Buying a house in Malaysia?

[slimboyfat]

I am thinking about buying a house in Johor as a weekend / holiday home. They are cheap as chips compared to Singapore (where I have an extortionate leasehold 1400 square foot piece of air 19 floors up).

Any idea on the restrictions for foreign ownership in Malaysia? I heard they are fairly relaxed.

Cheers

sbf

[Scandinavian]

I'm curious to this too, nobody knows anything?

[kingwilly]

Apartments dead easy to buy, houses I dont know, but they have a pretty good website with info about it.

MM2H


Make Malaysia My Second Home... not sure the link

[Frankenstein]

'
Any foreigner may purchase any number of residential property in Malaysia, subject to the minimum rates established for foreigners by the different states. They start from RM500,000 per unit for most states, from 1st January 2010. Land is a state matter and it is important to check state laws before making any commitment, as the minimum purchase price is not standardised between states. '

From House Purchase

[slimboyfat]

Where's Panama Hat when you need him?

Whoops, sorry Frankenstein, thanks for that

[Larn]

Does anyone know if they still have these restrictions? I'm going back 25+ years now.

Only a Bhumiputra can buy a house owned by a Bhumiputra

Do they still have dual pricing? The Bhumiputra price used to be advertised about 20% lower than for others.

[Frankenstein]

I should leave this to those who have more first hand experience but for what it is worth the Malays I talked to in Penang last year all claimed that many tiered pricing is normal, and that as a Western foreigner I would be quoted a higher price on any property than the locals would.

[kingwilly]

Here's the official government website.

Malaysia My Second Home

[Lostandfound]

Not sure about house but i hear it's much easier than Thailand. I used an agent to process all the Mm2h paperwork when I bought a condo in Kl

I thought the paperwork kafkaesque, and was happy to let the agent do the running around.

Incidentally, on prices, I bought my apartment at 850 mr a sq ft. They are swapping hands at 1300-1400 sq ft now. I wish I'd bought four of them instead of buying in Thailand at same time.

Pm me if you'd like contact details for the agent.

[Loy Toy]

I reckon Johor Baru is great and I am thinking about doing the same thing and if the business takes off down there.

Less then an hours drive to Changi or downtown Singapore and the people seem really nice.

I will be watching this thread with interest.

[kampungboy]

There are no restrictions for foreigners to buy anymore, apart from that the house has to cost at least RM 500k (depending on the state, but most states have the 500k threshold). You just need to inform the Foreign Invest Commitee that you are buying, only for houses above RM 5m will you need FIC approval.
There are still restrictions for certain lots of houses. New developments reserve a certain amount of houses for Bumiputeras (basically the people who originate from people who have lived around the year 1500 in this area, mainly Malays...). Bumiputeras ('Sons of the earth') are given a Bumi discount of 15% in Johor (5% in KL) and land reserved for Bumis can generally not being bought by non Bumis (i.e. other Malaysians or international buyers), but there is an exeption: if the developer can not sell the property he can apply for 'Bumi release' meaning the state government releases the relevant plot from the restriction and it an be bought by anyone.

Any questions let me know ralf[AT]myproperties.asia.

[kampungboy]

PS: Near Singapore are two areas which seem interesting for property investment, both are located in Iskandar Malaysia - a regional development area:
- Johor Bahru, an established city which is currently being revamped, located at the first bridge to Singapore
- Nusajaya, a brand new city which is currently being developed: see nusajayacity.com, located at the second bridge to Singapore.

[Pol the Pot]

..., but there is an exeption: if the developer can not sell the property he can apply for 'Bumi release' meaning the state government releases the relevant plot from the restriction and it an be bought by anyone.

...[AT]myproperties.asia.

Stay away from bumi land and you won't have those problems.

No comment on the other stuff, e.g. 1500 years on the land etc....