GEORGE TOWN: PENANG-BASED developer Belleview Group is planning to build the largest shopping mall in the northern region in Prai on the mainland.

Its managing director, Datuk Sonny Ho, said the plans were still on the drawing board but construction work is expected to begin year end on a 6ha plot in Jalan Baru.

Without revealing the project’s gross development value (GDV), he said the proposed mall would be even larger than Mid Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur.

While Mid Valley measured 1.6 million sq ft (149,000 sq m) in nett space, the new mall in Prai would be some 100,000 sq ft larger, he said.

“This mall will have the biggest cinema complex in the country, offering 20 screens. The cinema operator has already confirmed the number of screens with us.

“The mall will also have the biggest departmental store and hypermarket.

“We are also going to build an ice-skating rink in the building,” he said, at a press conference here recently.

Also present were Belleview sales and marketing general manager Foo Yeok Heong and Belleview group retail and commercial division senior manager Lee Beng Beng.

Belleview is the developer behind the 1st Avenue Mall here and the ongoing Aman Central mall project in Alor Star, which is set to be the largest shopping complex in Kedah’s capital when the RM1 billion GDV project wraps up by Christmas next year.

Aman Central, an eight-storey mid-market mall in Lebuhraya  Darulaman, near the Alor Star Tower, will have 300 retail, food and beverage and family entertainment outlets covering over 760,000 sq ft (70,606 sq m) of space.

Ho said the Parkson Retail Group, Golden Screen Cinemas, Cosmic Bowl, WOW Karaoke Box, Brewball Sports Amusement Cafe and Holiday Planet were among the tenants who had committed to occupy the mall.

Belleview, he said, was also planning to build a new mall in Sungai Petani, Kedah, which would also be the largest shopping complex in the town.

The three  malls in Penang and Kedah are expected to be completed in the next 36 months.

Belleview also held several Chinese New Year launches for its Kulim Techno-City (KTC) Phase 4A2 and Phase 2A that featured semi-detached homes, bungalows and terrace houses; and the 27-storey Moulmein Rise luxury suite and retail gallery project in Pulau Tikus, Penang.

The company also opened its RM5 million branch office and sales gallery in Alor Star.

The sales gallery is exhibiting two show units of its RM200 million Amansuri Residences project, the first luxury condominium in Alor Star, with a floor size starting from 1,248 sq ft (115 sq m) per unit.

Belleview, Ho said, would also launch its RM70 million W Residence bungalow project in the middle of this year and complete its RM600 million All Seasons Park project in Bandar Baru Air Itam (Farlim) by year end.

Source: New Straits Times

Beryl Garden, a small residential development by Evergreen One Sdn. Bhd. in Balik Pulau, Penang. It has only 5  units of 2-storey and 5 units of 3-storey terrace houses, with land area size from 1,420 sq.ft. onwards.

Property Project : Beryl Garden
Location : Balik Pulau, Penang
Property Type : 2 & 3-Storey Terrace
Land Tenure: Freehold
Land Area: 1,420 sq.ft. onwards
Total Units : 10
Developer : Evergreen One Sdn. Bhd.

Beryl Villa, a small residential development by Evergreen One Sdn. Bhd. along Jalan Bharu in Balik Pulau, Penang. Comprises 12  units of 2-storey bungalow houses with three design types to choose from.

Property Project : Beryl Villa
Location : Balik Pulau, Penang
Property Type : 2-Storey Bungalows
Total Units : 12
Land Tenure: Freehold
Land Area: 5,000 sq.ft. onwards
Developer : Evergreen One Sdn. Bhd.

IF you’re planning to sell your house, then there are certain steps you should consider before putting it out on the market.

Here are some simple steps to follow to help you command “top dollar” for the house you plan on selling.

Get a registered estate agent

Hiring a registered estate agent can help you avoid getting conned and get the best deal possible, says Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) deputy president Siva Shanker.

“Always go to a registered estate agent and not to one that is not. There are plenty of them out there,” he says.

“By going to a registered estate agent, then you can be assured that you’re protected by law.”

Siva also says a seller should engage just one estate agent, if possible.

“Have just one estate agent to handle the deal for you. That way, there would be better accountability,” he says.

Publicise your sale

Once you’ve decided to put your house up on the market, the next thing to do is to ensure everyone knows that you want to sell.

“There are many ways to publicise this via newspaper ads or on web portals,” says MIEA president Nixon Paul.

Siva says one of the simplest and most effective methods to let people know your intention of selling your house is to simply place a sign on your gate or in front of your property.

“By doing this, chances are, more often than not, the potential buyer will come from the immediate neighbourhood,” he says.

Oddly, Nixon says that there are sellers that don’t actually want to publicise the sale of their homes, preferring instead to keep the whole transaction private and personal.

“Sometimes they might be in financial difficulties and don’t want people to know.”

Siva concurs that there are actually sellers that “prefer to keep things under wraps.”

“The seller should readily be willing to tell all and sundry that their house is for sale. With more people knowing, the seller would stand a better chance of negotiating a better price!”

