Malaysia Money Matters

I have decided to look for properties that I can afford to buy in cash... don't want the hassle of taking loans. However, to be on the safe side in terms of the transfer and so on, it is actually better to take a loan because of the due diligence done by the bank. They will make sure the transfer is effected properly before they release the loan; cash buyers need to be very sure on the procedure in case they get duped. Anyway, just my thoughts on the matter...

I'm definitely no expert on foreign exchange. Was just thinking while walking back from lunch, as one does, that the degree of volatility doesn't seem to make sense. More so if people take the exchange rate as a proxy for your economy - while it does have bearing if the rate is long term and sustained, the sudden drop in currencies like MYR and Brazilian real doesn't jive with the economic fundamentals. For example; we are still growing... our GDP growth is still positive compared to lots of other countries. We are still exporting a lot of goods despite the lower demand - after all, people around the world still need vegetable oil, petroleum and so on. The problem is that if the speculators can sustain their attacks and the western media keeps repeating the same "bad news" / bad spin, then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Sigh ... what can one do? I think to help the country, we must spend internally - to keep the momentum going. Of course, one sho

It was announced that property developers can apply for the licensed money lender permit that will allow them to provide loans to their buyers by the Minister for Urban Development. The rate is supposedly capped at 12%. About a couple of days after that, the 2nd Finance Minister came out to say that the idea is not feasible as there are many risks and costs to all parties concerned. Today, it was reported that this matter was not even discussed in Cabinet yet, so why did Noh Omar announce the money lending permit in the 1st place? So let's break it down a little bit: Technically, there is nothing wrong with a developer applying for a money lender license. It's just whether they want to or not. The government is implementing the Rent to Own concept. The 2 ministers are cornering the developers by first offering them the poison chalice of the lending licence then taking it away. The developers are now put in the position of: If they take the lending license, th

I found a small commercial unit with an asking price of below 100k. Possibly something to buy in cash, no hassle with loans. However, it is in a fairly low cost area so capital appreciation might be a challenge? But the returns are decent at 7% based on the current rental being paid by the tenant against the asking price of the property. Of course if the rental was raised and the price is bargained down, the return increases. Going to view the place soon, hope it is a good deal.

The location for this development by the Beverly Group seems kind of good, at the main crossroads of Jln Setiawangsa, Jln 34/26 and Jln Mohd Yatim Yahaya. It is diagonally across Riana Green East and opposite Infinity 3. Freehold. Yeah! There was a soft launch and the showhouse looks like it's almost ready. Would be something I'm interested in as an investment. It is fairly low density at 428 units. Close enough to walk to the Sri Rampai LRT station - although if the developer is smart, they should offer a shuttle service to the station during rush hour, or be innovative - hire some mat rempits to make some extra cash in the morning ferrying people to the station LOL The crossroad is being upgraded and expanded right now to alleviate the heavy traffic jam at the traffic lights, so should be better flow in future (haha who am I kidding, it will only be smooth for a while before more and more people move into Seasons Garden, Irama, Infinity and the new block at Rian

Upcoming launch of a project at the border of KL and Selangor! LOL The earthworks have been ongoing for a while and the show house can be seen to be nearly completed, that's why the siding now has the name of the project along with the number to call for registration. The information available is that the developer is Kerjaya Prospek Group - they have completed a few projects so far: 222 Residency, 288 Residency, The Shore and Veridian Cheras Idaman. Based on the location of this new project, I think there are more pros than cons - so, tl:dr version is I think it's good. Let's break it down: Location - the corner of Jalan 6/27A and Jalan 1/56, it is currently in a very quiet and green part of Setiawangsa. Here are the maps: As you can see from the Earth version of the map, the trapezoid is the earthworks for Setiawangsa Residency. Fengshui-wise, the position is good: It has a mountain behind (Bukit Dinding) signifying strong support and the Klang River is

I was talking with a young acquaintance - friend of a friend - who was thinking of changing his car. Now, to be fair, this young man had recently recovered from a year of medical treatment for his cancer and he's now back in good health. So naturally, he's probably thinking of "rewarding" himself by getting a spanking new car that's way above his budget! Honestly, I DO understand very much how he would feel, wanting to get a powerful new car is a great feeling for most guys! Right right? But I probed a bit more and the financials doesn't make sense. He hasn't had any increase in salary but he is employed in a stable, semi-government organisation that is profit-generating, so no worries there vis-a-vis job security. In fact, his employer covered all his medical bills which is great for him. So after some brainwashing hehe he did settle on booking a smaller car while he thinks a bit more about it. My advice to him was to think strategically. Don&

Was at a mall just this morning and there were a few developers promoting some of their projects. Interesting thing is, this time around, they are trying to push through the remaining handful of units that they have left - usually 20 or 30 units still unsold and the project is about maybe 70% or 80% complete. They are also giving away rather generous rebates - I didn't have much time to go through the details but the sales lady quoted me 25%! So while you'd still have to pay the 10% initially which is quite substantial too because the unit in question was at 1.4 million, you will get it back from the developer. Then you'd end with applying for a 75% margin of finance loan but that is in effect a 100% loan. Same conundrum lo - are you truly getting a 25% discount or are you paying the true market value which is actually 75% of the quoted price? Anyway, the situation now that buyers can take advantage of is that these projects are almost done - the risk of abandonment

