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How safe are G&G communities?

Property News/ 1 November 2014 3 comments

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear’. – H.P. Lovecraft

MUCH has been written recently on the mushrooming of gated and guarded (G&G) developments in Malaysia. Many of these developments have been the result of the steadily deteriorating state of security in our communities with regular reports of break-ins, kidnappings, rape and other acts of violence being highlighted daily in the newspapers and media. Our fear of this is nothing new except that the scale of it has magnified in the last 10 years.

When I look back, the first thing we did when we bought a house in the 1970s was to have it fitted with grills – for the doors, windows and any aperture that could give access to a criminal. We are used to living in virtual prisons, but these grills gave residents a sense of security.

Communities started to expand with the influx of foreign workers, both legal and illegal. Inevitably, these barriers presented no problems to a new wave of criminals who displayed much innovation in their approach to gain illegal access and entering homes. Crime had arrived big time on our doorsteps, and we were fearful.

These security concerns gave rise to the first of the G&G communities; some of the earliest examples which were Country Heights in Kajang, Tropicana in Petaling Jaya, the Mines in Seri Kembangan and Kelab Golf Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah in Kuala Lumpur. These early developments included golf courses, club houses and other amenities.

Condominium developments featured the G&G concept and became popular because they offered the same level of security. The popularity of the developments in Mont Kiara, Bangsar and Ampang in Kuala Lumpur is self-evident as they were well taken up by the expatriate community and wealthy members of our community. Developers seeing this as an excellent way of positioning their products for premium pricing started launching G&G housing and condominium projects on a larger scale.

These G&G developments come with perimeter fencing, a single ingress and egress point at the security guardhouse, 24/7 patrol guards, CCTV (close circuit television) systems (some even offering motion detectors) and a smart home relay system to the guardhouse to monitor visitors and to provide security feedback.

Within homes, there could be a Smart Home system installed, apart from the regular home alarm. There is another point in the Smart Home relay system that is linked to the guardhouse, which allows security feedback and monitoring of movement within the G&G community.

And, they were expensive to buy and live in. Estimates show that a G&G home can fetch as much as a 60% premium over regular homes. However, these are landed strata developments and as a result, all the amenities are owned by the residents and they have to pay a monthly maintenance fee and sinking fund as well as set up their own Management Corporation to manage the community after the developer hands over the development to the buyers.

Sometimes these fees can amount to as much as RM600 to RM1,000 a month.

Problems arise when some residents don’t pay up (some could be foreign investors who can’t be contacted) and so the residents living there have to pay more to maintain the level of service they require. With this price tag comes peace of mind as these G&G developments have a lower crime rate when compared to older developments that don’t have it.

Well, that takes care of the rich and famous but what about the rest of us Malaysians?

G&G developments account for a fraction of the 6.4 million households in Malaysia and many have to live with the daily fear I have described. Some communities have taken things into their own hands and this has resulted in makeshift arrangements like the pooling of resources to have a guard at the end of the road to register visitors who are coming in and leaving, or paying a company which promises to do patrolling services in the neighbourhood.

These services can cost as much as RM40 to RM200 a month with varying results.

It is not possible for the entire population of Malaysia to live in walled communities. What we need to do is tackle the problem at the source. In short, we need more “boots” on the ground from our police force, more patrol cars, increased lockups and more community police stations. However, the Government does not seem to have the budget to do this – but the local councils do.

If households can afford to spend up to RM40 a month for an old guy on a motorbike to patrol their neighbourhood, shouldn’t we instead, pay that amount to the local authority to improve the security in our towns and cities?

The provision of our security has always been the job of the Government of the day, and they are mandated to provide and pay for the personnel as well as the infrastructure (patrol cars, offices, police stations and accommodation).

What if it was the responsibility of each town or city to pay for the infrastructure and the Government only pays for the cost of the personnel? I honestly think that this could work.

Two things will happen. Each town will have a better paid and fully equipped police force with state-of-the-art facilities and the Government will be able to dispatch more police to control crimes.

