The old adage when it comes to property buying, “Location! Location! Location!” still rings true today. The first step in your hunt for the perfect home is to figure out what city or neighborhood you want to live in.
This will significantly affect property prices. At the current market conditions, if you can afford a RM400,000 property, you may be able to get a two-bedroom condominium in Petaling Jaya or a double-storey terrace house in Kepong.
Once you have shortlisted a few locations, here are some questions you should ask yourself:
- Are there signs of economic vitality: a mixture of young families and older couples, low unemployment and good incomes?
- If you have school-age children or are planning to have child(ren) in the future, is there a good school nearby?
- If the property you are eyeing is under a strata title, check the rate for maintenance fees and sinking fund. Will you be comfortable paying this amount every month on top of your loan repayment?
- How is the traffic entering and exiting the residential area? Always opt for residential areas with more than one entrance and exit to avoid bad congestion during peak hours.
- Is the location strategic? Check if there are access roads or highways nearby for easy access.
- If it is a condominium or apartment, how many parking bays are provided per unit? Will it be enough? If you do not drive, is public transportation service available in the area?
Signing the Sales and Purchase Agreement
There are two types of Sales and Purchase Agreements (SPA) in Malaysia. Standard templates under the Housing Development (Control & Licensing) Rules 1989 are compulsory for incomplete properties sold by licensed housing developers registered with the Ministry of Housing and Local Authority.
For completed properties sold by housing developers, they can be sold using SPAs that are not based on the above templates. Housing developers can also apply for the use of their own SPAs due to exceptional circumstances if approved by the said Ministry.
Laymen may not be able to understand or identify different and new clauses added into this type of SPA. Hence, buyers would benefit from using a lawyer when buying from a housing developer.
The non-standard SPA is also used for properties sold in the secondary market. This type of SPA need not follow any specific templates. Again, the expertise of a lawyer is needed to ensure the SPA protects you as the buyer, and not just the seller.
