Do we wish to stay with our parents? Same house or same area or same city? For those who answered same house, it’s good to plan for this even when we buy our property. Is there a room but it’s uncomfortable for them? Do we expect then to stay in the small sized maid-room? Whether we buy a landed property or a high-rise, if we intend to let them stay comfortably, better have that in mind. For example, if it’s a landed property, is their room on the ground floor or do they have to take the staircase? The latter is definitely not suitable and unfortunately many of the rooms are usually on first floor. A small store room may be on the ground floor. I think this serves as a reminder to all developers too. If we look at Malaysia becoming an ageing nation by 2030 or 2035, it’s time that these are designed into the home that will be launched soon.
Most of the time, our parents have been staying in landed property their whole lives. We may not want to work in our hometowns due to limited opportunities but if we intend to move them to stay with us, then it’s important to give them the space they need. Assuming we bought a landed property, did we take their needs into consideration? Mothers who love to cook, is our kitchen comfortable enough? Most of the time it’s best to separate and wet and the dry kitchen. Else, our mothers may not want to cook because then they have to do lots of cleaning after cooking. Please do not buy a place with the mindset that I may not be cooking much anyway and then when our parents come for a stay, they feel uncomfortable even within the house itself. Actually, even for high-rise, some are designed with a bigger kitchen space. Those may be needed.
For fathers who love to walk a bit in the morning, do we have the space for them do so? Can he walk to a nearby restaurant for a cup of his favourite Kopi-O? What about walking around the area? Is it safe enough? Are there enough greenery? Many landed homes nowadays would come with walking paths, especially those gated & guarded ones. For the high rise, it’s always good to have more space within if it’s not suitable externally. Perhaps a decent gym would be useful too for the modern fathers. As for my father, he prefers the walking around the garden type. What about space for both the parents and the kids? For landed, sometimes there’s a second smaller living room on first floor. Many times, what the parents want to watch and what the kids want to watch may be different. Occasionally, their favourite shows and our kids’ favourite shows would clash. Can we provide such space well in advance? They can watch together most of the time but sometimes, both parties can watch their favourite shows separately.
I think this is starting to come true. Just look at the number of new parents with young kids and many times, they would welcome their parents because they trust their parents more than maids, even if they have maids. I also think most of the newer designs already incorporate all these needed features into them. Buying a property requires more than thinking about what we need today. Babies would arrive within a few years’ time. Most of us love our parents. If that’s the case, start preparing well in advance even when we are buying our first property. Changing later is usually quite expensive and pretty inconvenience too. Happy preparing before buying.
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written on 12 Feb 2017
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