Local authorities will have to ask resident owners to pay a “Security Assessment Levy”, which will be added to their current assessment payments that could be passed on to tenants (if the property is rented). I know that there will be howls of protest but aren’t these same people willing to pay anywhere from RM500 to RM12,000 a year for a sense of security?

A friend of mine who lives in a G&G community shared with me that his friends have stopped coming around because of the hassle of visiting him and he feels isolated from the suburb he lives in. He worries about his kids leaving the house to play with his friends outside his G&G haven and his wife is constantly on the lookout for snatch thieves. Living in a G&G community does not preclude one from potential criminal acts as it can easily happen outside the home.

The answer lies in providing us with better security and a better funded police force. We must start to find a formula that will work in the long run. Locking ourselves in is never a solution as it treats the symptoms but not the disease which, if not checked, could paralyse our society over time.

Source: StarProperty.my

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Aster @ Taman Pantai Indah

Sungai Nibong/ 1 November 2014 2 comments

aster-taman-pantai-indah

Aster @ Taman Pantai Indah, a residential development by Chong Company Sdn. Bhd. at Sungai Nibong. Comprises 14 units of 3-storey linked houses with built-up area from 4,100 sq.ft. onwards.

Each house comes with 5 + 1 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, internal courtyard, private back garden and optional private lift.

Property Project : Aster @ Taman Pantai Indah
Location : Sungai Nibong, Penang
Property Type : 3-storey terrace
Tenure : Freehold
Total Units: 14
Built-up Area: 4,100 sq.ft. onwards
Indicative Price: RM 1,800,000 onwards
Developer : Chong Company

Location Map:

 

New road linking Jalan Jelutong and expressway opens

Property News/ 31 October 2014 3 comments

Click to enlarge the map

A new link road connecting Jalan Jelutong to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway in Penang will be open from midnight today.

The 800m road, which is an extension of Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim, will connect the Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim, Jalan Perak and Jalan Jelutong intersection to the expressway.

More sections of Jalan Perak and Jalan Jelutong and a stretch of Jalan Panchor will be converted into one- way at the same time to ease traffic congestion in the area.

The conversion will be on trial run for three months after which the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) will decide whether to make it permanent.

The affected section of Jalan Jelutong is from its junction with Solok Perak to its junction with Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim, with the traffic flow heading that direction.

For Jalan Perak, the one-way flow will be from its junction with Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim to its junction with Solok Perak.

The affected stretch of Jalan Panchor is from its junction with Jalan Setiawan to its junction with Jalan Perak.

Besides the one-way conversion, traffic will be disallowed from making right turns from Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim to Jalan Jelutong, from Jalan Jelutong to the new link and from Jalan Jelutong to Jalan Tan Sri Teh Ewe Lim.

Traffic from Jalan Kurau will also not be allowed to drive straight across into Solok Perak.

State Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow, IJM Land general manager (North) Datuk Toh Chin Leong and MPPP engineering department officers visited the site yesterday.

Chow said the opening of the new link road completed the third and final phase of the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway project.

“We hope it will benefit about 80,000 vehicles that travel here and ease the congestion in the area, especially along Jalan Perak and Jalan Jelutong.

“The state government has yet to decide an official name for this road,” he said.

It was earlier reported that the RM70mil cost of the link would be borne by IJM.

Those who wish to send their comments on the new one-way traffic flow can do so via email to zainuddin@mppp.gov.my or by letter addressed to Pengarah Kejuruteraan, Jabatan Kejuruteraan, Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang, Tingkat 13, Komtar, 10000 Penang.

Source: StarProperty.my

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First-time house buyers to gain

Property News/ 30 October 2014 No comments

HBA is happy that more affordable homes are to be built under Budget 2015 and DIBS ban stays.

The National House Buyers Association (HBA) wishes to thank the Prime Minister for the measures announced in Budget 2015 to build more affordable homes for the rakyat.

HBA is grateful that the Prime Minister rejected calls from the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia and other groups with vested interest to reintroduce Developer Interest Bearing Scheme (DIBS) for first-time house buyers.

