because it was nearby.

Coincidentally we visited the sales office the day before the official launch of Phase 8A so the office wasn't crowded, we had a good selection of units to choose from and a head start from other possible buyers. The sales guy was friendly, non-pushy and helpful. They let us view the showhouse and also brought us around to the other existing precincts to give a good idea of the neighbourhood. We liked the precincts concept, it being gated and guarded, and the location is very ideal (almost exactly mid-way between Causeway and 2nd Link so we have a choice of which way to come and go). It has it's own exit from the highway and you can enter NI either via said highway or the road from BI (and soon via the coastal highway). It's close proximity to Jusco, Tesco and Giant, Columbia Asia Hospital (5 min away), Educity etc. was a major plus point too. Also Precint 8 is the premier precinct of NI, with its own lakes and some decent amenities planned around.

Of course the build is not as impressive as HH but we felt the price was right and NI has a good overall vibe for us. NI is from the same developer as HH (UEM Land) so we felt pretty secure on the developer's reliability. I've been doing some searching online since and notice that there are not many houses in NI being put up for sale or rental to date. What this indicates to me is that it's a development that people purchase to live in and are happy to do so (compared to HH which has a lot of listings on a few property sites). We plan to move there permanently and not just treat our place as a weekend home. Another advantage for us is that my friend bought the house opposite ours (we went to the sales office together) so we can keep an eye out for each other and look into sharing expenses (e.g. carpooling). So far the service experience has been decent.

And that's why we decided to go with NI in a nutshell :smile:

I have not heard of much crimes happening in NI (and I did some web searching but did not come up with anything), but if you have maybe you can enlighten?

And if you decide to go with NI, then welcome, neighbour! :smile:
 

Analytical Professor

Alfrescian
Loyal
Wuqi would you mind moderating the thread along the lines of actually living in JB? Just a request...

This will help all of us....

1) Eg what do you do if you are involved in a crash with a malaysian vehicle?
2) What if your vehicle breaks down in the middle of the night what do you do?
3) Which hospitals are reliable?

I think information like this will help us fellow Singaporeans. If the discussion is too HH centric then it may not interest the many readers who are not buying into HH.

Making it more broadbased will invite more fan following. Hope this is in line with the thinking of every person who supports this thread and genuinely want to see it successful
 

wuqi256

Moderator - JB Section
Loyal

This will help all of us....

1) Eg what do you do if you are involved in a crash with a malaysian vehicle?
2) What if your vehicle breaks down in the middle of the night what do you do?
3) Which hospitals are reliable?


Definitely, i don't mind, this thread was never only about HH but living in JB, otherwise the title would have been, Living in HH now wouldn't it? :smile:

Ok so no issues with crashing with Malaysian vehicle if you are:
1. Driving a MY registered car
2. Knows a workshop to go to for repairs
3. Aware that it was a genuine accident and not an attempt to extort and
in remote area(rob)
4. Fake an accident to extort or rob


So if you are in a SG car, depending on how severe it is and who is at fault, its best to report it to the police and to have a record even if the guy admits he is at fault. Unless he pays you something(if he is at fault) and then you have something in writing, otherwise he can always retract his statement the same way they do in Singapore.

If its #3, then its ok, just get his number and report to insurance but best is to settle and have something in writing. If its your fault, then go to a workshop you are familiar with and get it fixed.

Get an itemized list of what to expect. Aside from coffeeshops, there are also a lot of m&d guard and body works/car repair shops opposite Tesco. You should be pretty safe down there given that they are pretty competitive.

If its #4 and you find something weird or dodgy or if you see 3-4 burly guys advancing to you after driving into your boot or deliberately braking suddenly after cutting in. One thing to do,drive fast and run like hell to the nearest police station and make your report.

Chances are high that if they wanted to extort or rob, they won't make a report.

Pricing are about:
$500 RM - For fixing a dented front driver door with dented driver side passenger door
$200-240 RM - For battery replacement
$5 RM - Charging Flat battery
$5 RM - To fix a puncture

There are lots of tow truck services that cover most of the highway, it ranges but is about $100 RM. Its best to go to your own workshop even if the tow truck guy introduces you one.

