The bathroom is a vital part of any house, and it is important to keep it waterproof to prevent water damage. The best way to waterproof your bathroom is through the use of transparent liquid waterproofing method. This involves the application of a jelly-like membrane onto the surface of your bathroom to protect it from water damage.

First, the surface should be cleaned and prepared by removing any dirt or debris. Then, a primer should be applied to the surface to enhance the bond between the membrane and the surface. After that, the torch-on membrane is laid out on the surface and heated with a torch to bond it to the surface. Finally, the membrane is covered with tiles or other waterproof materials.

It is important to note that only a professional should carry out this method, as it involves the use of a torch and requires expertise. SHIELDO Waterproofing company offers torch-on waterproofing services that are reliable and efficient. They have skilled professionals who ensure that the process is carried out safely and correctly.

In addition, SHIELDO Waterproofing company also offers solvent-based waterproofing systems that are suitable for bathrooms. This involves the application of a liquid waterproofing solution that is solvent-based. The solution forms a membrane-like barrier that prevents water from seeping into the surface. It is important to follow the manufacturer's instructions when using this type of waterproofing system.

Overall, the bathroom is an important part of the house that requires waterproofing to prevent water damage. Torch-on waterproofing method and solvent-based waterproofing system are effective methods that can be used to waterproof your bathroom. SHIELDO Waterproofing company offers reliable services that can help you protect your bathroom from water damage.

Property investment is both an interesting and exciting journey. Property investors commonly start the journey by searching for a target property that fits their investment strategies and requirements. It can either be a long term investment where the investor is looking at the rental yield or a shorter-term where the property is ‘flipped’ for capital gains. 

Nevertheless, one of the major obstacles in property investment is the issue of affordability. This may be due to insufficient funds for a down payment or the tightening of borrowing policies by the banks. Under such constraint, many investors are unable to proceed with — their investment plan even though they come across properties with great potential. One creative way out is by entering into a joint venture (JV) in property investment.

WHAT IS A JOINT VENTURE AND WHY? 

A JV is a collaboration between two or more parties who agree to pool their resources/ funds for the purposes of accomplishing a specific project. It can be in the form of business activity or even the acquisition of immovable properties.

There are many reasons why investors should enter into a joint venture. All parties in a JV make contributions, share profits and returns in the agreed proportion. It creates a new investment opportunity where one single party may not penetrate if they were to do it alone.

Besides sharing financial resources, JV parties can also share expertise and knowledge. This will create a better synergy to undertake the JV project in a more efficient manner.

INVESTMENT GOAL

It is vital for a JV to have an investment goal. All JV parties must have a clear expectation and the same understanding of their goals.

If a property is intended to be ‘flipped’, then the next question would be — “What is the target selling price within a specific time frame?’ If a JV plans to acquire a property at the price of RM500,000, all JV partners may set a target that, after three years, if the property value increases to RM600,000, then all partners must agree to sell when that happens.

If the targeted value is not reached in that time frame, JV partners may need to decide whether they should sell or to hold the property for a longer time (depending on the circumstances and market sentiment then).

If the property is intended to be rented out, then the next question would be — “What is the target rental within a specific time frame?’ If a JV plans to acquire a property at the price of RM500,000 and targets a 5% return on investment (ROI), the rental shall be at least RM2,084 per month.

However, in the event the property is unable to fetch that monthly rental within a specified time frame, the JV partners may have to decide either to rent at a lower rental or to hold the property for a longer time without any rental income.

It is extremely important for JV partners to discuss and agree on the above matters. Once agreed, all partners must carry out the property investment plan in accordance with the agreed terms. It is not advisable for any JV to acquire property and ‘see how it goes’.

Different JV partners will have different expectations, holding power and priority in life at any particular time. Unclear or uncertain goals in any JV may lead to potential disputes between the partners when a partner insists on selling (to cash out for other financial commitments) and another decides to hold the property longer (hoping for better capital appreciation if he is not in need of cash at that moment).