DIBS

The HBA is glad the Government has continued to heed our call to ban DIBS or any permutation that entails interest capitalisation.

Developers, being entrepreneurs, have to be responsible and bear the risks that come with their investment. They should not be allowed to enjoy profits at the expense of house-buyers who bear the risks on their behalf. Thus, when developers claim that DIBS is good because they “assist new purchasers”, they should be asked to use the Built Then Sell (BTS) 10:90 concept instead if they are sincere in not wanting to shift the risks to the house-buyers. Developers, being profit driven, merely want to sell their products, by whatever means. They even recommended DIBS for first-time house buyers on the guise of “assisting them”. We are glad the developers did not succeed in this endeavour.

The prohibition of DIBS in Budget 2014 has been effective in curbing the unbridled escalation of house prices. DIBS must continue to be prohibited and outlawed. Do not allow first-time house buyers to be sucked in.

Budget 2015

Among some of the measures announced is the Youth Housing Scheme, which is a smart partnership among the Government, Bank Simpanan Nasional, Employees Provident Fund and Cagamas.

The scheme offers a funding limit for a first home not exceeding RM500,000 for married couples aged between 25 and 40 years with household income not exceeding RM10,000. The maximum loan period is 35 years.

Under the scheme, the Government will provide monthly financial assistance of RM200 to borrowers for the first two years to reduce the burden of monthly instalments. The Government will also give 50% stamp duty exemption on the instrument of transfer agreements and loan agreements.

It will also provide a 10% loan guarantee to enable borrowers to obtain full financing including cost of insurance. Borrowers can also withdraw from Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Account 2 to top up their monthly instalment and other related costs.

Hence, HBA urges young people to grab this opportunity which is offered on a “first-come first-served basis” for 20,000 units only.

While the scheme is laudable as it aims to assist married youths to own their own property, HBA urges some caution as providing a monthly cash subsidy of RM200 may send a wrong message. The said family may start to spend beyond their means during the first two years and may end up in financial difficulty when the government stops giving the cash subsidy after two years. In addition, HBA has always cautioned against so-called “Zero Entry Cost” properties whereby the buyer does not need to make any down payment as it may encourage and promote irresponsible house buyers. House buyers must understand the intricacies of taking responsibility as an owner. They must pay their dues – quit rent, assessment rate, maintenance charge, sinking fund, insurance premium and budget monthly expenses. It is very important that they pay monthly instalments to the bank. It is not surprising to hear of lower and middle income homeowners losing their homes for not being able to keep up with payments.

HBA also urges the Government to impose a restriction that properties under the Youth Scheme cannot be sold for the first 10 years, similar to properties under the 1Malaysia Housing Programme (PR1MA).

Additionally, the scheme must be for “first-time house buyers” and must be owner-occupied.

Additional measures are:

  1. PR1MA to build 80,000 affordable houses and eligibility raised from monthly household income of RM8,000 to RM10,000;
  2. National Housing Department to build 26,000 units under the People’s Housing Programme with an allocation of RM644mil; and
  3. Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd (SPNB) to build 12,000 units of Rumah Mesra Rakyat and 5,000 units of Rumah Idaman Rakyat. SPNB will also build 20,000 units of Rumah Aspirasi Rakyat on privately-owned land.

HBA is grateful that the Government has taken the initiative to build more affordable houses. However, HBA cautions on the right implementation to ensure the said affordable housing reaches the target market. Government agencies must be mindful – and keep reminding themselves – of the following adage: “Build the right number at the right location for the right population at the right price and with the right type.”

The affordable housing must be built at the right place and priced reasonably (between RM150,000 and RM300,000 and not more than RM400,000 for prime locations) and only for first-time house buyers and not to be made available for second-time house buyers which PR1MA is allowing with certain conditions. Don’t ever build where there is no population, just for the sake of building and meeting key performance indicators (KPIs).

