Finding a home that’s exactly what you’re looking for and sealing the deal within the year? Seems too good to be true.
Well, for Hakim, 30, it was. He learnt the hard way that life has a way of throwing curveballs at you, no matter how prepared you think you are during the home-buying process.
In just seven months he found a home that ticked all the boxes. Then came the roadblock. And a big one at that.
After a long but fruitful negotiation process, agreeing on the terms and fulfilling the sale, Hakim discovered that the ownership transfer from the original owner to the seller was never done properly.
And in one fell swoop, his hopes of moving in and completing renovations on his bachelor pad before Hari Raya 2022 came to a crashing halt.
The ‘Easy’ Part: Finding His Bachelor Pad
Hakim’s home search started on the right foot with a little help from the internet.
Hakim saw his dream bachelor pad in a 730 sq ft studio near Datuk Keramat and Jalan Ampang. He said yes to the studio because "It was very, very convenient for me. There’s a lot of restaurants and other places like Titiwangsa and Wangsa Maju nearby. Overall it’s pretty central!"
While enjoying his single life, he also decided to go through the home-buying process on his own. So, he really depended on desktop research and PropertyGuru was his go-to favorite.
He says, "I mainly used PropertyGuru’s website. It was really helpful because it states the range of the value of the house. That gave me an idea of the price range of the properties in this area."
When he would find listings that caught his eye, PropertyGuru’s detailed descriptions helped give him a better idea of the property. He explains, "It gave me the background of the condo, the proximity to the city center and things like that."
It wasn’t just PropertyGuru’s extensive listings that helped him during this journey, but it also helped Hakim learn more about the process.
While Hakim used to be a lawyer who dealt with the purchase and selling of property, he explains that it didn’t mean it was all smooth sailing.
He says, "I have little knowledge on the procedural aspects [of home-buying]. But, I’ve never known how to buy a house, how to deal with agents or even how to negotiate the price of the house. Things like how to check the value of the house and this and that, I didn’t know."
He had to learn all this by himself through researching and scouring the internet on tips and guidance. He adds, "I got a lot of tips from PropertyGuru and there were a lot of articles that were very helpful in guiding me."
When he wanted opinions on certain listings, he turned to good ole’ Mum and Dad for advice. "I would mainly ask my dad things like whether a price is good or if a location is ok. I also relied on their financial advice."
But in the end, the choice was his and his heart was set on this studio apartment.
A Mini Curveball Before Sealing The Deal: A RM350,000 Price Tag And Another Interested Buyer
The home was perfect for Hakim: it was close to work, near to restaurants and supermarkets and the perfect size. Everything looked good…except the selling price.
Hakim put his negotiation skills to the test and tried his best to get the seller to bring the price down.
When he found out there was another interested buyer, he was on his last straw and explained, "Since May 2021 I’ve been negotiating, but nothing was coming out of it and I got frustrated. I sort of gave up and started to look for other properties. But the other properties didn’t meet my criteria."
When he heard the other buyer pulled out, he decided to try again. He thought to himself "studio properties are not suitable for families and are more a match for people who are single or just people with significant others."
With this knowledge, he figured out his plan to convince the owner to bring the price down. He says "I told the owner – look, nobody is buying the home and you’ve been advertising it since March and nobody is interested. Please give me a chance."
He just used his own wits and a little help from the owner’s own agent to negotiate a better price.
Then, finally in October 2021, after seven grueling months of negotiations, success! "After using my own logic to convince the owner, she finally agreed to lower the price from around RM350,000 to RM300,000," says Hakim excitedly.
Now, he’s got his home and he was ready to sign on the dotted line.
The Mega Curveball After Signing The Papers: Everything Was NOT Signed, Sealed And Delivered
Just when things seemed to be going Hakim’s way, he takes a look at the papers and discovers *cue dramatic music* the transfer of ownership was never completed.
The home had been previously owned by 3 separate people before Hakim, and he explains that "The house was still under the proprietors’ name which is DBKL (Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur). So, the property is still under DBKL’s name and now the process has become longer."
This put a big boulder in the way of Hakim’s plans, who says, "I wanted all this to be completed before Raya so I can do the renovations, but now I don’t think it’s possible."
Since he had a background in law, he thought things would go faster if he handled the transfer process himself. But he had a lot to do.
"The process was no longer just transferring from one owner to another owner. I needed to get a few things from DBKL to get their consent to directly transfer the home to my name. I also needed to trace all the documents from DBKL to the first owner, first owner to the second owner, and so on."
Hakim says, "The DBKL stuff was just completed in March and now it’s in the bank loan stage. The whole process with DBKL took about three to four months."
When asked how he felt when he discovered the news, he said, "I knew it was something that could be rectified, but my first reaction was to just let out a big sigh. I knew it was going to make the process even longer. It was so frustrating but it’s something I just had to get through and be patient about."
Would He Have Done Anything Differently?
In the end, Hakim left with lessons learnt and a new place to call home.
After starting his search in March 2021, by October 2021 Hakim was officially a home-owner. Yay Hakim!
Even though it was a frustrating experience, Hakim says he learned a lot. "Learning how to negotiate was definitely something new to me and, from my mistakes, I learned you should always check the ownership of the house and do your research."
His advice to new potential homeowners? DO. YOUR. RESEARCH.
"You really need to be thorough about researching the home. Go deep. Check the ownership of the house, check the maintenance fee and the sinking fund."
Ensuring you know every nook and cranny about the property you’re going to buy will help you avoid surprises like Hakim had.
He adds with a smile, "My advice? Seriously, take your time. Don’t rush. If you don’t like that house, look for others. Or negotiate. As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait."
Read more stories of people and their home journeys, or start your own process to purchasing your dream home on PropertyGuru.
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