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JV SALIENT TERMS

Before any party enters into a JV, these are several salient ferms to consider:

Target property

A JV must carry out a proper feasibility study on the target property. Generally, that should include its location, pricing, growth potential, who is the developer and/or the property management company, etc. 

Joint venture partner

Due diligence on all JV partners is a must. JV partners can either be an individual or a company. All parties must know the background of all other partners involved in the JV. 

Cash injection 

A JV must set a clear understanding of cash injection capability in terms of down payment, legal fees, and stamp duty, outgoing payments (maintenance fees, quit rent, assessment rates, insurance, etc.) and loan repayment. 

Borrowing capacity 

A JV must also examine the borrowing capacity of each partner, which depends very much on the existing financial commitment of the partner. This is important as a JV needs to know the estimated loan size, loan margin and tenure before committing itself into any property investment.

Cultural consideration

A JV must also take into account the cultural consideration of the future buyers of a target property. Directions, house number, and layout of the property are among the few common factors a property buyer is usually concerned with. These factors may directly or indirectly affect the value of a property. However, the above list is not in any way exhaustive. Each JV may have other concerns or considerations which may be unique to each JV. All parties in the JV must address those issues well ahead before making a commitment to any investment to avoid any potential conflict or dispute.

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GET LEGAL

After going through all the salient terms, it is advisable for the JV partners to put their terms into legally binding documents. Very often JV partners do not think that legal documents are necessary, especially between parties who have known each other for a long time (for example, family members, relatives or close friends).

In such circumstances, a certain level of trust would have been built amongst the parties prior to the JV. It should be reminded, however, that the non-existence of any legally binding document may give rise to potential disputes in the future, which may also jeopardize the existing relationship between the parties.

All JV parties should enter into a Joint Venture Agreement, to record the goal, expectation, liability, and mechanisms of a JV. There is no fixed or standard format for a Joint Venture Agreement so long as the parties address their intentions and the salient terms are agreed upon between all parties before entering into a JV. Whenever necessary, JV parties may also enter into a Trust Deed and/or Power of Attorney.

Once the JV arrangement has been finalized, the parties may then acquire the target property and carry out their respective obligations in accordance with the provisions of the Joint Venture Agreement.

CONCLUSION 

To conclude, JV in property investment is a good strategy of combining resources from various parties, in order to achieve a common goal, particularly when one single party is unable to acquire a property alone due to limitations of financial resources (for example, cash injection or borrowing capacity).

Although it is a good strategy, it may give rise to potential disputes due to conflicting priorities or interests of the respective JV partners at any time. Therefore, it is vital to consider the above salient terms and record clear intentions of the parties into legally binding documents. This will certainly make the property investment journey a much smoother one.

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Here are the FOUR Key Points to summarize the Klang Valley Office Market conditions:

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#1 Market Indicators

👉🏻 Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) projects the country’s 2020 GDP growth to be between -2.0% and 0.5% amid the ongoing crisis (2019 GDP: 4.3%).
👉🏻 Most analysts predict that the economy will start to show improvements moving into 2H2020 with recovery by the end of 2021.
👉🏻 The unemployment rate, which stood at 3.3% in 2019, is expected to hit 4.0% this year, higher than during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2009 and Asian Financial Crisis 1998 (AFC) at 3.7% and 3.2% respectively.

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#2 Government Initiatives - PRIHATIN Package for Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

⭐ Zero Interest Rate for micro credit schemes with BSN or TEKUN Nasional.
⭐ Auto Moratorium for submission of statutory documents to SSM for 30 days from the last date of MCO.
⭐ Wage Subsidy ranging from RM600 to RM1,200 per month per employee (depending on company size & current earnings)

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#3 Office Market Outlook

🏢 Subdued Demand and Further Pressure on Rental of physical office spaces
🏢 Delays in Upcoming Supply with an estimated 4.23 million sq ft of office space scheduled to be completed by the end of 2020.
🏢 Overall occupancy of co-working spaces may decline in the short term as SMEs may struggle to overcome the economic downturn.

