Over the years, I have helped a few Singaporean clients exit from their investments in Malaysia. The reasons are numerous – from having lost a job to realising that the project is not suitable for them – each cases vary.
However, exiting from your investment can be a tricky situation, especially when there are so many grey areas in Malaysia.
In most cases, getting your deposit refunded from developers is not as easy as it seems.
Most will not let you go so easily and will put in various terms and conditions such as forfeiture of your 10% deposit and on your legal fees or requiring you to look for another buyer.
However, there are ways that you can get your deposit refunded without having to incur hefty fees or causing you sleepless nights.
Recently, I received an email from a fellow Singaporean who wanted to cancel his booking after he realised he had made a wrong decision.
If you feel that you are cash strapped or have made a wrong investment choice, fret not. Here are five simple steps to get your loan rejected
Step 1: Declare a very low salary
When you declare a very low salary, bankers will check against the purchase price of your property to determine whether you can afford to pay your mortgage. Having a very low salary will be red flags for the bank as they realise you will most likely default on your mortgages and will therefore be a risk to the bank. They will have no choice but to issue you a letter of rejection.
Step 2: Get the Letter of Rejection from the bank
Once the bank has rejected your application, request for the Letter of Rejection. This is necessary as to prove to the developer that you have not withdrawn on purpose, but was forced to as your mortgage loan was not approved.
Step 3: Give this letter to the developer or the developer’s law firm
When you have been given the Letter of Rejection, the developer or the law firm will have no choice but to cancel your booking. This is because, in the end, they still need someone with mortgage funding to purchase the house.
Step 4: Get a black and white from the law firm on the cancellation of your unit
The developer’s law firm will issue you with an email stating that your booking has been cancelled. Use this to then ask them for a refund on your deposit.
Step 5: Get your deposit refunded
Once all the property black and white documents and legal papers are in place, the developer will then refund your deposit subject to administrative fees. The administrative fee should be a small amount from the booking fee, which should have been informed to you prior to placing your booking.
Be warned though that sometimes in can take up to two years to get your refund. The motto when playing the property game in Malaysia is this – slowly but surely. Have patience, work with trusted partners, agents or experts and you will see light at the end of the tunnel.
This article is contributed by Khalil Adis
