British Expats

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-   -   Planning to visit Penang (https://britishexpats.com/forum/malaysia-148/planning-visit-penang-871844/)

Haachi Feb 4th 2016 9:32 am

Planning to visit Penang
 
Hi there

My husband and I are planning to visit Penang in late May/early June 2016, for a holiday but also to investigate property with a view to retirement in Malaysia. My husband has investigated the My Second Home programme extensively.

Can anyone help with contacts for viewing types of property available please? I realise there may not be estate agents in the well known form - not sure. We would like to see what sort of houses/condos are about and get to know the property market better. Obviously we have looked at property online but there may be aspects that are not so obvious that we would like to investigate.

We will be staying in Georgetown at the E&O Hotel.

Many thanks :thumbup:

bakedbean Feb 4th 2016 1:04 pm

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 
Hello and welcome to the forum :wave:

I've split your post out from the Penang Food thread to your own topic, as it's a different subject. Re MM2H you will see that we have a dedicated section on here about retirement so do have a good browse through the existing topics. You'll find a lot of information on here.

If this is your first trip to Penang and you're considering retirement, I would recommend you hire a car and familiarise yourself with the very different areas around the island, especially from Gurney Drive over to Batu Ferringhi where most retirees are.

I'm sure you will enjoy the E&O but remember that George Town is not Penang, so do view areas with retirement in mind, if that is what you are planning.

Enjoy.

Haachi Feb 4th 2016 4:42 pm

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 
Hi and thanks - I'd already realised it was essentially the wrong thread so I started a new one as well!

We do intend to take a good look around.

JC3 Feb 5th 2016 2:14 am

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 
Hi Haachi,

Welcome to the British Expats Malaysia forum.

Can I suggest you make another post on this forum?
Once you have made three posts people can send you a Private Message (PM). You are more likely to get personal recommendations through PM than in the open forum.

If you could provide some more detail, it may be easier to point you in the right direction. E.g:
  • How many times have you been to Penang?
  • How familiar are you with the island, locations etc?
  • Where will you be moving from?
  • Are you looking to rent or buy?
  • What month do you intend to move to Malaysia?
If you intend to rent and the time lapse between your May/June recce and the start date of your tenancy is more than a couple of months, I think you may find many owners’ agents won’t help you much / or are unresponsive. They want a fast buck.

I suggest you engage your own agent to work on your behalf. That way you get someone that can speak the language, make the appointments, drive you around in their car to view, point out pros and cons etc. Doing this on your own is very hard work.

Normally you would pay your agent a commission only once you rent, equivalent to about two weeks rent – but you can agree any terms you like. If you’re not going to rent for a while and it’s only a recce maybe a flat fee arrangement would work best.

You are spot on about there being “aspects that are not so obvious”. There are plenty of pitfalls to be aware of, many of them discussed on this forum. I think your best bet is to try to meet some expats already living in Penang whilst you are there in May/June.

Meanwhile, I suggest iproperty.com.my is one of the best property websites for getting an idea of what’s available to rent or buy. For properties on Penang Island located in the areas that are most popular with expats I suggest:
Under ‘All States’ you select: ‘Penang’
Under ‘Areas’ you select:
  • Persiaran Gurney (Gurney Drive)
  • Pulau Tikus
  • Tanjong Tokong
  • Tanjung Bungah
  • Batu Ferringhi
  • And possibly ‘George Town’
It may be worth noting that the advertised asking prices are often way higher than what you can negotiate. For rentals I'd suggest a discount of 15% - 40% is achievable (there's an over supply in Penang).

Blimey, I'm beginning to sound like an agent.
Don't worry, I have nothing to sell you!

JC3

SushiFan Feb 5th 2016 7:53 am

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 
If you intend to rent a place: do you want it furnished or unfurnished? A lot of owners seem to assume that foreigners arrive with nothing but a suitcase of clothes. So condo's are often fully furnished to the level that there is virtually no space to add anything of your own. Unfurnished, or partially furnished, condo's are more difficult to find.

Haachi Feb 5th 2016 9:32 am

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 
Thanks for the replies - we are interested in any advice/information we can get. It's all very helpful. :thumbup:

Haachi Feb 5th 2016 9:45 am

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 
Thank you particularly JC3. In answer to some of your questions:
~We've spent time in Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur but not Penang so far, although other family members have visited Penang and loved it. We have travelled a fair bit in the Far East/South East Asia.
~We would be moving from England.
~Rent/buy? Good question. Whatever is the most suitable once we have seen more of what's on offer. Buying property is ingrained in us, but it may not be the best option here, which is what we want to try and establish.

Your comment about time lapse is very relevant as this is a fact finding mission with no immediate emigration plans.

Best,
Haachi

JC3 Feb 5th 2016 11:40 am

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 

Originally Posted by Haachi (Post 11858572)
Thank you particularly JC3. In answer to some of your questions:
~We've spent time in Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur but not Penang so far, although other family members have visited Penang and loved it. We have travelled a fair bit in the Far East/South East Asia.
~We would be moving from England.
~Rent/buy? Good question. Whatever is the most suitable once we have seen more of what's on offer. Buying property is ingrained in us, but it may not be the best option here, which is what we want to try and establish.

Your comment about time lapse is very relevant as this is a fact finding mission with no immediate emigration plans.

Best,
Haachi

Hi Haachi,

OK great. I'll send you a Private Message (PM). You should see a Private Messages link at the top right of your screen.

JC3

bakedbean Feb 5th 2016 10:49 pm

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 

Originally Posted by Haachi (Post 11858572)
Buying property is ingrained in us, but it may not be the best option here, which is what we want to try and establish.