Clean it up

When it’s time to let a prospective purchaser inspect the house, it definitely helps to “spruce” the place up a bit.

“It only makes common sense to make the property ready for viewing. One should spruce up the place and just make it look more appealing,” says Siva.

“When a prospective purchaser walks into the house, turn on the air-conditioning, spray a little air freshener to make it a pleasant experience.”

Nixon concurs that first impressions, especially appearances, can either make or break a deal.

“When the house does not look good, it would not be able to command good value.”

In Western countries, this is known as “staging,” which is essentially the act of preparing a home (and its contents) for sale, with a special emphasis on presentation and appearance.

According to US-based property website HomeBuyingInstitute.com, staging a home for sale normally involves things of an aesthetic nature, such as design, organisation and overall appearance (as opposed to mechanical or functional improvements).

The goal of staging is to improve the home’s appearance in the eyes of potential buyers, with the ultimate aim of selling the home more quickly and for the highest possible price.

Siva says that if the house is vacated, every effort should be made to make it look as habitable as possible.

“If a home is vacated for a while, it might look abandoned or even a little bit run down and a lot of people don’t want to spend money sprucing it up. By not doing this, you’re only doing a disservice to yourself.

“Even if it’s for rent, the landlord, instead of spending money to improve the condition of the home, would rather wait to secure a tenant first before deciding to do anything.”

He says the seller or landlord should spend money to fix whatever defects that are visible as soon as possible.

“A simple thing like giving it a fresh coat of paint would help to do wonders. Sure, a buyer might end up renovating the place soon after. But if he likes what he sees, the seller can command a higher value for the house.”

Is timing relevant?

Nixon says the timing of when to sell a property in Malaysia does not matter very much.

“To some degree, it doesn’t really matter. Of course, there tends to be a slowdown towards the beginning and end of the year as people tend to wind down during that time.

“And during the fasting month, the Malay community isn’t really looking to buy either.”

By EUGENE MAHALINGAM

Source: StarProperty.my

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) will study complaints and issues raised by the Citizens Awareness Chant Group (Chant Group) who protested on Saturday against a 27-storey luxury suite project in Pulau Tikus.

Council president Datuk Patahiyah Ismail said the council would also look into concerns over parking problems at the market due to the construction work.

“We are looking into the matter,” she told Streets, but declined to comment further.

On Saturday, some 150 Chant Group members and residents held a 45-minute protest against the Moulmein Rise project at the market in Jalan Pasar.

The protestors, who wore T-shirts bearing the slogan No to Moulmein Rise, shouted their objections as cars passed by.

Chant Group adviser Yan Lee questioned how the project, which was being built on land previously used as an open parking space, could have been approved as the location was surrounded by homes.

He said residents had not received any notice from the council to voice their objections to the project, which is required under Section 21 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1976.

Lee also wanted to know why the Traffic Impact Assessment report was not made public even though numerous requests had been made over the past year.

“Where is the Freedom of Information Act and CAT (competent, accountability, and transparent) from the state government in this matter? We have the right to know,” he said at the protest.

Meanwhile, K. K. Lim, 60, who lives opposite the construction site, said she was not served any letters seeking for her opinion or objection.

“Why was I not given the right to say yes or no to the project?

“I did not receive any letters from MPPP even though the project is on my doorstep,” she said.

Nor Sheila Mansor, 53, who works as a cashier at a cafe in Jalan Pasar, said business had dropped drastically over the last two months since the open car park was cordoned off.

“Our business dropped by 60 to 70 per cent, as many people chose to avoid this area completely.

The operator of Adam’s Famous Curry Puffs and Nasi Lemak stall in front of Sin Hup Aun coffee shop at the market said his business was also affected by the project.

The man, who only wanted to be known as Ady, 22, said he had to throw away 40 packets of nasi lemak as the demand had dropped, because of the worsening traffic congestion.

“I used to sell 1,000 curry puffs and 200 packets of nasi lemak daily.

“Now, I can only sell 700 curry puffs and 140 packets of nasi lemak,” he said.

Taman Berjaya resident K. Sundram, 56, who used to drive to the market for his daily marketing and breakfast, said it was impossible to find a parking space after the car park was closed.

“Now the council is clamping vehicles parked illegally, charging drivers a RM50 compound.

“I think MPPP should be more sympathetic since we have no place to park our cars anymore,” the retired accountant said.

Sundram, who was aware of the developer’s promise to provide 90 parking lots in the basement level of the project to replace the open car park, said MPPP should manage the new car park.

“If the basement car park is left to the council, then we can be assured that the parking rate will be reasonable, otherwise the rates may go up to RM3 or RM4. It could be even more expensive during the weekends,” he said.

Last month, the project developer, Belleview Group, assured the public that it would address their parking concerns by building a basement car park to replace the old open car park.

Managing director Datuk Sonny Ho had said that the parking charges would be reasonable. By Looi Sue-chern and Predeep Nambiar

Source: New Straits Times