The state government is thinking of allowing developers to sell a certain percentage of affordable units priced between RM200,000 and RM400,000 to buyers who do not meet the financial requirements.

Penang Housing, Town, & Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said these buyers were not eligible to be on their list but they had to be first-time buyers.

“It is okay if they have incomes that exceed our limits but they must be purchasing their first homes.

“We may allow the developers to sell about 30% of the affordable units to buyers not on our list,” he said at a press conference on the Malaysian Secondary Property Exhibition (Maspex) 2015 which will be held from today to Sunday at Queensbay Mall.

According to the present guidelines for buying an affordable home in Penang, the applicant needs to be a voter and worker in Penang.

For affordable property on the island, the net salary of a buyer must not exceed RM6,000 for a RM200,000 unit, RM8,000 for for a RM300,000 unit and RM10,000 for a RM400,000 unit.

In Seberang Prai, the net income must not exceed RM6,000 for a RM150,000 unit, RM8,000 for a RM200,000 unit and RM10,000 for a RM250,000 unit.

* List of affordable housing in Penang *

“We are also considering a 10-year waiting period before allowing buyers outside the list to sell their affordable homes.

“Another condition we want to impose is to have the developer selling to buyers outside the list to surrender an affordable unit to us for every 10 units they build,” he said.

Jagdeep said the state government was also exploring the idea of introducing a new range of affordable property priced between RM120,000 and RM150,000 for those earning a net income between RM3,500 and RM6,000 per month.

“This is because the rejection rate for the current affordable units is still high.

“A total of 3,948 eligible applicants have applied for housing loans so far this year but about 30% were rejected,” he said.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (Penang Branch) chairman Mark Saw said that there would be more than 3,500 secondary homes priced between RM350,000 and RM2mil on display at the Maspex exhibition.

“Penang’s property market saw a slight drop in the last quarter and the market has been moving downwards since..

“There are still some good buys in the secondary market where prices are gene- rally lower by 15% to 20% compared to the primary market,” Saw said.

Source: TheStar.com.my

The Penang government will consider introducing additional affordable housing categories into the property market.

State housing committee chairman Jagdeep Singh said these units will be priced at between RM120,000 and RM150,000 because purchasers were finding it difficult to secure loans for affordable housing units currently priced between RM200,000 and RM400,000.

* List of affordable housing in Penang *

He said the rejection rate for loans is currently about 30% and urged financial institutions to relax the conditions of home loans for first-time purchasers.

He said making it difficult to secure financing for homes affected not only people in Penang but the entire country.

“It is time for banks to perform some corporate social responsibility initiatives,” he told a press conference today.

Earlier, Jagdeep said the third edition of the Malaysian Secondary Property Exhibition (Maspex) will be held at Queensbay Mall beginning Thursday. It will showcase more than 3,500 properties on the secondary market, with prices ranging from RM350,000 to RM2 million.

Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents Penang branch chairman Mark Saw said there are good buys in the secondary market.

“Prices are generally lower by some 15% to 20% compared to the primary market,” he said.

Source: TheSunDaily.my

Property developers are still faced with operational issues that come with the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), after the consumption tax came into force four months ago.

In a forum to address this issues at the recently concluded Fiabci-Penang International Roundtable Property Conference 2015, Ernst & Young Tax Consultants Sdn Bhd Partner Yeoh Cheng Guan said property developers are faced with several operational issues concerning GST.

“One such issue is registration of GST with the Royal Malaysian Customs. Property developers tend to register new companies for any development to be undertaken, and usually these companies do not have any income, but when you register with Customs, you need to be able to highlight that there is taxable turnover for the company within the next 12 months,” said Yeoh.

He added that the issue arises owing to the nature of the property development business, where there is a long gestation period from the time of development to the point of sale, or when cash is received.

“Twelve months is a short period of time for property developers [to be able to justify their income projections],” he explained.

Meanwhile, property developers who have problems in registering for GST, or did not register at all would lose out on input tax credits.

“For developers of commercial developments, all input tax credits, which is the GST that was charged by suppliers, all these costs are claimable. However, the catch is if you are not registered with customs, you will not be able to claim on whatever GST costs incurred at the development stage prior to earning any income,” said Yeoh.

Another issue plaguing property developers concerns joint land development agreements (JLDA) and how to treat the GST that comes with such arrangements.

Under JLDA arrangements, land owners are handing over a right to develop the land to the property developers, and under GST law, it is considered a supply of services and is subject to GST.

“The issue that comes into play is how do you determine the absolute amount for the right to be charged, as this is something that is usually determined at the end of the project, depending on the yield generated, so what happens now [is that] there is an estimation amount charged by the land owner, and this could then potentially lead to issues of under-declaration of GST and so forth,” said Yeoh.

For residential developments which are GST exempt, the issue surfaces when there are additional fittings to the units, such as air-conditioning, heating system and automatic gate system, which are all subject to GST.

“Supply of residential properties with basic fittings is GST exempt; when there are additional fittings involved, the developer has to recognise the GST for these items as a cost of doing business [and this is where some operational issues arise],”said Yeoh.

He added that property developers need to be on their toes on GST issues, to ensure that their operations are not affected by the implementation of the consumption tax,

On the impact of GST on property prices, Yeoh said that in general, the impact would be a minimal 3%.

“Why this impact is a minimal 3% is because prior to GST implementation on April 1, 2015, developers were already subject to sales tax, and had already factored that into their developments,” said Yeoh.

