Until 30 June 2022, those who are eligible to buy affordable housing (RMM) in Penang Island and Seberang Perai will enjoy a 10% reduction in selling price.

Elaborating further, state Housing, Town, Country Planning and Local Government Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said that State Government implemented the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) with the aim of stimulating the Penang’s property sector affected by the COVID-19 pandemic thus providing opportunities to eligible Penangites. to have a more comfortable residence.

“RMM, for units with a built-up area of ​​850sq.ft to offer at the new price of a maximum of RM270,000.00 in Penang Island and RM225,000 per unit in Seberang Perai.

“If the developer wants to maintain the old price of RM300,000.00 in Penang Island and RM250,000 in Seberang Perai, the size must be increased to a minimum of 900 square feet,” he explained during a question and answer session at the Penang State Assembly here on 2 September 2021.

Apart from that, he also explained that housing developers are also required to provide various facilities for common use such as leisure areas, multi-purpose halls and reading rooms (if maintaining the old price).

He added that the State Government is also planning Rent-to-own (RTO) affordable housing scheme with a target of 22,000 residential units.

“To date, a total of 2,501 RTO units have been identified and offered periodically, most of which have been offered.

“The State Government will continue to look at other suitable projects to implement the RTO scheme to address the challenges in securing a loan for RMM Type A and B. This includes RMM at Mak Mandin and Murai Jaya,” he explained, adding that he is still discussing with relevant developers to also offer RMM type C under RTO scheme.

Earlier, Pengkalan Kota assemblyman Daniel Gooi raised a question on the State Government’s initiative to stimulate the growth of the housing development sector in Penang during the pandemic period.

He also asked the Exco to explain about the forms of assistance from the State Government offered to the people who wish to buy their first home, now.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

In conjunction with the 64th National Day, the Group today launched its nationwide Vax to Win Campaign to promote the Covid-19 vaccine amongst Malaysians. Prizes include a resort-inspired condominium and units of executive apartments as well as gift cards.

Aspen Group President and Group Chief Executive Officer Dato’ M. Murly said “vaccination is a silver lining in the storm of Covid-19. Vaccines are effective in preventing deaths and hospitalisation from Covid-19. Studies have also shown that vaccines significantly reduce the transmission of the virus. If the majority of Malaysians get vaccinated, we can achieve a degree of normality and recover from the Covid-19 crisis. We hope that our nationwide Vax to Win Campaign can help to drive up the national vaccination rate.”

Every fully vaccinated Malaysian in possession of their vaccination digital certificate is eligible to take part in this campaign.

“It is our way to recognise and reward Malaysians, who have come forward responsibly to get vaccinated and became part of the solution. We wish to make this year’s National Day a remarkable one for all Malaysians as we stand united to battle against this deadly pandemic,” said Dato’ M. Murly.

Encouraging Malaysians to get vaccinated, the Vax-to-Win campaign registration is open now until 31 March 2022 via www.VaxToWin.aspen.com.my.

Interested participants can register by uploading their digital vaccination certificate, answer a few simple questions and create a catchy slogan based on the theme “Emerging Stronger for The Nation” in no more than 20 words.

All Malaysians who meet the eligibility criteria are entitled to one (1) entry for the Vax to Win Campaign. More entries can be gained by purchasing Aspen Group’s properties. Existing purchasers with successful referrals can also gain more entries.

A live ballot will be broadcasted on Aspen Group’s Facebook page on 1st May 2022, to shortlist 28 participants who will be eligible for the prizes. The slogans submitted by these 28 participants will be evaluated by a panel of judges in accordance with the slogan evaluation criteria to determine the respective winners of the Grand prize, 1st – 3rd prize, 4th – 7th prize, and the consolation prizes. The winners of the Vax to Win Campaign will be officially announced on 8 May 2022.

The Vax to Win Campaign prizes are as below:

• Grand prize: One (1) unit of Vertu Resort
• 1st – 3rd prize: One (1) unit of Vivo Executive Apartment
• 4th – 7th prize: RM15,000 IKEA gift card

20 Consolation prizes:

• RM10,000 IKEA gift card (x10 winners)
• RM5,000 IKEA gift card (x10 winners)

To find out more about the Vax-to-Win campaign, its terms and conditions and eligibility, please visit www.VaxToWin.aspen.com.my.

For more information on Aspen Group’s ongoing programmes, kindly visit Aspen’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/myaspengroup or call Aspen at 1300 30 5000. Alternatively, you can find more information at www.aspen.com.my and www.aspenglove.com.my.

Work on the RM200.3 million Gurney Wharf project is expected to start in the fourth quarter of this year after delays in the project due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.

State executive councillor Jagdeep Singh Deo told the Penang state legislative assembly today that the planning permission and building plan for the project was submitted to PLANMalaysia Seang on May 11 and July 15 respectively.

“The planning permission was approved on principle with minor amendments on July 12,” he said in reply to a question regarding the progress of the project by Lee Chun Kit (PH – Pulau Tikus).

The local government, housing and town and country planning committee chairman said the appointed consultants for the project have also submitted an application for approval of landscaping works on July 2 and this is still under consideration.

“The Public Works Department has been appointed as the superintendent officer on August 6 and as a technical adviser for the project since this is a fully funded state social project,” he said.

He said the consultants are preparing a tender document for the project and it is now being finalised.

“The open tender is expected to be called this month,” he said.

He said once the main contractor is appointed through the open tender, works will start by the fourth quarter of this year.

The construction period of the project is expected to take about three years but the state has also added a conditional one year as the defect liability period until the fourth quarter of 2024.

“The whole project is fully funded by the state government at an estimated cost of RM200.3 million,” he said.