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#4 Looking Beyond MCO & Covid-19

🤞🏻 Flexibility and Agility in allowing employees to work closer to their homes and in a conducive environment.
🤞🏻 Digital Adoption of Video Conferencing & cloud-based servers to make organization-level remote working possible
🤞🏻 Outsourcing With Shared Services Outsourcing (SSO) and Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) to save overheads

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⭐⭐⭐ "IT WILL PASS & WE WILL THRIVE" ⭐⭐⭐

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PDF Link: https://raymondng-properties.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/COVID19-Knight-Frank-Malaysia-Thoughts-Perspectives.pdf

Uncertainty of Virus Containment

Containing the spread of the new highly contagious Covid-19 virus remains a huge challenge.

While the government and the people are doing their parts to help curb the spread, there will be no light at the end of the tunnel until effective vaccines are created.

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Gloomy Economic Outlook

While controlling the virus is now top of the agenda, there are still many risk factors clouding the scene, such as depressed oil prices, ongoing tensions between the US and China, and domestic political turbulence, just to name a few.

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Cautious Spending

People tend to hold back on large ticket purchases amid worries of losing jobs and income. The cautious attitude will only be lifted after more clear signals on market recovery appear.

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Existing Overhang Unsolved

Even before Covid-19 reared its head, the Malaysian property market was already in a prolonged slowdown. Property transaction volume and value declined from 2015 to 2017, before a marginal increase in 2018. Adding to the slowdown is the issue of property overhang.

According to data from the National Property Information Centre, there were 31,092 overhang residential units worth RM18.77 billion as at 3Q2019 compared with 10,897 units worth RM4.92 billion in 2015.

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Strict Lending Policy

Bank Negara has cut overnight policy rate to 2.5% early March 2020, the lowest since May 2010, which will likely affect banks’ net interest margin. Furthermore, non-performing loans are expected even with the central bank’s six-month moratorium on loans.

Hence, banks may become even more selective with lending.

GETTING THE RIGHT LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE

It is important to understand the lawyer’ position as a stakeholder in property transactions

When Andrew sold his property in Subang Jaya last year, the transaction was completed and the balance purchase price was fully released to his lawyer who was the appointed stakeholder. 

However, he learned an expensive lesson from not vetting his real estate lawyer thoroughly when his lawyer failed to release the money to him according to the sale and purchase agreement (S&P).

Lawyers. are commonly appointed as the stakeholders of property transactions, and are deemed to be the administrators of the estate. Appointed lawyers often wear two hats; for example, as the lawyer for the client (can be for the vendor or purchaser, but never for both of them at the same time as there would be a conflict of interest), and also as the stakeholder to the deals with the monies according to the S&P.

The scenario suffered by Andrew is rare but should not be viewed lightly. Lawyers and bankers play a crucial role in the real estate industry, especially during the transaction of a property. Malaysia has very concise and coherent laws pertaining to property ownership.

MALAYSIAN LEGAL SYSTEM

Compared with other Asian countries, the Malaysian legal system is predominately based on English Common Law. Therefore, all legally binding contracts and documents are written in English. Enacted in the National Land Code, Act 56 of 1965, Malaysia uses the Torrens System of land law, which mandates that all ownership of property is to be registered, which means that the title cannot be disputed or challenged by anyone.

In the instance of what happened to Andrew, he should directly lodge a complaint to the advocate disciplinary board. Though cases such as this have no statute of limitation, it is best to act quickly once the client realizes the released monies is not transferred to them.

Appoint a lawyer and proceed with a civil action to obtain a court order against the malpractice of the real estate lawyer. Typically, such cases are a done deal with the victim coming out victorious. So the question now is why did someone like Andrew have to go through this ordeal in the first place?

Purchasing or selling properties through a property agent as your representative can be instrumental to the level of duress you go through. An experienced agent from a legitimately licensed agency would deal with the necessary paperwork and link you with professionals such as bankers and lawyers to provide legal and financial services.

The rapport between agent and client can be pivotal in maximizing the benefit margin through a property. There is less risk involved when you engage an agent who is well established with good networks, compared to engaging several parties individually on your own.

