Too many choices they say when it comes to property. Well, then research before buying a property, please.
Every property looks so attractive. It seems that everything is complete. Some allows us to just move in with out suitcases! Some gives us back money too. Meanwhile every question to the sales person seems to be answered with valid answers too. Well, here are also 4 things we could research by ourselves prior to buying.
#1 – MRT / LRT or whatever other public transportation with a T within 10 minutes away. Please do NOT ask the sales person for this 10-minute rule. Usually, 10-minute rule would mean a distance of around 5km. Please use google maps instead yeah. You could change the time to the peak hours in the morning too. Do take a look at images below.
Yeah, do ask if there’s the MRT transit buses for example and the frequency too. Not driving could actually save us hundreds of ringgit every month too. It’s just RM100 per month for unlimited MRT rides. (click here to read) With this first point, it is easy to rent out too if we are not staying in the property ourselves.
#2 – Population. Current population, if possible unless we have good holding power or if it’s for own stay. I have friends who bought in some places which are 45 minutes away from the city centre. One refused to move there and thus renting out the unit for lower than his instalment. Another is staying happily in her new home and using 2 hours daily for the to and fro driving.
Drive around the area we intend to buy, if it has all the usual amenities such as schools, hospitals, malls and McDonalds etc, chances are the population in the area is already sufficient to support the amenities. No malls are crazy enough to open when there’s no one staying around the area, right? How many private hospitals we know where the number of patients were so few it is forced to shut down? 😛 If enough people stay around, it’s usually pretty okay to buy.
#3 – Representation of major developers in the area. There are some developers who are able to build one whole township by themselves. It will take time yeah… It pays to ask the sales person this question. Besides you, who are the other developers around this area. What are they building currently? The empty pieces of land, are they owned by developers? If so, who are they? If the sales person could not answer, get their manager. If their manager could not answer, get out of the sales gallery. 🙂 Sorry sales people, you need enough information for your buyers, else why are you earning commission from the sale?
#4 – Potential future developments? New MRT station coming up under the MRT Line 2 (SSP) maybe? New expressway which is already halfway being built and should be completed within 12-24 months and the builder is a well-known name in the industry? A new private hospital being built and it’s being managed by names you have heard before? Say hospital brands under IHH healthcare Berhad? They own the Gleanagles and Pantai hospitals. Or hospitals under Ramsay Sime Darby? It does not mean the hospitals managed by them will all be doing great. It simply meant the chances that these hospitals will suddenly being abandoned will be much lower.
Okay, I guess these 4 should be enough to keep you busy in your research before buying any property with a much higher potential in future. As usual, there is no such thing as sure-profit-big-big with property investment. However, buying without anything beyond just the words from the sales people will be much more dangerous. All the best in your next property investment decision.
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