This story was submitted by Masrizal Bin Maskin
It all started in 2011, although my exposure to property investment started much earlier in 2007, upon entering into life as a working adult at the age of 22.
I was a kind of hesitant person at that time that it took me 4 years to make my first move. There is no point for me to look back bemoaning the opportunities that I might have missed during what is known as the “boom” period for property investment.
When I decided to get married in early 2012, I told myself that I couldn’t wait any longer as I will need a place for my family. Hence, hunting my first property became wider and easier as I could disregard all investment prospects as my top priorities.
In fact, I considered it as my third priority after my affordability factors and location. It was not as easy as I first thought, but it did come coincidentally when I was at Giant at Kota Damansara after doing some shopping.
I came across a property developer booth promoting their new township in Rawang. The sales person briefed me on the project and convinced me to visit their sales office and show unit there.
After conducting some quick researche and studies on the location of the township, I went there the next weekend. I must admit that I was about 90% sure of buying a unit there even before the visit as it suited all my criteria as in terms of entry price, location and future potential of the area. It was a package deal for me.
To cut a long story short, I booked a two-storey terrace house at RM230,000 after paying a super low booking fee. To add icing on to the cake, the unit came with a free gift of an LCD TV. As part of the deal, we agreed on a “zero-down” deal (this was legit at that time).
Now comes the part where I want to share the key factors that I considered before I decided to buy the house, which is my first property. Frankly speaking, most of my friends and even some relatives were against me when I told them that I am going to buy a house in Rawang.
Ignoring their opinion (none of them were property investors), I found out that the area has good potential. With direct access to NSE which is less than 7km away, there are also other booming factors such as an under-construction shopping mall, proposed largest theme park and so on.
This includes nearby townships by reputable developers. To make my decision much easier, the area is located near to my in-law’s house, and it will also will save me half an hour when I’m heading to my hometown in Sungai Petani.
I can say that the experience that I gained in buying my first property served as a platform for me to move further in my property investment journey. I managed to buy my second property, a walk-up apartment in PJ in less than a year later and I am now hunting my third investment property.
This story was submitted for the MY HOME, MY STORY campaign. The grand prize winner will stand a chance to win RM10,000!