Source: TheEdgeProperty.com

A proposed guarded residential development by Asas Dunia Bhd. in Bukit Mertajam, Penang. It is located next to Taman Jernih, only a short drive away from Maju Jaya Business Center. Other neighbouring communities include B Garden, Taman Alma & Taman Permata.

This development comprises:

• 3-storey bungalow (2 units)
• 3-storey semi-detached, type A (10 units)
• 3-storey semi-detached, type B (12 units)
• 3-storey semi-detached, type C (20 units)
• 2-storey semi-detached (4 units)

More details to be available upon project launch.

Property Project : (to be confirmed)
Location : Bukit Mertajam, Penang
Property Type : Residential (Guarded)
Indicative Price : (to be confirmed)
Developer : Asas Dunia Bhd. 

[streetview width=”100%” height=”250px” lat=”5.345907″ lng=”100.48069800000007″ heading=”81.5326212560739″ pitch=”-0.14837149180312156″ zoom=”0″][/streetview]

We tend to forget the meaning of community living while climbing the career ladder to put food on the table and the kids through private school. Urban Malaysians live in private spaces, outsourcing our community responsibilities to our maids and elected representatives. In fact, we outsource everything outside our own nests, especially in the management and maintenance of apartment buildings and common property.

Given the sharp increase in the number of Malaysians now living in apartments and the popularity of gated communities, the authorities have introduced the Strata Management Act 2013 (SMA 2013), which came into effect on June 1. It replaces the piece-meal regulatory framework of before with a coherent system that takes into account lessons learnt about how Malaysians organise themselves, or fail to.

SMA 2013 provides clearer provisions on the management of all stratified residential and commercial buildings in Peninsula Malaysia. It replaces the Strata Titles Act 1985 and Building and Common Property Act 2007 on strata management, and puts higher standards of governance on the members of the residents’ management committee, as well as on all residents (owners) in the same development.

Are you an owner or tenant of an apartment or a house in a gated community? Here are five things you need to know about what SMA 2013 means for your lifestyle.

1. Pay now, or pay (lots) more later

In general, the collection of monthly maintenance charges for the upkeep of common facilities and property in the neighbourhood is a task worthy of Hercules.

SMA 2013 says you have to pay your maintenance charges and sinking-fund contribution within 14 days of being asked to in writing by the management committee. And if you don’t? You’ll be charged interest on the amount owed at 10% per annum calculated on a daily basis.

So forget about famously flexi-Malaysian time. You pay for being late. Those who pay on time should not have to subsidise (or contribute to the interest earnings) of those who do not.

2. Think you can afford to be late? Think again

And there’s more about late-payment interest in SMA 2013: it prescribes by-laws that function as the house rules or deed of mutual covenant for your development. (These can be found in the third schedule of the Strata Management (Maintenance and Management) Regulations 2015.)

In plain English, the management committee now has explicit legal authority to disable any electronic access card or transponder to deny defaulters access to common facilities, including their designated parking bays — until they pay up in full. The management committee may also charge a reactivation fee of up to RM50 for electronic access cards and put up a list of defaulters on the residents’ notice board.

3. Your destiny, in your hands: Residents can now take charge of their own affairs earlier than before

Residents (owners) can now gain control of the management of their development much earlier than previously.

This is because the developer must call for the first annual general meeting (AGM) within one month of 25% of the all share units in the development being registered to their respective owners,

After the AGM, the developer must then handover management of the development to the management committee within one month.

Stuff you might be interested to know: the statutes and regulations that govern delivery of strata title upon the delivery of vacant possession to purchasers are the SMA 2013, Strata Titles (Amendment) Act 2013, Housing Development (Control and Licensing) (Amendment) Act 2012 and the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Regulations 2015.

4. Volunteer, for real. Because it’s not just a thankless task but you can go to jail for it

Previously, there was no restriction on management committee members holding office for consecutive terms. Now, SMA 2013 makes it clear that no committee member shall hold office for more than three consecutive terms. Are you the chairman, secretary or treasurer of your residents’ management committee? Then you can’t hold office for more than two consecutive terms.

Despite the fact that most committee members are unpaid volunteers, they face a fine of up to RM250,000 or imprisonment not exceeding three years or both, in the event of any breach of their obligations.

5. The new Act has teeth: Meet the Strata Management Tribunal

To give effect to its provisions, SMA 2013 has established the Strata Management Tribunal, which has jurisdiction to hear cases where the sum in dispute is not more than RM250,000.

The maximum fine the tribunal can impose on a party found to be in the wrong is also RM250,000.

Who can file a claim with the Tribunal? The developer, purchaser, proprietor, joint management body (the precursor to the residents’ management committee) and the residents’ management committee are all entitled to file a claim with the tribunal.

Matters that can be brought before the tribunal must relate to strata management. No legal representation is necessary to appear at a hearing unless it involves complex issues of law, or one party will suffer severe financial hardship if not legally represented.

The award made by the tribunal shall be final and binding on all parties and be treated as a court order.

So, how now…

SMA 2013 stipulates the rights and responsibilities of each party in a strata development. Nonetheless, the purpose of communal living has always been self-management and self-sufficiency, with the active participation of all residents in the neighbourhood.

And remember: a steady cashflow goes a long way towards paying contractors on time and their motivation, and work performance. That’s why it’s imperative to pay your maintenance fees on time.

Chris Tan is a lawyer, author, speaker and keen observer of real estate locally and abroad. He is founder and managing partner of Chur Associates. If you have questions that you would like to ask Tan, please go to the Tips section of theedgeproperty.com.

Disclaimer: The information here does not constitute legal advice. Please seek professional help for your specific needs.

Source: TheEdgeProperty.com