Davita

MM2H has been available since 2002 and property has been available to purchase with this visa, by foreigners, since inception. The only difference has been adjustments in minimum price to prevent foreigners from cutting locals out of the lower-cost home ownership.
I wish my own home country (Canada) was as progressive. Speculative, and questionable, foreign purchase has prevented young Canadians from entering their own property market.

InVinoVeritas

Actually you do not have to hold an MM2H visa to able to buy property in Malaysia. The rules vary by state but on Penang Island the minimum property price is RM2 million for foreigner purchasers (no limit on number of properties) but for an MM2H visa holder the minimum price is RM500 thousand (maximum of two properties).

bakedbean

Yikes, has that changed? I thought it was RM 1 million for non-MM2H foreigners buying a condo.

JC3

Since February 1, 2014 the rules (for foreigners) are:
MYR 1 million for all types of property in Penang State
BUT MYR 2 million for landed property on Penang Island

But the threshold is only RM500,000 if you have MM2H as stated by IVV above.

JC3

InVinoVeritas

Sorry, yes, RM1 million for a condo on Penang island for non-MM2H'ers

TheTerran

The road ahead seems quite intuitive:

1.) Go on tourist visa and rent for about 5 years while I save money.
2.) Then after 5 years settle down, get MM2H, buy a property.

bakedbean

It's a plan but just go with the flow and try it out. See what happens. And see if you actually enjoy life in Penang. Some do. Some don't. We are all different.

All sorts of things may or may not happen in the future. You might meet some gorgeous Penang lady and then the option of a Long Term residents pass is available

TheTerran

So are foreign (i) tourists and (ii) MM2H holders able to open a bank account in Penang? How legal is that?

In my first year how will I pay for my rent? I guess it might just be a case of sending money across internationally by using my online banking (?)

Gunnar45

You may be able to open an account, it depends on the mood of the bank clerk and also on how much money you want to put in.
It may also be easier once you have registered the utilities for the place you rent to your name and can show the bills as proof of long term commitment.

bakedbean

As Gunnar says.

SushiFan

I don't know about tourists, but a person who can show that his/her MM2H application has been approved can open a Malaysian bank account legally. In fact, it is even necessary because you need to place a fixed deposit (one of the MM2H requirements after you receive the approval letter). Getting money into that account is indeed a matter of international money transfer. In my case, I indeed use online banking for such money transfers from Europe to Malaysia.