PR1MA must also ensure that all the allocated land are used to build affordable housing and not to partner with private developers whereby only 40% of the land (from what we understand from the market) are for affordable properties with the balance used for lifestyle properties to build commercial and high-end properties.

HBA further opines that the best agent of delivery for private affordable housing, notwithstanding PR1MA and SPNB, are private developers. The Government can boost the delivery of affordable housing by giving incentives and rebates to private developers building affordable housies such as:

  • Lower corporate tax rates;
  • Lower land conversion premiums;
  • Fast-track release of unsold bumiputra units; and
  • Lower compliance costs.

To enable more people to own their first home and reduce the cost of buying a house, the Government has agreed to extend the 50% stamp duty exemption on instruments of transfer and loan agreements and increase the purchase limit from RM400,000 to RM500,000. The exemption will be given until Dec 31, 2016.

HBA agrees with measures to assist the lower and middle-income group to acquire their own properties and to prevent any abuse of these measures, the assistance should only be given to first time house buyers.

The Government also agrees to improve Skim Rumah Pertamaku under the purview of Cagamas by raising the ceiling price to RM500,000 in line with the stamp duty exemption. In addition, the age of borrowers to qualify for the scheme will be increased from 35 to 40 years.

HBA agrees with the these measures and further recommends that there be no age cap as there are many older low and middle-income groups who have yet to own their first property.

Conclusion

The curbs announced and implemented under Budget 2014, i.e. increase in Real Property Gains Tax (exit costs), the loan-to-value and prohibition of DIBS have achieved its objectives in partially deterring speculators and “bogus” house buyers. It has also bought some sense of orderliness to the housing arena. We have appealed to the Government to adopt more measures in Budget 2015, especially the increase in stamp duties (entry costs).

The current stamp duty regime can be maintained for the first two properties held, one being for own stay and one for long-term investment. However, stamp duty must be increased for the third and subsequent properties. Our recommendation for stamp duty is as follows:

  • First two properties, based on current scale rate;
  • Third property – flat 5% of value of property;
  • Fourth property – Flat 7.5% of value of property; and
  • Fifth property – Flat 7.5% of value of property.

HBA’s proposal will not penalise the majority of the rakyat who can only afford to buy two properties.

HBA is prepared to wait and see the performance of the property market as to whether “speculators and bogus” house buyers will remain to “play” the market. We are sure that our Prime Minister and his advisors are fully aware of the situation and could always expeditiously implement this proposal in Budget 2016 if “speculators and bogus” house buyers were to plague the housing market.

>> Chang Kim Loong is the honorary secretary-general of the National House Buyers Association, www.hba.org.my, a non-profit, non-governmental organisation manned purely by volunteers.

Source: StarProperty.my

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Taman Tasek Harmoni

Simpang Ampat/ 28 October 2014 153 comments

Taman Tasek Harmoni, a mixed development by Loyal Greenworld Sdn. Bhd. along Jalan Tasek in Simpang Ampat, Penang. It is adjacent to Pearl City by Tambun Indah, just a short drive away from Simpang Ampat town center.

The residential phase of this development comprises 73 units of 2-storey terrace and 12 units of 2-storey semi-detach houses. Selling price for the standard 2-storey terrace house starts from RM378,000 onwards. The commercial component has 18 units of 2-storey shop offices.

Property Project : Taman Tasek Harmoni
Location : Simpang Ampat, Penang
Property Type : 2-Storey Shop Office, 2-Storey Terrace and Semi-Detached
Land Area: 1,356 sq.ft. (Terrace), 2,228 sq.ft. (Semi-D) onwards
Built-up Area: 1,775 sq.ft. (Terrace) 1,798 sq.ft. (Semi-D) onwards
Tenure : Freehold
Indicative Price : RM378000 onwards
Developer : Loyal Greenworld Sdn. Bhd.
Contact Number : 04-5078980, 012-4270366

Location Map:

[streetview width=”100%” height=”250px” lat=”5.285078″ lng=”100.499009″ heading=”128.77474157987058″ pitch=”2.8061288739592243″ zoom=”0″][/streetview]

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