The project is divided into two phases where phase one is made up of a children’s playground, a skate park, a viewing deck, public toilets, a promenade, hawker kiosks, retail area, convenience stores, surau, refuse centre, a multilevel carpark and a recreational and landscaped park.

Jagdeep said phase one of the project is expected to complete by the fourth quarter of 2022 when it will be open to the public.

As for phase two, he said it consists of a portion of the landscaped and recreational park, additional hawker kiosks, public toilets, carparks and a drainage and irrigation system that is expected to complete by the fourth quarter of 2023.

The state appointed seven consultants that included architects, engineers and an environmental consultant to manage the project.

The Gurney Wharf project is located on a 40 acres site of reclaimed land on the Gurney Drive foreshore.

It is part of the total 131.09 acres of reclaimed land off Gurney Drive that was handed over to the state government progressively.

Reclamation works along the Gurney Drive foreshore started in 2016 and reclamation of 131.09 acres (53ha) of land was completed in September 2019.

The reclamation work was conducted in accordance with a concession agreement signed between the Penang state government and Tanjung Pinang Development Sdn Bhd (TPD), a subsidiary of Eastern & Oriental Berhad.

Under the agreement, TPD was to reclaim the land at its own cost and handover 131.09 acres of reclaimed land along the Gurney foreshore to the state government by December 2022.

In earlier news reports, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow had said the Gurney Wharf project was expected to cost RM176 million.

Source: MalayMail.com

Proposed residential development by Asas Dunia Berhad at Sungai Bakap. Located on 29 acres of land along Jalan Sungai Duri, immediately opposite Taman Seruling Emas. It is about 5km away from Penang-Kedah border, a 5-minute drive from North-South Expressway Jawi Toll Plaza.

The development will feature 313 units of single-storey cluster houses and a community hall. Part of the land will be reserved for future developments.

This project is still pending approval. Details to be available upon project launch.

Project Name : (to be confirmed)
Location : Sungai Bakap
Property Type : Residential
Total Units: 313
Built-up Size: (to be confirmed)
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer: Asas Dunia Berhad

DISCLAIMER: This article is solely based on research done using publicly available data. This is not an advertisement. Any claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a project or service should be verified with the developer, provider, or party in question.

The Malaysia Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) has launched the MIEA Landlord Insurance policy which will help landlords gain independence against the risk of runaway tenants, rent arrears together with potential damages to their asset or property when faced with bad tenants.

“As property agents, there is not much agents can do to help landlords with errant tenants except to pre-qualify them with the resources available to us. Today, MIEA is proud to say that agents can provide a second level of protection for their clients through this policy,“ said MIEA president Chan Ai Cheng in a statement yesterday.

The MIEA landlord insurance coverage will include:

• Reimbursement of loss of rental income due to tenant runaway.
• Legal expenses for letter of demand.
• Pay for amount incurred for losses or damages to contents due to malicious acts of your tenant.

The policy also cover additional benefits such as:

1. Reimbursement of cleaning services charges incurred when the contents of the premises are destroyed or damaged by tenants;
2. Reimbursement of costs incurred for repairing or replacing doors, locks, access card and Keys following the loss or damage caused by tenants;
3. Reimbursement of amount incurred for the replacement of glasses (including shower door and windows) due to damage caused by tenants;
4. Reimbursement of amount incurred for services such as plumbing, drainage, air-conditioning and toilet malfunction due to damage caused by tenants; and
5. Reimbursement of losses due to theft or burglary committed by tenants.

Chan further explained that this policy was designed and developed to provide the minimum coverage with a minimal annual premium of RM280 per unit (less than RM24 per month).

“We want the real estate profession to grow and be at par with other countries. Our motivation of introducing this policy is to protect the public and to provide an environment for agents to be competitive in enhancing their services, which will set them apart from others. This will augur well for the profession and for the Malaysian property market. Both landlords and agents can also sleep better with this additional protection which will step in should untoward losses occur,” said Chan.

MIEA’s insurance partner Howden Insurance Brokers has designed this policy with the mandate from MIEA.

Meanwhile, MIEA is also concerned at the new trends in the property market. In most of the developing and developed countries, the enforcement on those who breach the law and carry out estate agency practice illegally or under the guise of doing a different trade is highly regulated.

To take two examples, a non-real estate firm is set up as a “consultants” usually to market projects for developers and collect fees for introducing buyers which by law is not allowed (Section 22C ACT 242). Secondly, tech firms or new start-ups are now part of a larger community of those who are carrying out real estate transactions and operating without registering themselves with the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and property managers (Bovaep). It is important to note that all who wish to practise any form of estate agency must be registered with the Bovaep, the regulators of the profession.

MIEA CEO & past president K. Soma Sundram highlighted that these tech companies were told that they are breaking the law, they guise as insurance brokers to bypass the law thus avoiding enforcement by the authorities. Their modus operandi is to attract tenants by not collecting deposits from them and ask landlords to take up an insurance scheme to protect them against tenant.

“The premiums they collect for this policy are far higher than the actual cost of the premiums to be paid. For example, they collect one month rental and after deducting the premiums they use the balance as their fees. This is clearly a strategy to bypass the Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers Act which only allows registered agents to collect and hold deposits and collect fees for service rendered in a real estate transaction.”

It is also illegal to collect any monies and deposit such monies in a company’s current account and not in a clients account as required by law. This goes against the very grain of public policy. This hurts the industry indirectly in that the landlords pay a lot more than the fees payable to agents.

“MIEA requests that the Finance Minister and Bovaep as regulators make a serious effort in managing this concern and to look at the ‘lacuna’ that exists within ACT 242 on matters of illegal brokers.”

Source: TheSunDaily.my