The new Colombia Asia one as the main one in JB that our government has mentioned accepting medi-save (Regency Specialist Hospital)
 

iamapseudoneem

Alfrescian
Loyal
I've gotten lots of useful information from this thread and so am more than happy to do my part to contribute. Also it's a way of tracing our own personal experience :smile:

OK. Here's the sequence of monetary expenses we've had to fork out so far:
1. RM1000 as initial booking deposit to developer paid via SGD cheque on 1st visit.
2. 10% of property price (- RM1000) to developer for 1st payment via SGD cheque within 1 month of signing.
3. RM11000 (i.e. RM10500 levy + RM500 associated lawyer fees) via telex 2 weeks after that.
4. RM6+K for MLTA to insurance company via credit card same week as telex transfer (payment for 1st year, subsequent payments split to twice per year).
5. RM1000 (i.e. RM500 set up fee + RM500 initial deposit) to open savings account at Malaysian bank for depositing housing loan installments. Personally go down to bank to open account 2 weeks after loan approval.

Everything's pretty straightforward and no hidden costs at all so far.
Next expected outlay will be the 2nd payment of 10% to developer, maybe within 2 weeks from now? Also the monthly loan installments to confirm with bank when to start putting in. Will update soon :smile:
 

danteakc

Alfrescian
Loyal
dirt cheap for MRTA. I think something is wrong wif my purchase. I needed to pay $23k for it via UOB. what Fk.
My lawyer fee beside state levy amounts to $36k.
 

iamapseudoneem

Alfrescian
Loyal
Ours is MLTA not MRTA. We have to pay that amount annually.
A possible plan with MLTA is to pay until just after break even point, cash in the insurance and use the guaranteed cash back to pay off the rest of the housing loan.
The lawyer fee is for processing of the levy only. Our housing package comes with free legal fees so no other lawyer fees incurred if I understand correctly.
 
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euphony

Alfrescian
Loyal
heya everyone, here's my story and I hope for some advice as well!

I am another 'convert' (sounds like AA meeting haha). Like many, I used to think that living in JB is a big no no because of a variety of reasons already hashed out earlier by all of you. I am a Johorean but have been fully educated in SG and overseas and have all my friends, monies and career in SG. But a recent change in events brought me closer to home. I was waiting to buy myself a property in SG to stay in but was always chasing after ever more expensive ones that I could not afford and was renting all these while. HDBs were out of reach for me as a single SPR.

So fast forward to today, I commute to SG daily and rent a studio @ prima regency (molek). Rental is like almost half of what I pay in SG and can be considered an 'upgrade' and the place is pretty secure, decent and pleasant I must say. The commute's not too shabby since I travel in and out at odd hours. My parents live nearby and the quality of life's definitely up there!

Still I consider the current arrangement temporary and like all of you am looking for a place to call my own in JB (although some of you already's got yourself a nice roof you own I read). Unlike most of you, I do not want a big place. I am staying on my own and happily so and prefer a smaller place so that I don't have to work my ass off cleaning up. Yet I don't want to live in the 'pits' so as to speak (somehow I gather small means cannot drop in quality etc). The choice to me is pretty straight forward really, a condominium of some sort all the better if its a studio with facilities and sheltered parking for my wifey (my car that is).

I was wondering if you all have any advice for me? I looked at prima itself which is fantastic but its getting a bit old with people asking in excess of 120-40k from the launch price of 90k. Then there's the palazio which was launched recently and setia's sky residences TOPing in 2 yrs? and lagenda tasek which is just TOPed. And then there's Bayu puteri which is leasehold and KSL.

1. Should I get an apartment in the subsale market or direct from developer?
2. Should I be bothered about leasehold freehold?
3. Which of the above developments/developers are considered good?
4. Is now a good time to think about purchasing or should I hold my horses? (since I am not limited by the 500K rule) I see appreciation of property prices in general recently.
 

Charlie258

Alfrescian
Loyal
Not to be a party pooper or a fun spoiler, but with so many cities and states in Malaysia, why must you buy in J.B.?

Let me tell you a story: my girlfriend works for a big multi-national company with offices in Singapore. They employ many Malaysians. Many of these Malaysians used to commute in from J.B. every morning.

One by one, all of these J.B. Malaysians sold their J.B. houses and bought houses in Singapore. Now, in her company, all the Malaysians live in Singapore.

The Singaporeans in my g/f's company asked their Malaysian colleagues: why did you all sell your big Malaysian house to buy a small Singapore rat-hole for such exorbitant price? Answer: After experiencing a few burglaries and one or two roadside robberies, we did not feel safe in J.B. anymore.

If you want to buy to invest, there are many other much better cities and states in M'sia. If you want a place to stay, it is better to rent and not buy in J.B.
 

congo9

Alfrescian
Loyal
I think their colleague is not elite enough. How much did they pay for the place RM$300K or below ? Of course no security !

500k RM minimum is for the rich and i think can get a damn good bunglow with all the necessary security.