DON'T CUT CORNERS

Sellers often want to keep their cost down as much as possible in order to increase their profit margin. Legal fees in Malaysia are standardized through Malaysia’s Solicitors Remuneration Order.

lt is 1% for the first RM150,000 of the transacted price, 0.7% for the next RM850,000, 0.6% for the next RM2 million, 0.5% for the subsequent RM2 million and 0.4% for the next RM2.5 million.

So if a seller sells his condominium unit for RM2 million, he pays about RM20,000 in legal fees. To avoid paying the lawyer's fee in addition to the legal fees, sellers would often rely on the purchaser's lawyers to conduct such arrangements.

The red flag here is that the lawyer often only has the interest of the client in mind, as the fiduciary responsibility does not extend to the seller since he or she did not appoint him as their official legal council. Furthermore, this is not wise as it puts you at risk, it is a conflict of interest, and is a breach of the lawyer's own professional ethics.

UNDERSTANDING DEFECT LIABILITY PERIOD

For any new housing development that is under construction, developers are statutorily required to appoint lawyers as stakeholders fo retain a portion of the purchase price upon completion of development. The lawyers will deal with the retention sum according to the provision of the SPA. It will be retained and only released to the developer upon the expiry of the Defect Liability Period (DLP).

DLP is a feature and standard practice in all construction contracts in Malaysia. The contractors or developers (as the case may be) are obligated and liable to rectify any defects between the period the Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) is issued and the expiry of the DLP.

Contractors are obligated to remedy any shortcomings or defects in accordance with the architect’s instructions. In the event that the contractor fails to comply, the homebuyer can recover the cost of remedying the defects as damages from the lawyers.

Case Study

Here’s a case study to illustrate this point. Julia purchased her home directly from a developer. After she collected the keys, she discovered that there was a leakage. Julia notified the developer of the leakage but the developer did not respond to her, and the 30-day liability period lapsed. As the problem was not rectified, Julia decided to repair the leakage herself.

Julia can now proceed to claim the money she used to attend to the repairs. However, she has to write to the lawyers appointed by the developers. Julia’s repair cost would be attended and reimbursed by the appointed lawyers within 2-4 months after all the necessary paper works are in order.

These two instances where lawyers are appointed as the stakeholder requires us as clients or buyers to be vigilant and to know our rights in case we need to take necessary actions.

EXPERT COMMENTS

Chris Tan (Lawyer)

Property investment is one of the biggest investments in your life and you have to live with it for a long time depending on your loan tenure with the bank. The consequences of not doing it properly are far-reaching. Getting the right lawyer with the relevant experience and know-how will ensure that you are kept informed throughout the whole process and your expectations can be managed appropriately. 

There are no standard only norms; every sale and purchase transaction is unique on its own. The lawyer's role is to ensure a tailor-made transaction is designed and executed to meet your unique requirements.

Dato Teh Tai Yong (Lawyer)

When you buy or sell property, it is extremely important to appoint a good lawyer who is well versed in property transactions. A good lawyer will be able to advise you on the procedures and avoid pitfalls throughout the transactions. Some people try to save on legal fees by not appointing a lawyer to vet through the documents, but end up paying a much higher price in the form of penalty or damages.

Mike Lee Seang Yik (Lawyer)

If you can conduct thorough research to purchase or sell a house, then do the same when hiring a lawyer. Instruct your lawyer to have everything in writing. Any feedback and correspondence regarding the transaction should be well documented.

WCT Realtor (Real Estate Agency) 

Agents these days do more than just help their clients sell the property. Their wide networking provides a stable value chain, which connects clients from lawyers to bankers and tenants.

Dexter Lim Cheng Yew (Investor)

You may have to try a few out before you find the right one. Maintain a good working relationship with them at all times. Look at the long-term, not just the short-term benefits only. In fact, have lawyers who personally attend to your cases to make sure that everything is according to plan.

Gary Chua (Banker/Investor)

Getting the right lawyer is important. Fees should be the key concern because the contract protects our interest, therefore we need to ensure the contract is effective, precise and non-bias. If they are not diligent and efficient in sending the right sets of paperwork at the right time, they can cause delays in the buying or selling process. 

