More to benefit from 1Malaysia Maintenance Fund

More to benefit from 1Malaysia Maintenance Fund - StarProperty.my

The 1Malaysia Maintenance Fund (TP-1) has now been extended to the private medium low-cost housing schemes, said Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik.

The fund was set up to repair and maintain private low-cost flats whose Joint Management Bodies (JMB) could not afford to pay off the entire sum for the work done.


Nong Chik said he received many requests for the fund to be extended to the private medium low-cost housing schemes which are priced at RM80,000 and below.


This is good news to those apartment / flat that do not have sufficient fund to repaint their property. It is recommended that high rise building should be repaint every 5 years; else the property will look "old and ugly", and it will also cause extra moisturise sneak into your house when the outer layer of the building is no longer protected by paint.

I used to own a condo that is about 12 years old, and the condo never re-paint since handover. No matter how many times I repaint my internal wall, the paint will "drop out" after few months. After consulting few "paint expert", they said that nothing much they can do even though my internal wall have been painted with "water proof" paint, as the water will sneak through the wall during raining. I highlighted this to the management office, they responded that the JMB do not have sufficient fund to repaint the 4 blocks of condo, which cost RM1 millions +- to repaint it.

Ascott @ Uptown

http://www.theascottlimited.com/en/4ascott_strengthens_its_leadership_position_in_malaysia_and_indonesia_with_two_new_management_contracts____.html

ASCOTT STRENGTHENS ITS LEADERSHIP POSITION IN MALAYSIA AND INDONESIA WITH TWO NEW MANAGEMENT CONTRACTS


Singapore, 24 May 2011 - CapitaLand’s wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), has strengthened its leadership position in Malaysia and Indonesia with two new management contracts in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia and Jakarta, Indonesia. The 200-unit Somerset Damansara Uptown Petaling Jaya and the 187-unit Somerset Kencana Jakarta are slated to open in 2016 and 2014 respectively.

Ascott’s entry into the fast-developing Damansara Uptown in Petaling Jaya also extends the company’s footprint to a new city in Malaysia. With the addition of Somerset Damansara Uptown Petaling Jaya, Ascott remains the largest international serviced residence owner-operator in Malaysia with over 1,500 apartment units across 10 properties. Somerset Kencana Jakarta also reinforces Ascott’s leading position in Indonesia, with over 2,000 apartment units across 10 properties.

Somerset Damansara Uptown Petaling Jaya

Somerset Damansara Uptown Petaling Jaya is located in Damansara’s main commercial district. The new serviced residence will be part of an integrated development that includes a 400,000 square feet retail mall and five commercial towers housing multinational corporations such as Deloitte, FedEx, L’Oreal, Lenovo, Symantec and Unisys. It is also close to Damansara Heights and Bandar Utama which are host to many Fortune 500 firms.

The property will offer a range of furnished studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments with fully-equipped kitchens. Guests will be able to enjoy facilities such as a gymnasium, swimming pool, restaurant and sky lounge. Business travellers will be able to make use of the business centre and a conference hall which can accommodate up to 900 people.

Housing for average income earner - MUST READ

Housing for average income earner - StarProperty.my

This is very good article, not to be miss.

House prices have gone up many times beyond the average household income.


Yeow says the scenario of low-occupancy and falling prices can be found in KL City Centre and Mont’Kiara.

He says expatriates are the ones who mainly occupy these units. Many who bought into that location are local and foreign investors who expect a certain yield. When they do not get the yield they want, they may decide to sell it instead of holding on. When this happens, there is always the possibility of prices coming down.

The people need medium-range housing priced around RM300,000, says Yeow

However, he notes that it is difficult to find houses with this price in the Klang Valley or Penang and this is worrying. Yeow says that the most pressing issue now is escalating prices and the question of affordability among the ordinary wage earners.


His concerns are very real. House prices have moved far ahead of wages. Yeow says the average monthly household income is about RM7,500 while Fernandez puts it at close to RM6,000. He is quoting a private survey done for the Klang Valley this year.

House prices, as against annual household income, is normally calculated at three to four times. For example, if a household monthly income is about RM6,000, which is what the average Malaysian household earns, at four times, the price of the house should be about RM300,000 (6,000 x 12 = 72,000 x 4 = 288,000).

While housing prices have gone up, rental has not.


A double-storey house in Petaling Jaya was priced at about RM500,000 about two years ago while rental was between RM1,500 and RM1,700.


Today, that same house is priced at about RM800,000 but the rental is only RM1,800 to RM2,000. So although house prices have gone up, rental rates do not reflect that rise.

Says Yeow: “We are in a situation where people are using the property market to gamble.


“It is purely to flip. This is bad because it will only drive prices higher. This deprives the average wage earner of buying his own house.

Your Are Truely Champion !

Thanks to those contribute to Wick Foundation Fund :)

Tropics Designer Suites ?

