Good Day;

I am sure it is possible. I remember in 2002 while doing a project in Penang, an Expat Engineer working with us, bought a condominium in Penang. The friend of mine still owns the property and at the moment is renting out the condominium since he is now working somewhere in this world.

Most Expat will be asked to open a local bank account for their salary monthly payment. Most mortgages will be given if your balance of income after the mortgage deduction is more than half. Meaning that you still have some amount of disposable income for your liiving expenses.

And almost all property need a 10 % downpayment, by using your own money. It seldom a 100% mortgage in Malaysia. As usual u need 3 months bank statement and letter from your employer stating your employment status, salary and etc. I am sure a lot of agents or property owner will helps you in getting a property for you.

Good luck mate;

Cheers;

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00abuse

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Property investment Guide

It is relatively cheap to buy a house or apartment in Malaysia, and some expatriates have made good returns on their property investments over time. A wide range of properties are available, including large detached houses (known as bungalows), semi-detached and terraced houses, apartments and condominiums.

Properties for sale can be found via the real estate agents which are numerous in urban areas and advertise in the local and national press. It may also be possible to buy land on which to build your own property; however, it should be noted that some areas of land can only be bought and sold by Bumiputera (Malays and other indigenous groups).

TITLES

There are two categories of titles

freehold - which gives the owner perpetual ownership;
leasehold - which allows the owner to stay in possession only for a specified period. When the specified period ends, ownership reverts back to the authority which issued the title.

Generally, a house is issued a title for the piece of land on which the house is erected; and an apartment is issued a strata title for the specific area on the specific floor of the building in which the apartment or condominium is located. A search can be done at the relevant land offices or registries to determine whether the title is encumbered. If the title has not been issued, a search can be done on the master title on which the whole or part of the housing project is erected.

DOCUMENTATION AND PROCEDURES

All purchases direct from housing developers must use the Schedule G (for purchases of houses) or the Schedule H (for purchases of apartment respectively of the Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act 1996 as the sale and purchase agreements. Payment of the purchase price the said Schedules G and H is by progressive payment based on completion of work as certified by the architects. Payment of the last 5% of the purchase price will be held by a firm of solicitors as stakeholders for the defect liability period, which is currently 18 months from the delivery of vacant possession.

There are no fixed rules on the form of agreement for purchases from existing house owners (more commonly called sub-sale). However, it is common practice that upon signing of the sale and purchase agreement 10% of the purchase price be paid to the seller, and the purchaser be given 3 months to pay the balance of purchase price with an extension of 1 month if he fails to do so within the first 3 months' period. Interest at the rate of 10% per annum calculated on a daily basis is normally charged for the extension period. Payment of the balance of purchase price is usually made to the solicitors acting for the seller as stakeholders to ensure redemption of the house (if the same is still charged or assigned to a bank or financial institution at the time of sale) and payment of real property gains tax by the seller.

Other than the sale and purchase agreement, a memorandum of transfer, which is Form 14A of the National Land Code 1965, must be completed to transfer the title from the seller to the purchase. In instances where the title has not been issued, then if the purchase is from a developer, the developer will undertake in the sale and purchase agreement to transfer the title when the same is issued; and if the purchase is through a sub-sale, the transfer will be through an assignment of the sale and purchase agreement between the developer and the seller (Principal SPA) to enable the buyer to take benefit of the developer's undertaking to transfer the title contained in Principal SPA.

STAMP DUTY

Stamp duty is levied on the document of transfer (i.e. the memorandum of transfer if the title has been issued, or the deed of assignment of Principal SPA if the title has not been issued) based on the purchase price as follows:

a. 1% on the first RM100,000.00

b. 2% on the next RM400,000.00

c. 3% on the nest RM1,500,000.00 and

d. 4% on the remainder
(item 32 [a] of the Stamp Act 1949)

LEGAL FEES

The first Schedule of the Solicitors Remuneration Order 1991 sets out the fees to be collected by lawyers for work done in handling the sale or purchase of house based on the purchase price as follows:

1% on the first RM100,000.00
0.5% on the next RM4,900,000.00
0.25% on the remainder
For each sale and purchase of a house, the solicitors concerned can only collect fees based on the above scale from either the seller or the purchaser and not from both of them.

FINANCING

Mortgages : Loans of 60% of the purchase price are usually available to foreigners on the proviso that the property value is RM 250,000 and above. Current Base Lending Rate 6.8% per annum; loans are available up to a period of 20 years

USEFULL TIPS

Popular buying areas : High-end residential property in the affluent Klang Valley continues to dominate the residential market. Other favoured areas are Bandar Utama, Kota Damansara, Sunway Damansara and Mutiara Damansara..

Budgetary guide : Condominiums: US$ 66,000 to US$ 250,000, Bungalow: US$ 66,000 to US$ 225,000, Two Storey Bungalow (5 to 7 bedrooms): US$ 396,000 to $US 1.3 million, Luxury Villas: average US$ 925,000 upwards.

Overseas Investors : Foreign owners are permitted to buy houses at a cost of not less than US$ 66,000 each, which also entitles them to a housing loan from a local bank. If selling a property they are subject to 30% Capital Gains tax.

Service Fees : Stamp, Transfer, Agreement and Registration Duty 1.5% to 1.75%, Loan Agreement 1.5% to 1.75%, Estate Agents Fees 3% up to US$ 132,000 2% thereafter. Bank loan processing fee US$ 13 US$ 53.

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