Avoid hiring a conveyancing solicitor who is overworked or who may not have enough experience. You want their full attention and experience to make sure no important details are missed. You should try and source a solicitor that you trust and feel that you can work well with. Make sure that the solicitor takes the time to explain everything to you in layman's terms. It is their duty to ensure you fully understand what you are signing up for.

Khalil Adis (Author/Consultant)

A right lawyer is able to ensure that all your paperwork and Sale and Purchase Agreement is legally binding. More importantly, it protects you from errant developers under the Housing and Development Amendment Act 2007. A right lawyer also ensures that you are able to secure a loan by declaring the right SPA price. 

They will see through everything until the keys are handed over to you. There have been cases of lawyers running away with the client's money so consumers should only work with recommended lawyers or those whom they trust.

The same methodology discussed above could be adopted by the owner of the property who intends to sell, dispose or part obligation of their property to a third party. These could be processes and methodology where one could ‘release’ or ‘offload’ his/her duty and responsibility for a property to a third party without parting legal ownership.

GRANTING A LEASE

A lease is a tenancy exceeding a term of three years. One way for a property owner who needs to ensure that his/her responsibility for mortgage repayment is by securing a long lease, especially a fixed-term lease. He is somewhat guaranteed the monthly inflow of revenue.

INVITE A JOINT INVESTOR 

Invite a joint investor to one's property or disposing to the third party a portion of the equity in a property, while maintaining himself/herself as the registered owner. The portion owned by the third party can be held by the existing owner on trust, by virtue of a deed of trust. The risk of investment is hence shared and spread.

GRANTING CALL OPTION AND PUT OPTION 

Granting Call Option and Put Option to sale and purchase of the property in the future. Whilst the option holder may exercise the option to compel the owner to sell in the future, the owner may compel (by way of a put option) the option holder to purchase his/her property some time in the future.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, be it a conventional sale and conveyance of a property or unconventional disposal methodologies, the fundamental issue guiding one’s decision in selecting the mode of acquiring or disposing of an investment property is conducting the necessary due diligence. 

Proper and thorough due diligence ought to be conducted on the subject matter property, the property owner, the developer of the project, the management of the project, the State’s guidelines, the legality of the structure and scheme of arrangement. It is an investment and therefore calls for risk analysis and feasibility studies.

Real Estate is actually a by-product of law. You need the law to give you a land title, recognition of boundaries and ownership. So what are the five legal trends that will shape the local property scene for the next decade?

Home Buyer Protection Over Investor Protection

If you buy a house and you stay in, you get more protection over someone who buys for investment purposes. The last few years were essentially a house ownership campaign with a focus on affordable housing. If house ownership gets harder, buyer protection will get increasingly better. They want you to own your house.

It Will Be Harder to Become A Developer

In a developed country, there will be fewer developers - there will not be much land to build on, there will be compliance matters, and if you want a good location, you will have to tear down the existing building and restart. The HDA puts a lot of obligations on developers, and the entry cost is higher due to the weaker ringgit and oil price slump.

Collective Investment

Property investment is now a team sport, it’s no longer an individual game. The barrier of entry is higher and bank financing is tightening. We will have to find a couple of like-minded individuals and leverage on each other and be more innovative as we can’t just rely on “Flip & Keep” Strategies anymore. We have to come up with new ways to raise capital, not just limited to the bank.

Property Management is The Driver

Those who solely buy property and sell property aren’t investors - they’re property traders. A good investor must know how to manage and add value. If we just buy and hold, the wait-to-cash-out could be longer and we can’t wait any longer because the RPGT is high and margins are thinning. We need to know how to squeeze water out of stone. We are entering an era of low yield and high appreciation. You either have to compete through price or features.

Strata is the Way of Life

Strata is not your everyday product. You have to be very involved, whether it’s the service charge, sinking fund or management. You are part of it - no different from a shareholder in a corporation.