Best,
Haachi

Yes I am like that too. There are both Pros and Cons to Renting or Buying and you just have to work out which is the best option to suit you.

Personally I would not wish to rent long-term but that's mostly because I am thinking of the long-term plan and later retirement, and don't fancy being moved around rental wise when I am in my senior years.

If you were thinking of buying from an investment point of view, I personally wouldn't bother, since markets are so volatile.

I see more and more friends selling up and renting here in Penang. It is a Renter's market right now. So many empty flats. But, of course, you are always at the mercy of the Landlord.

SushiFan Feb 6th 2016 6:19 am

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 
But I think it is wise to mention the "lock up" period when you buy property: a foreigner is not allowed to sell his/her property shortly after buying it.

bakedbean Feb 6th 2016 7:29 am

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 
Yep, true Sushifan. There is a 3 year lock-in in Penang for foreigners. You cannot sell your property until 3 years after signing the S&P. That includes new-builds. So, if you bought a unit for something not yet built, the clock starts ticking from the time you sign the S&P.

And there's RPGT, Real Property Gains Tax, as well :( Best to be sure you are going to stay a while.

SushiFan Feb 6th 2016 7:39 am

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 
Exactly. I had forgotten the details. But because of these limitations have I decided to rent first (a couple of years?) before deciding whether I do want to stay here for a real long time and buy property.

bakedbean Feb 6th 2016 7:59 am

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 

Originally Posted by SushiFan (Post 11859406)
Exactly. I had forgotten the details. But because of these limitations have I decided to rent first (a couple of years?) before deciding whether I do want to stay here for a real long time and buy property.

Very wise.

I must admit I (we) jumped straight in and bought a new build off-plan (something we said we would never do) but we've always done daft things. Anyway, I'm still living here 6 years later so I guess it wasn't too bad a choice.

Haachi Feb 6th 2016 4:21 pm

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 
It's great to hear of all your personal experiences - thank you. This is the sort of information we need to know. I don't like the idea of being moved around renting-wise but we need to think the options through very carefully.

We will gather together a little file of info for our visit in May/June. We would not be looking to buy investment property over in Malaysia, only somewhere to live.:fingerscrossed:

Haachi Feb 6th 2016 4:35 pm

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 
On a more hobby-ish note - I am a keen horse rider and would always want to carry on riding if I could. I see Countryside Stables has a good reputation (thinking of this on the holiday coming up as well) - does anyone know about the horsey scene in Penang, costs etc?

kebi Feb 9th 2016 10:38 am

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 
Buying or renting is really a difficult decision in Penang. If you see it from the financial point of view the result will be renting. As BB says due to the oversupply this is a tenant’s market in the moment. With good negotiations you should get an apartment around/below RM 2/sqft per month which has a market value of RM 600 to 700/sqft. If you add up furnishing, maintenance fees and others you will realize your ROI is below 3%.

On the other hand you will have to live with the taste of your landlord. It is extremely difficult to find partly furnished (kitchen, air-con, fans , lights and curtains) properties. From my experience you will have to live with a compromise. A free translated German saying would be: “are you still renting or did you start living already”. If you buy for yourself and do not look for a ROI from rent income you might prefer buying.

Whereby I would not recommend to buy when you come here the first time. You will need to check if you like Malaysia and which is the location you prefer.

On a general note I was able to secure some tenancy agreements for clients which needed to be renovated by the tenant. The advantage was: Own furniture and renovation to their taste, long term (2x3 years) not to be terminated by the landlord, below RM 1/sqft. The only disadvantage I see is that you must be sure you want to stay there for the whole term.

kebi Feb 9th 2016 10:53 am

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 
Since I know only about Penang horse riding is not so common here. There are the horse races and a number Penangites own horsed for that but they will not easily allow a stranger to ride them. My friend’s daughter came her for internship and although she is a equestrian dressage rider she was only allowed to ride some horses through personal connections

JC3 Feb 10th 2016 3:23 am

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 

Originally Posted by Haachi (Post 11859689)
On a more hobby-ish note - I am a keen horse rider and would always want to carry on riding if I could. I see Countryside Stables has a good reputation (thinking of this on the holiday coming up as well) - does anyone know about the horsey scene in Penang, costs etc?



Hi,

An alternative to using the stables at Balik Pulau located in the centre of Penang island and about 30-40 minutes drive from the main expat belt, might be to ride along Batu Ferringhi beach.

There are three or four licensed operators at Batu Ferriunghi, who keep several former racehorses nearby. I read somewhere one operator had about 20 horses.

A few years ago horse-riding at Batu Ferringhi was banned following an accident. However the ban got lifted and horse riding is allowed in the area near the Bayview Beach Resort Hotel, starting from around 7am.

If you want a gallop, then I think early morning before 9am would be best before it gets too hot and before there’s children on the beach. I think the ‘legal’ area for riding is only about 500 yards long, but if you’re out riding early I doubt anyone will stop you having a good gallop along most of the beach. It’s well over a mile long.

Some of the operators have been doing this for 25 years or more, so I expect you could both find a horse that you like and negotiate a good rate if you will be riding regularly.

BTW I sent you a Private Message about locations to live, agents etc. Did you see it?

JC3

Haachi Feb 10th 2016 6:24 am

Re: Planning to visit Penang
 
Hi JC3

Yes, I did see your message - very useful information, thank you. I have printed it out for reference.

Interesting info about the horses and riding too. It all helps to build up a picture.

Best,
Haachi


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