Malaysian Home Buyers Guide (Part 2)

Hi Folks,

3. After Checking Land, Check Developer: Track Record, Development License, Sales Permit & Advertisement Permit

Yesterday, it was said that a Malaysian home buyer should 1st check whether the home (house, bungalow, semi-detached house, apartment, condominium apartment, apartment above shop or office, townhouse or simply any residence) he intends to buy is indeed sited on residential land and not commercial land - just to ensure whether the protections and safeguards under the Housing Development (Control & Licensing) Act (Act 118) apply.

When you do the above check on the land, obviously you will also check on whether it is a:

• leasehold land, or
• freehold land - if leasehold, how many years left? If you are non-Malay, check also that it is not
• Malay Reserve land.

Once you are satisfied with the land, the next thing to do is to check on the developer:

• developer's track record - experience of past customers? any stalled projects? delayed completions? finished products fell short of legitimate expectations? refusal to pay Liquidated Damages for late delivery of vacant possession?
• developer's license for the development - yes or no? still valid?
• developer's advertisement permit - yes or no? still valid?
• developer's sales permit - yes or no? still valid?

In my next post, i will talk about the time for completion of the home as per the standard Sale & Purchase Agreements of the HDA Act. Stay tuned.

Douglas.