I created a simulator based on price, loan paydown, market value, profit on sale (including RPGT) and compared against using the same cash outlay into FD or investments. Running the 2 investment options against each other, while property wins in the long run, the returns actually flatten out over a long period of time because a cash investment (e.g. even at the safest asset class which is FD) gives an ever growing rate of return while a property's value growth slows after 8 to 9 years! That explains why mortgage portfolios price their rates on an 8-year longevity. Here is the final result of the simulation with the RPGT in place means that while you are better off holding in FD for 5 years, your maximum return is within the 7-9 year window before the property value growth begins to flatten: So you would break even at year 5 and have to hold for a few more years - up to 10 or 11 if you want to cash out more but that's up to you. update: Some anonymous reader

Not sure if this is launched but the details are up at the Guocoland website already  but not on iProperty. Anyway, looking through it, I quite like the 2-storey bungalow design called Sage whereby they have made the length of the lot (66 feet!) into the frontage. The house's footage is about 2,000 sq ft only at 66 x 33 , not sure of the entire lot but there is a curving driveway into the house which is very posh! Love it .. prices for the project is from 1.5MM to 3.9MM. Purely for own stay and enjoyment, I reckon. Not for investment or rental income for sure! Oh I'm sure the value will increase over time but not like a fast flip for quick profits. Those days are gone and while I believe they will come back when the next big wave comes, I don't think that is going to happen for the next couple of years.

I am honestly a bit taken aback at the sudden rush of cash flow and savings that occurred within the past couple of months. To wit: Bonus - zomg, it is the biggest I have ever had in my whole (long) working life! 6 figure bonus. Very grateful and happy.  Salary Increment 10% Got about a 30k discount on the car I bought 3k on insurance return - this is a regular thing every few years but I tend to forget about it so it's a nice 'surprise' 8k on a cancelled MRTA that was sent to me like 8 months ago but I didn't get the mail because it was at the old address Saved about 5-6k on airfares using up all my points - non-cash for sure but savings is still income by accounting rules. Or as Benjamin Franklin said a penny saved is a penny earned. Cash back on sale of old car - 24k, gave half to parents for holiday spending. Latest EPF announcement of 6.4% dividend - by my calculations, that would be around 30k wow... I attribute all this to following Buddhist teachi

This development is out of my league but I must say, it is very attractive. Being on Jalan Conlay, a stone's throw away from Pavillion and the developer is building the Kempinski hotel tower as well next to it! Aiyo, if only I was a multi millionaire who can buy a unit in cash - the pricing is from RM1.8 million to RM5.6 million - size from 700 sq ft to 3,500 sq ft. By location, by design - all on point. It's one of those buildings that just so sophisticated and so perfectly placed. Like OMG. The only "bummer" about it is that the target completion date is December 2020. Yes, a full 5 years plus - well, quality takes time? Hmm .. perhaps I should set myself a target whereby I will be able to afford to buy into & live in that building post-2020 (using cash money!) ; well provided that I still want that urban sophisticated lifestyle la... I could be retired by then and having a slower pace, then Conlay 8 wouldn't be suitable for that kind of lifest

Firstly, on a macroeconomic level, I think this is a good move. Increasing disposable income will increase consumption, hence increase overall economic output - thus the economy will continue to grow. Taking a more nuanced view - even if a lot of the increased income flows to debt reduction, this means less pressure on capital requirements on bank balance sheets. However, revenues will suffer slightly in the short term but in the medium term, this frees up capital to lend - this will stimulate growth. So the debate is raging on social media on what should one do and there are of course all sorts of accusations and pictures of calculations showing how much you will pay on GST, taxes etc .. there are so many angry people out there... sigh My suggestion is very simple - You Do What is Best for YOU . Don't Listen To People Telling You What They Want You to Do Just Because That Is What THEY Want To Do Themselves! So what is best for you? I've broken it down to 3 main categ

First time in my life I received such a substantial bonus! OMG! And I also got a 10% increment! One telling thing that my boss mentioned in front of everyone is that I don't complain. I may look shell-shocked at the amount of work he piles on me BUT I don't complain he he he Guess that could be one of the factors why he gave me so much.... Also because during the discussion on the bonus people, my peers were all showing him their unhappy look and I was keeping quiet, then he asked me what did I think and I blurted out that in all my years of working in international banks, this pool looks very generous already so I'm happy with it - then he burst out laughing and that, I think, probably contributed towards my payout - also because budget-wise, I "gave back" a substantial portion of my allocation due to some circumstances so that helped I guess. SO .. the big question is, what should I do with the money? At the moment, I shunted the whole lot into a 1 mon