Property Hunter Magazine Issue 87 - March 2017 | Page 46

NEWS
Limit Resale of PR1MA Homes
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After the owners have met Certificate of Completion and the five-year moratorium Compliance , instead of when period , PR1MA homes the land title was officially should only be resold to transferred to the buyer . qualified Malaysian citizens who are purchasing a house Meanwhile , HBA praised the for the first time , according government for implementing to the National House the Special PR1MA End Buyers Association ( HBA ). Financing Scheme ( SPEF ), which will help low-income
“ This is to ensure that earners to obtain housing such PR1MA units are loans for such properties , as not purchased en-bloc by many have been rejected by property speculators and banks . rented out again at very high rentals , depriving future “ However , as this is a special generations of lower and financing scheme for the middle-income buyers .” lower income group , HBA hopes that this financing According to PR1MA Corp ’ s scheme is only reserved for CEO Datuk Abdul Mutalib first-timers as PR1MA has Alias , they are urging the already allowed second-time authorities that the five-year home buyers to buy PR1MA moratorium for the resale properties .” of PR1MA homes should start from the date of the On February 12 ( Monday ),
PR1MA homes should only be resold to qualified Malaysian citizens who are purchasing a house for the first time
PR1MA Corp announced the years , while payment for the details of SPEF , which was principal only takes effect jointly set-up by the Employees thereafter until the mortgage Provident Fund ( EPF ) and the is fully settled . Bank Negara Malaysia along with AmBank , RHB Bank , For the second option , buyers Maybank and CIMB Bank . can loan a larger amount , as the partner banks will Under SPEF , home buyers also take into account their can get step-up funding and monthly contribution to EPF a similar facility but with an Account 2 . However , SPEF ’ s option to withdraw from lending rate higher is higher EPF Account 2 . Under both at 4.75 percent compared to options , interest is only 4.45 percent for similar loans paid during the first five available at present .
Minimum Property Purchase Prices for Foreign Buyers
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Malaysia , with its improving infrastructure , average cost of living , diverse cultures and almost natural disaster-free environment , has attracted many foreigners to live here .
Buying property in Malaysia is a relatively easy process . On June 30 , 2009 , the Economic Planning Unit ( EPU ) produced a comprehensive set of guidelines on property acquisition by foreigners to replace the previous approving authority under the Foreign Investment Committee .
The EPU had also revised the minimum threshold on the acquisition of properties by foreign interests from RM500,000 to RM1 million , effective March 1 , 2014 , which is stipulated nationwide .
It must be noted that although the EPU guidelines on property acquisition by foreigners apply nationwide , the acquisition is still subject to the respective state authorities ’ approval .
The transfer of property to a foreigner based on family ties ( only allowed among immediate family members ) also falls under the jurisdiction of the respective state authorities .
There are , however , exemptions from EPU approval for certain transactions , as well as exemptions given by respective state governments .
KGV International Property Consultants ( Johor ) Sdn Bhd executive director Samuel Tan tells TheEdgeProperty . com that although there
are sufficient incentives provided to encourage foreigners to buy properties in Malaysia , there are areas that still need to be improved .
He feels the government should promote foreign property ownership as a form of foreign direct investment given that Malaysia seems to have a love-hate feeling towards foreign property purchasers for fear that they will impact the interest of the locals .
“ Policies must be consistent and transparent while the fees for the application for approvals by
foreign purchasers must be reasonable while safeguarding the interests of the locals ,” he says .
Tan also suggests that developers sell properties that offer business propositions so there will be greater economic spillover from their projects .
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