By Farah Wahida:
As the biggest investment to make in a lifetime, buying a house should be made with extra caution. As much as most people would prepare for this, mistakes are often inevitable.
Hence, several property experts shared the common mistakes that buyers often make.
First on the list is location, which is deemed the key to success when it comes to property.
“Location is everything. You’d want to be in a place that’s well connected and where there’s developed infrastructure so transportation will be easy,” noted new Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) President Siva Shanker.
However, acquiring a property for its location is not the “be all and end all,” he said.
“In the last 10 years or so, some developments have proven that location is not the be all and end all. Take Country Heights for instance, which is a beautiful development in the middle of a rubber estate in downtown Kajang…This development has proven that even if you are not in a perfect location but there is a good product, you can still emerge a winner,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Thiruselvam Arumugam, Executive Director of consultancy firm PPC International Sdn Bhd, said buyers must first investigate the background of the property to check if it is liveable.
“Most people buy property with their hearts and not their brains. Many don’t check if the property is infested with termites, or check if the ceiling has wet spots due to internal leakages.”
Home buyers are also advised to buy within their budget.
“This is especially the case for first-time buyers. Instead of trying to purchase a property that’s worth RM200,000, they buy one that costs RM400,000 and then have problems paying it off,” said Siva.
Aside from the selling price of the property, potential buyers should also consider added costs, such as maintenance costs and utilities, as well as renovations costs. They should also get an authorised estate agent to help them with their acquisition.
“When buying or selling a property, the biggest mistake is dealing with an illegal estate agent, because then you would be unprotected by the law.”
Farah Wahida, Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email farahwahida@propertyguru.com.my
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