PETALING JAYA: A 26-year-old foreign woman fell to her death from the 14th floor of an apartment building onto a passing car near a shopping mall here.

 It is believed she was in the apartment of a local man in his 40s. The woman, who was naked from the waist down, died on the spot.

Petaling Jaya deputy police chief Supt Meor Hamdan said police received a call about the incident at around 10.45am yesterday.

“When we arrived at the scene, we found the body of a woman on the ground several metres away from a damaged Proton Saga.

“We are questioning the man, a manager, who lives in that apartment unit,” he said, adding that the case has been classified as sudden death.

Details here: http://www.chinapress.com.my/node/220436

Ken 3 Photo Update

Managed to capture some photo of Ken 3 yesterday, picture below show that the retaining wall for Ken 3 is completely "vanished".

I am not sure this is river, or monsoon drain. Picture below show another part of the river/drain retaining wall is already collapsed "half way".

This is near Ameera / Five Stones projects, the retaining wall still intact so far.

Chinese top foreign buyers of Singapore homes: report

Chinese nationals were the top foreign buyers of private property in Singapore in the March quarter, report said Wednesday, the first time they have topped the list.


Buyers from China accounted for a record 24 percent of private home purchases by non-Singaporeans in the three months to March 31, property research firm DTZ said in a report."It is the first quarter that they are the top foreign purchasers of residential properties in Singapore," the report stated.

If they also turn their radar to Malaysia, then they might sweep away the bubble threat, in fact may cause another round of price hike to Malaysia property, especially those high end unit...
 
http://www.starproperty.my/PropertyScene/AgencyNews/12219/0/0

Collapsed partition wall causing fear among condo dwellers

Collapsed partition wall causing fear among condo dwellers - StarProperty.my

Residents of Ken Damansara 3 Condominium, Petaling Jaya are going through a nightmare as the partition wall in front of the condominium has collapsed 10m into nearby Sungai Penchala.


To make matters worse, the wall opposite the condominium also collapsed due to erosion following continuous rainfall on Tuesday.


Three weeks ago, the perimeter wall surrounding the condominium had collapsed. Large amounts of soil and vegetation were swept into Sungai Penchala due to strong currents.


Part of a 40m retaining wall — from the condominium to the bridge near the SS2 Mall — also collapsed due to the strong currents.

Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) councillor Mak Khuin Weng said the situation was not getting any better. “I am unable to get the developer to agree to rebuild the retaining wall. As an immediate measure, MBPJ has to take responsibility and rebuild the wall and bill the developer. MBPJ has to do it as the safety of the residents is paramount,” he said.

This is so bad news, I have two colleagues live there. The developer few weeks ago told the press they going to be responsible and do something. After so many weeks where is the "take responsible and do something" ?? Mr Listed Company, you want to see Hulu  Langat incident repeat only do something mer....

http://wickinv.blogspot.com/2011/05/developer-accepts-responsibility-ken-3.html

Google Blogspot Bug

Not sure why, it is just so hard to write comment in this blog nowadays, the website just keep on asking me to sign in even though I have signed in.

For now, I will temporary enable anonymous mode until google fix this issues...

External Factor - Joint Management Body (JMB)

One of the factor you should consider when buying a second hand property (condo/apartment) is the strength of the Joint Management Body (JMB). JMB concept is made mandatory by government few years back to enforce each condo/apartment to form it own management team consist of the resident and the developer.

In short: A strong JMB committee will make your property value increase, and vice versa.

For your information, expenses of a condo/apartment is very high, it reach million per year. Therefore the income (maintenance fee + sinking fund) must tally and more than the expenses, else your condo will "loose face" sooner or later.

Go and flip through the AGM meeting minutes sent to you every year, you will be shock seeing how much money is spent on every single items. A team of guard may cost rm20k per month, Gardener + Landscapes material maybe cost rm8k, lift maintenance maybe rm15k, electricity rm10k and so so..... I can assure you is not cheap.

So now let's imagine, if your condo do not have enough money,
- How can you afford to repaint your condo every 5 years?
- How can you afford to maintain the lift and ensure it is working all the time? 
- How can you afford to hire Nepalese guard instead of cheaplak guard?
- How can you afford to hire gardener to maintain the landscape or just let the weed grow?
...many more....

On the other hand, every condo is live by many different people, with different personal interest. As JMB, they will receive all different weird request from those residents. Some may request JMB to provide drink and tower at Gym area, some request shuttlecock to be provided at badminton hall, more light install at certain area and etc. If a JMB is not strong and not able to balance which request should be fulfill and what is not, then you either sell your condo fast fast, or vote to change the JMB in next AGM.

Worse is when people have lost their trust to JMB, the those resident will stop paying the maintenance fee, means no income to the condo. Then lift will start not functioning, rubbish may only clean once a month and etc.... Flip through newspaper you will be able to see this kind of news almost every week.