Property Virgin Feb 2011

This moth i am so lucky that my good property blogger and investor friend, haruki wants to share her experience in buying her first property to us.

Actually for me, she is 'taiko 2nd hand furniture' because she is very good in looking for and 'borong'ing 2nd hand furniture and appliances to be setup in her investment house for rent.

enjoy her story ya and do visit her blog for more of her experince.

Profile:
Nickname: Haruki
Gender: Female
Marital Status : Married
Age on the first purchase: mid 20s
Year on first purchase : 1999
Website: http://propertydance.blogspot.com/

what is your first property?Where is it located?
SD Tiara apartment located at Bandar Sri Damansara

Is it for own stay or for investment?
It was for our own stay, as J and I were getting married in 2 years' time.
When we bought it was a newly launched project.

Have u studied on property investment before the purchase? How?
No, never. It was just because at that time Bandar Sri Damansara (BSD) was a booming new development. Every time Land & General (the developer) launched anything, it created long queues and properties were quickly snapped up. Even for this apartment, I had to queue for it with my mother. There wasn't even a showroom. Luckily they provided chairs and a canopy outside their sales office.

what makes you decide to buy it? can u tell me the stories behind?
In 1998 my dad passed away. He left RM10,000 to me from his EPF. After his death, my whole family went topsy turvy, we have no property of our own and we were renting a house. My mom's brother (my uncle), bought a house in BSD earlier and thought that BSD was a very nice place to stay. My mom was always a believer that owning your house is better than renting. So when they launched this apartment in 1999, my mom encouraged me to buy with the start up capital from my dad's EPF.

Did you encounter any problems or difficulties for the purchase? What and how it resolved?
At that time I was just a trainee salesperson with a very low salary. I had problems getting a loan. Can you imagine I just went ahead, paid the booking fee and downpayment without even worrying that I may not be able to obtain a loan? At the end, J, my husband (then boyfriend) had to act as guarantor, his salary being slightly higher than mine.

Is it your dream house? Why?
No, it was just what we could afford at that time.
My dream house, I still can't decide between: a bungalow / semi-d with a garden, with a patio that I can put an outdoor wooden table and chairs, a micro-hifi for music, under a cool ceiling fan.
Or a high-rise condo with a breathtaking view, cool wind and quiet surroundings.

After the purchase, what's next?
By the time the apartment was completed it was 3 years down the road in 2002. We had already got married and even had my baby boy, and we "tumpang" at my mom's house. (By that time my mom also bought her property so that the whole family did not have to rent anymore.) Now, our priorities changed when we have a kid. Childcare support and being close to family were very important. So we decided to buy another apartment that is close to my mom, and we rented out the SD Tiara apartment. And we never thought about property investments again until years later, when my brother bought "Property Jewels" by Renesial Leong.

What is your advice to all property virgins and home buyers out there?

We got a couple to rent our apartment for a slightly lower rent than all the other units asking price at that time. Because we wanted to rent out quickly. But that was negative cashflow for us, every month "rugi" about RM200 (including the service charge). But we thought that was ok, the tenant was subsidizing the bank loan for us. Well, if that has only been for the first year, it would have been ok. But we just let the tenant go on renting for the next 7 years, without increasing the rent. And we never renewed the tenancy agreement after the first year. I think I was lucky in a way because the couple were very good paymasters, and that was why we never "kacau" them.

But I would like to advice all readers out there, always renew the tenancy agreement, and try to increase the rent reasonably with the renewals. Don't be like us, never agree to a negative cashflow.

Anything else to add-up?
If you want to start property investments, start by picking up a good local property investment book. It would have helped me avoid my mistakes.

Risiko pinjaman dan jaminan sewa

Semalam saya ada menerima satu soalan cepu emas susulan dari perkongsian saya mengenai Terminal Pahlawan DI SINI . Soalan dari tuan Derok, iaitu Salam, Saya ada beberapa persoalan 1. Bagaimana jika loan pembeli tidak diluluskan oleh bank setelah unit siap, adakah pihak pemaju akan pulangkan semula wang 30% tersebut atau beberapa % ? 2. Beberapa bulan yang lepas, saya ada ditawarkan program seperti ini, unit kediaman di Serdang, pemaju menjanjikan beberapa % hasil sewa, segala urusan sewa, pemaju yang uruskan, tapi saya tidak terima pelawaan itu, kerana "takut", apakah yang menyebabkan Cik Rohaniah membeli unit pahlawan ini selain dari hal persekitaran? apakah yang menyebabkan Cik Rohaniah percaya? Apakah dokumen2 yang harus kita teliti untuk mempercayai "program" seperti ini? saya tak reti bab2 under construction ni..mohon penjelasan. tq Pertamanya, saya nak ucapkan terima kasih kepada beliau kerana sudi mengunjungi blog saya. Walaupun blog ni tak bera...

Baca lagi

Seni Mengimbangi Attach dan Detach dalam Hubungan (Termasuk Friendship)

Dalam hidup, kita akan jumpa orang yang buat kita rasa selesa, seronok berbual, dan terasa ada connection yang baik. Tapi tak kira dalam hubungan cinta atau persahabatan, ada satu perkara penting yang kita kena faham—bagaimana untuk mengimbangi antara attach dan detach . Kalau kita tak kawal keseimbangan ni, kita mungkin akan terperangkap dalam hubungan yang tak sihat atau merasa terlalu terbeban dengan perasaan sendiri. 1. Fahami Kenapa Kita Attach Kadang-kadang, kita tak perasan yang kita terlalu melekat pada seseorang. Kita seronok berbual, berkongsi cerita, dan akhirnya kita letak harapan bahawa mereka akan ada untuk kita setiap masa. Ini normal, sebab manusia memang suka connection . Tapi, bila kita terlalu attach , kita mula letak expectation tanpa sedar—contohnya, kita harap mereka akan balas mesej cepat, selalu ada untuk kita, atau tak berubah dari cara mereka sebelum ni. Tapi realitinya, manusia ada hidup mereka sendiri. Bila mereka sibuk atau tak dapat b...

Baca lagi

Orang yang tidur sambil TV on. Ini sebenarnya berlaku dari segi psikologi manusia

Tidur kena senyap? Mana boleh... Nak senang tidur, kena pasang tv. ---- Aku la tu… jenis yang lagi senang tidur bila TV menyala. Kalau tak ada TV, bukak je iPad, pasang YouTube ke Netflix ke… janji ada bunyi. Hahaha. Siapa geng? Rupanya ada sebab tau dari segi psikologi, kenapa agaknya perangai macam ni wujud? --- Lari kejap dari topik travel... tadi saya terbaca satu artikel psikologi, katanya orang yang suka tidur dengan TV on ni sebenarnya ada 8 ciri personaliti tertentu. Bila aku baca… Iskkk… macam ada kena. Meh saya cerita semula 8 ciri psikologi untuk orang yang senang tidur atau memang selesa tidur sambil tv on ni. --- 1. Kita pandai “adjust suhu emosi” sendiri Ada orang bila stress, dia melenting. Tapi kita… pasang TV. Bukan sebab nak tengok pun, tapi bunyi TV tu macam aircond emosi. Bagi rasa selesa, tak terlalu sunyi, tak terlalu bising. Just nice. Balance. 2. Senyap tu sebenarnya bising gila Bila semua senyap, otak kita jadi makin bingit. Lagi tak sele...