If you want to buy to invest, there are many other much better cities and states in M'sia. If you want a place to stay, it is better to rent and not buy in J.B.[/QUOTE]
 

toyohon

Alfrescian
Loyal
Generally Malaysians (other than those in the main cities like KL/Penang) owning low to medium range properties are not keen to pay monthly maintenance for their homes. Some convert their Tamans into half-baked type of fenced up oil-drum type of security which is neither here nor there and this is where the crooks thrive.
 

wuqi256

Moderator - JB Section
Loyal
Quote: I was wondering if you all have any advice for me? I looked at prima itself which is fantastic but its getting a bit old with people asking in excess of 120-40k from the launch price of 90k. Then there's the palazio which was launched recently and setia's sky residences TOPing in 2 yrs? and lagenda tasek which is just TOPed. And then there's Bayu puteri which is leasehold and KSL.

1. Should I get an apartment in the subsale market or direct from developer?
2. Should I be bothered about leasehold freehold?
3. Which of the above developments/developers are considered good?
4. Is now a good time to think about purchasing or should I hold my horses? (since I am not limited by the 500K rule) I see appreciation of property prices in general recently.[/QUOTE]


Ok i hope i can be of some help. If you are not bounded by the 500k price difference then you can actually go for lots of choices.

I still think going with developer is good but most importantly it must be a reputable one.

Buying subsale is safer in some ways as you can guage it for what it is after its in the hands of the residents and also that the place is at least tangible now and not just something fancy on paper.

I would think earlier would have been better, its still not too late to enter the market.
 
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wuqi256

Moderator - JB Section
Loyal
Not to be a party pooper or a fun spoiler, but with so many cities and states in Malaysia, why must you buy in J.B.?

Let me tell you a story: my girlfriend works for a big multi-national company with offices in Singapore. They employ many Malaysians. Many of these Malaysians used to commute in from J.B. every morning.

One by one, all of these J.B. Malaysians sold their J.B. houses and bought houses in Singapore. Now, in her company, all the Malaysians live in Singapore.

The Singaporeans in my g/f's company asked their Malaysian colleagues: why did you all sell your big Malaysian house to buy a small Singapore rat-hole for such exorbitant price? Answer: After experiencing a few burglaries and one or two roadside robberies, we did not feel safe in J.B. anymore.

If you want to buy to invest, there are many other much better cities and states in M'sia. If you want a place to stay, it is better to rent and not buy in J.B.

Yes, there are many states in Malaysia and land are plentiful but the thread is for below who still has ties or work in Singapore. KL would make sense for some of us who are working in KL. Malacca may also make sense for some retirees who do not need/wish to come back to SG daily/weekly.

Land may be cheaper at some states but it won't make sense if they have to travel 3-4 hours to get there. Out of curiosity, can you help us check with your gf colleagues whether are they giving up their MY citizenship and if not, can they please list the reason why despite having houses in Singapore?

I have been here slightly more a year, my learned doctor friend from Malacca has been here for more than 10 years, so far so good. It depends on the area you buy and how seriously they view security. The physical location matters a lot as well.

Your account of their story with the crime reminds me of a friend who was telling us not to buy in JB as they will revise interests rates to more than 6 percent(after discount) any how/any time. He said his sister was affected.

I checked with all the banks and even SG friends who bought here, turns out to be another cooked up smoke screen with embarrasing reasons for the cause.

Yes, they will raise interest rates suddenly,only IF YOU DO NOT PAY your monthly installments for more than a reasonable period of time. I am sure most banks do that in SG as well.

One of my friends went to him and asked, is it because your sister never paid up? He clammed up and never said anything on this again after that.
 
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wuqi256

Moderator - JB Section
Loyal
Agree, its also good to have the location on a hill or located at a place where physically hard to access other than through the main gates.

There are lots of people telling us JB is bad, but you have to see where they are staying first in JB. Most of them will not admit/tell you they are living in a place right out a gears of war game.
 

wuqi256

Moderator - JB Section
Loyal
Hi Danteakc, my ex boss just got a semi-d unit with stamp duty and levy paid for from the developer. The developer told him its because he knows me blah blah blah(i don't believe, i think coz last 2 units here) so he got a nice discount with perks on top.

Your loan seems to be wrong though, can you change the bank or is it too late now?
 

aangsc

Alfrescian
Loyal
Hi Wuqi ,

have you been asked by lawyer to submit receipt for quit rent. I was asked recently but have not receive any request to pay quit rent. Some told me I have to go down Larkin to pay and they don't send reminder letter. Lawyer said this is yearly affair ; 'perfecting the transfer'. :confused:
I was thinking 'why also 'perfecting' transfer ? when will it be officially transfer ?. :biggrin:
 
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