If your condominium is managed properly, the prices will definitely go up. It isn’t about whether they serve a buffet during AGM. Strata is all about “Love Thy Neighbor”. If only one person doesn’t pay the service charge, it effectively means the whole condominium/apartment is under-maintained. Here’s a sad fact, the average number of people who pay on time? 50%.

The percentage is higher for high-end projects because they know about this. The management is not the enemy.

Located in Kota Damansara, fronting Persiaran Surian, is Tropicana Gardens, a 17.6-acre  mixed-use development by Tropicana Corp Bhd. It comprises four residential towers, a corporate office tower, and a seven-level retail mall.

While much is known about the four residential towers, Arnica, Bayberry, Cyperus and Dianthus, Tropicana only recently released details of the shopping mall.

Tropicana Gardens Shopping Mall has a net lettable area of about one million sq ft. According to group assets management executive director Andrew Ashvin, the shops will be on five levels.

"The lower ground floor will mainly be parking and service outlets such as clinics. The fourth floor, which is the highest, will comprise the exhibition center and Kids Wonderland. So, the shops will mainly occupy the concourse to the third floor" he says.

There will be four levels of basement parking with about 3,000 bays. Andrew says some parking bays will be reserved for women, but the exact number has not been decided as it depends on the location of the escalators and entrances to the mall.

The anchor tenants are Village Grocer and MBO Cinemas, which will take up 51,000 sq ft and 80,000 sq ft respectively. The 50,000 sq ft exhibition hall will be managed by exhibition organizer Star Ideas Factory Sdn Bhd. Other tenants include Daiso (8,000 sq ft),Secret Recipe Cakes & Cafe (4,000 sq ft), Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (1,800 sq ft) and Cotton On (8,000 sqft).

The current take-up of the retail space is 31%, and that is expected to increase to 53% in six months' time, says Andrew."We are in the final negotiation stages [with some brands] right now. By the time we open the mall in the fourth quarter of 2019, before Christmas. We are confident we will hit 90%.

As for the design of the mall, Andrew says the developer is taking a step away from the conventional box shape. Part of the mall will be open-air with a canopy overhead, similar to the food and beverage walkway at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.

"This open-air section will be open after 10 pm. It will house a beer garden and some quick-service restaurants. So, rather than driving away from the mall after 10 pm, people can still come and have some food. This is another point of differentiation for this mall," he says.

The 'Five Greats' Andrew emphasizes the "Five Greats" of the mall, great location, great accessibility, great convenience, great connectivity and great demographic.

Tropicana Gardens is located in the affluent and mature area of Kota Damansara. Moreover, it is next to a public golf course and some of the F&B outlets and the beer garden will overlook it.

The development is accessible via four major highways the Damansara-Puchong Expressway, Sprint Highway, New Klang Valley Expressway and Penchala Link. There is also a purpose-built underpass at Persiaran Surian that links directly to the basement car park.The underpass also heads towards Kuala Lumpur.

Less than 50m away is the Surian MRT station, on the Sungai Buloh-Kajang line. A covered link bridge provides access to the mall from the station. Opposite the mall is shophouses, which house 15 bank branches, among other businesses.

"When someone alights at the station, they can go to the shophouses to get their banking done and after that, they can use the same bridge to get to the mall on the other side " says Andrew.

Residents of Tropicana Gardens can access the mall directly via a lift.

The demographic within a 15-minute drive is the middle to upper-middle income group, which is Tropicana’s target group. Townships in the area include Sunway Damansara, Bandar Utama, TamanTun Dr Ismail, Kelana Jaya, and Petaling Jaya.

Asked whether it would be affected by other malls in the area such as One Utama and The Curve, Andrew replies that Tropicana is not competing with them.

He says that even though the retail sector is slow in general, he is confident the mall will do well. "Apart from these 'five Greats', we are working with great retail partners such as Village Grocer, who has 60 years of history. Village Grocer and MBO Cinemas are going to do something different with the space in the mall," he says.

When the mall opens, he expects a footfall of one million shoppers per month. The MRT can cany about 400,000 passengers a day and it can bring in potential shoppers, Andrew says.