Property Hunter Magazine Property Hunter Magazine Issue 53 - April 2014 | Page 42

/// East Malaysia Property News Billboard Properties with Great Returns Naim Participated in the PH Expo Naim Land, a top developer in Borneo showcasing projects from Kuching, Bintulu and Miri at PH Expo 2014 Billboards or off-premise outdoor advertising signs, is available to advertisers for display to the public. But most of these signs do not advertise the business or other activity occurring at the site on which the billboard is located. The larger and most common types of billboards are usually located on leased property adjacent to freeways, highways and other major thoroughfares. The billboard site is generally limited to an area large enough to accommodate the billboard’s foundation. The billboard owner generally holds a leasehold interest in the billboard site; fee simple ownership in the billboard site is usually held by an unrelated party that owns the land contiguous to the billboard site. Landowners must consider a few things when they lease their property for use by a billboard company. The net revenue of the sign will be determined by the location. Billboards located in prime areas facing roads with hightraffic normally fetch a higher price due to larger exposure. 42 We all regularly drive by billboards, but we seldom think about the economics of how they work and what they pay the landowner. So, it comes as no surprise that the average person has absolutely no clue as to how to handle the negotiation of a billboard lease on his property. Billboard income is great as long as it does not stop you from selling or developing your property down the road. This risk is largest potential downside from having a billboard on your property. Unless you are certain that there is a 0% chance of your property being used for different purposes at some point, every billboard lease should contain language allowing for removal in the event of future plans. However, billboard leases are, in general, fairly long-term instruments. Typically there are two interests in the billboard site which are the leased fee interest of the ground lessor (the interest held by the fee owner of the billboard site) and the leasehold interest of the ground lessee (the interest held by the www.PropertyHunter.com.my billboard company’s interest). Lease lengths average around 10 years. Residential properties fronting main traffic routes generally are priced lower and creative investors, they have maximised their passive income by erecting a billboard and leveraging on the potentially revenue genetrating business. Some existing billboards built on residential property in Kota Kinabalu are reportedly fetching up to RM150,000 per annum which could easily pay of the value of the property in 8 years or less. This trend could be a whole new investment opportunity for many. Naim Holdings Berhad, one of Malaysia’s leading developers participated in the Property Hunter Expo 2014, the largest property expo in East Malaysia held at the Sabah Trade Centre. A multi-award winning developer and contractor based in Kuching, Sarawak, Naim showcased a range of residential and commercial properties in Kuching, Miri and Bintulu. In addition to exciting lucky draws, Naim also offered attractive sales packagers to expo goers. Its senior manager for property development, Zamry Ibrahim said as all Naim’s developments are located in Sarawak’s key growth areas, they provide owners and investors with unique investment propositions. “Our developments are situated in Kuching, Miri and Bintulu, the key growth areas in Sarawak, where we still see good property demand. With aggressive developments taking place led by the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) driving the state’s economic growth, towns such as Bintulu are experiencing an economic boom, Zamry said adding it’s time for owners and investors to ride the wave. Naim featured its iconic Bintulu Paragon and Kuching Paragon integrated developments, and Miri’s Bandar Baru Permyjaya development. Zamry explained that Naim’s Bintulu Paragon Kuching Paragon integrated developments are noteworthy, not only because of their locations, but also their level of integration, making them one-stop hubs. “Firstly, these developments are located in prime locations - for Bintulu Paragon, the largest integrated development to impact Bintulu, it’s located within Bintulu’s CDB, while Kuching Paragon is situated about 15 minitues and 10 minutes away from Kuching ciy centre and the airport,” Zamry said. He added that Naim also featured newly launched condo development know as Sapphire on the Park, a component within Kuching Paragon and Street Mall and SOVO developments which are components within the Bintulu Paragon. “For our Miri developments, we will feature various development components within the Bandar Baru Permyjaya which is strategically located about 15 minutes from Miri city, such as our newly launched Bahagia Residences apartments, which are affordable and also Pusat Bandar Phase 5 shophouse,” Zamry said. Those interested are invited to call Gerald Sim at 016 8866700 for more information about the Naim’s developments.