When purchasing real estate in Malaysia, the most two important factors in selecting a house are price and location, just like everywhere else in the world. However, there are Malaysia-specific real estate location selection criteria. For example, a main problem such as water leakage is related to monsoons in Malaysia.
Table of Contents
1. Real Estate Prices
2. Location - Accessibility To Main Roads And Public Transport
3. Safety And Neighborhood
4. Noise and Noise Between Floors In A Condo
5. Rain, flooding, Brightness, And Ventilation
6. Location of Nearby Shopping Malls and Stores
Real Estate Prices
No matter where you buy a home in the world, location and price are the most important factors when purchasing real estate. Location and price are also the most important factors in Malaysia.
Malaysians are said to be willing to spend between 300,000 and 500,000 ringgit to purchase a property. Real estate loans in Malaysia allow for 90% of the home value to be repaid over a maximum of 35 years. In Malaysia, real estate can be repaid in 35 years, and cars can be repaid in 9 years.
However, it is not easy for Malaysians to get a loan for 90% of the house price. Typically, Malaysians take out a loan of 70% to 80% of the value of their home. And the loan limit for Malaysians purchasing their third property is up to 70%. Sometimes, there are bank products that provide loans of 95% or 100% of the value of a house in Malaysia.
Additionally, your real estate loan may be rejected. In my case, I applied for a loan from three banks, but one bank rejected the loan during the loan review process. For foreigners, if they have a Malaysian Retirement Immigration (MM2H) visa, they can get a loan of up to 80%, and if they do not have a retirement immigration visa, they can get a loan of up to 70%.
The interest rate on loans from Malaysian banks on 90% of Malaysian property prices is 4.4% from 2.89% in August 2021. Typically, loan interest rates range from 3.1% to 3.3%.
In the case of a 500,000 ringgit property, if repaid over 30 years, you will have to repay between 1,800 and 2,000 ringgit per month, including interest.
Location - Accessibility To Main Roads And Public Transport
The location of a property is as important as its price. The location of a property may vary depending on the buyer of the property. Public transportation infrastructure is limited to people who live in a certain remoted area. So the proportion of public transportation such as subways in real estate purchases is relatively small. Moreover, in Malaysia, the subway is only available in some areas of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor states.
However, in Malaysia, more people commute by car than by public transport, so a property located close to major roads is an advantage. And in addition to the location of the workplace or company, the most important place is the school. In Malaysia, most children drive to school or use private school buses, so being close to school is a good idea.
However, if you live too close to the school, you will hear the school's broadcast live at home.
Safety And Neighborhood
In South Korea, neighborhoods related to school districts are popular. But in Malaysia, I think that real estate prices do not vary significantly depending on the school district. However neighborhoods here are largely divided into Bumi and Chinese neighborhoods. The Bumi neighborhood is where Malays live, and the Chinese neighborhood is where Malaysian Chinese live.
Real estate in Chinese neighborhoods is said to be more expensive and more valuable. Just because it is a Chinese neighborhood does not mean that only Chinese people live there. Although there are Malays and Indians living here, more than half of the neighborhood is predominantly Chinese.
Bumi neighborhood is where many Malays live. Likewise, Chinese and Indians also live in Bumi neighborhoods. Malays often have large families. Which neighborhood where you are living is related to safety overall.
Noise and Noise Between Floors In A Condo
Noise is an external factor that affects the satisfaction of a home when actually living in it, other than location and price. I visited the condo unit twice before to rent it.
However, when I actually lived in a condo, I was bothered by motorcycle noise in the morning and evening. Motorcycle noise, especially late at night, lowered the quality of living.
A person who lives in the same condominium building also said that he was satisfied with living in the condominium, except for the noise from motorcycles. I was so bothered by motorcycle noise that when I bought a new house, I went to the apartment in the evening and checked twice for noise, including motorcycle noise.
So, I bought a house and am living in it, but I can't hear the noise of motorcycles. And other than the noise of the motorcycle, you can hardly hear any other noise.
Rain, flooding, Brightness, And Ventilation
Water leakage, brightness, and ventilation in real estate are fundamental factors that affect satisfaction with residence. Water leaks are a major problem in real estate, especially in Malaysia, where it rains a lot.
Condominiums are relatively free from water leaks compared to houses. In the case of houses, water leaks may occur depending on the condition of the roof tiles. So, if there is a water leak, you need to repair the tile, apply waterproof paint, or replace the tile.
The lifespan of Malaysian house tiles is approximately 20 to 30 years. Real estate remodeling companies say that roof tiles from the past are more resistant to leaks than roof tiles from today.
Condominiums are also less susceptible to flooding than houses. Sometimes, when there is heavy rain, you can see houses in Malaysia with their yards being flooded. Of course, the heavy rain stops quickly and the water drains quickly. However, if the yard is habitually flooded every time it rains, the house is in trouble.
So, as part of purchasing real estate, I went to a house I was considering buying on a rainy day. This was to check whether drainage was proper during heavy rain.
Malaysian houses are often rectangular rather than square. In Southeast Asia, houses are long on one side. The long rectangular shape on one side makes it easy to avoid the sweltering heat of Southeast Asia. However, the rectangular center space may be dark due to lack of light. That's why Malaysian houses have simple windows in the roof to brighten the central space.
Ventilation is important in any Malaysian house or condo. In poorly ventilated homes, the air conditioner must be kept on. It's not bad to live without air conditioning as long as you keep the windows open for ventilation. In the case of a condo, leaving the front door open for ventilation has the disadvantage of exposing one's privacy. Of course, if the unit is located at the end of a condo hallway, you can avoid such disadvantages.
Location of Nearby Shopping Malls and Stores
Local people usually eat out or get takeway food, so it is convenient to have a shopping mall or store nearby. If you have to drive more than 10 minutes to get takeway food, it's just tiring. However, it is very easy to find shops near houses in Malaysia. However, it is not easy to find a large shopping mall nearby.
Having a large shopping mall nearby makes life easier in many ways. Because if you live in Malaysia, you have a lot to go to the shopping mall. The weather is hot and it's hard to go outside, so when I'm bored, I go to the shopping mall.There are two large shopping malls near the property I purchased this time. One is within walking distance, but I've never actually walked there. As mentioned above, walking on the roads during the day in Malaysia is not recommended.
It would be nice to have a market nearby as well. When I bought and moved a house, the distance from the market became considerably longer, so naturally the frequency of going to that market decreased significantly.
Acutally there are many more to consider living in a house. What do you think?
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