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UNRFSA.org’s Guide To Using Real Estate Portals In Malaysia

Dear UNRFSA member,

This was excerpted from our recent UNRFSA.org weekly newsletter sent out to our members in Malaysia (on Feb 1st, 2013). Due to popular demand, we are reprinting this article here for everybody’s benefit.

Good real estate portals happen to be very helpful marketing tools for real estate agents and for people who want to sell properties privately – especially in Malaysia. If you are an agent or a seller, the biggest benefit that you will get from one of these portals, though, is the fact that you won’t have to go through the hassle of marketing the website that you are on. All that you will have to do is reap the rewards that comes with the portal’s good online positioning.

To make sure that you find a good real estate portal to sign up with, though, here are several things you should look out for:

UNRFSA’s Criteria For Real Estate Portals (Malaysia)

  • Online Visibility

Before choosing a real estate portal to rely on, it would be important to check where they rank on search engines first. To test this out, type in a keyword into your search engine of choice and include the area that you are selling your property in. Then, see whether the portal will show up on the search engine result’s first page.

A good Malaysian online real estate portal is MetroSherpa (metrosherpa.com.my) which has got some really good rankings for some of very competitive terms. Also, Home Guru also has very good online visibility.

  • User-Friendliness

Try looking at things from a user’s perspective while browsing the portal and look for properties in your general area on it. Then, ask yourself the following questions: Is the portal’s user navigation clear and easy-to-use? Is the design and layout attractive? Would it be easy to ask about a certain property on it?

Of course, you will also have to think about your target market itself. Will they be able to access the World Wide Web and use the website properly? What are their overall needs?

An example of a site with excellent usability would be I-property.com. It has very little clutter and also is free from all those irritating flash banners that you see populating other property portals. It is no surprise that it is the leading property portal in Malaysia according to this website -

http://www.propertyportalwatch.com/2012/11/iproperty-strengthens-leadership-position-in-malaysia/

  • Unique Features

Find out whether the real estate portal has any special features available that you can make use of, such as additional space for more pictures, visual tours, maps, videos or on show alerts. Some sites which are completely informational – such as the KLCC Condo Encyclopedia – they may lack pictures and videos but are good sources of ear-to-the-ground information.

  • The Competition

Before signing up with a property portal, find out if any of your competitors have advertisements on the website. If they do, then you might want to follow in their footsteps yourself.

  • Reach

Find out whether the website also has other sister websites that your property might appear on. You might want to find out whether they have a mobile website, as well, so that users can access and browse the website through their mobile phones with ease. A good informational site on Malaysia property which has good mobile interface is http://propertyforsale.com.my/

  • Offline Advertising

Since your ultimate goal should be to subscribe to the best and most effective real estate portal out there, you have to make sure that your website of choice has a ton of advertisements – both online and offline.

  • Value

Before making your final decision, it would also be smart to shop around first and take a look at what other real estate portals might be charging. You might also want to see what else you could get for your money before signing up to a certain website.

  • Technical Support Team

Another important thing that you should look out for when it comes to this would be a reliable technical support team since you will want to be able to get in touch with them in case you have questions later on.

Got questions? Just email me. Or, if you want to join our newsletter, send a blank email to unrfsa@mailchimp.com, or get our contact details here.

Malcolm Lee (Email: malcolm@unrfsa.org), Chief Publicity Officer, UNRFSA.org (Malaysia Branch)

Investment Properties Jet-Setting

A lot of people have been asking us to help them look for properties on a global scale. It’s always a good thing to have a lot of people ask us questions on where and when to invest when it comes to properties located elsewhere– away from their hometowns and such.

We’ve been giving real estate advice from left to right to people who are buying their first-ever property in Thailand and Malaysia. So far, the results have been towards their favour– more and more investment opportunities are booming in those regions and there’s really nowhere to go but up :) Read this article to find out more.

More posts to follow soon– we’re getting ready for our real estate seminar that’s going to be held this year! Contact contact@unrfsa.org for more details!

On a Quick Note..

Things have been really fast-paced as we prepare for our forthcoming seminar this July. We are currently on the lookout for a venue to hold this special event– right now it’s a toss up between the Marc Residence business hall or at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre Exhibit Hall– it all depends on how many attendees we are expecting. Slots are filling out fast, so better get yours!

Our biannual UNRFSA seminar will cover topics such as the Malaysian Real Estate portal, economic perspectives and factors, and other important trends that are currently affecting the Malaysian property industry. We’re lucky enough to have David Grier of Grier and Associates to speak at the event.

Get in touch with Malcom at contact@unrfsa.org to be a part of this great event.

Everything You Need to Know About Refinancing

UNRFSA has been busy trying to organise a seminar that targets property investors, brokers, and real estate agents who are interested in investing on a global scale. As an introduction, here’s a preview from one of the topics that will be covered during the seminar that will be headed by David Grier, Property Manager for Grier and Associates– a real estate firm based in the United Kingdom. We’ve lots of grounds to cover– refinancing, for one– as it has been a major debate in the real estate industry and property investing(Fox Business has published an article about refinancing– click here for more). Read on for more information.

Refinancing can be a good thing or a bad thing to a home owner. And how it is will always depend on how well you understand the concept of refinancing and how well you use it.

What is Refinancing?

Refinancing is simply changing taking a new loan to pay off your mortgage loan. The debt is still there, but hopefully the new loan has better terms all for your advantage.

UnderConstruct

When you refinance, you are looking at changing your monthly mortgage fees, duration of your loan contract and getting better interest rates. You do all that by taking on another mortgage and making a good use of the equity that you have earned throughout the duration of your first mortgage loan.

(Equity is the current market value of the house – ideally appreciated – minus the remaining debt balance).

Why You Should Consider Refinancing

Most homeowners consider refinancing to take advantage of a lower interest rate offerDollaed at a new loan. Of course, anything that could help lower the expenses on mortgage fees is a welcome change. A lower interest rate likely means lower monthly fees and everybody loves that. If someone offers you a loan that could make your long-term loan more bearable, then you might want to actually consider taking that loan.

Another common reason why homeowners choose to refinance is that they want to change their mortgage type. For instance, you have an existing adjustable rate mortgage. If the rates are low, you’re lucky but sometimes, the rates are just so much higher than what you could practically afford in a month. A refinance can offer you a way out of it and start a fixed rate mortgage which allows you a better control of your mortgage fees budget.

Sometimes, refinancing could help you get done with your mortgage faster. This is especially true for people who are planning to stay in the house for the long term. Some homeowners experience a good increase in their income that they could pretty much afford higher fees per month and thus the chance to pay off the debt sooner.

Things to Consider Before Getting a Refinancing

There are times when people get a new loan for the mere reason of getting extra cash. How valid and justifiable your cash needs are should be the basis of getting a refinancing for cash reasons.

Also, you might want to think about the prepayment penalties associated with refinancing. Mortgage lenders are not huge fans of paying off the debts so they put fines on homeowners who pay off debts. Get a consultation and calculation prior to sealing a refi deal; you might end up having to pay more for the penalties. That just totally defeats the purpose of “refinancing” doesn’t it?

One good point to consider too is how much longer or shorter your loan term would end up after getting a refinance. That, and how long you intend to stay at the property in question.

Refinancing might also affect your tax savings so you might want to get advice from your tax lawyer before sealing any deals.

We aim to educate by inviting only world-class speakers and motivators on our seminars. Previous seminars tackled topics such as buying property for first-time investors, the Malaysian real estate outlook for 2013, and condominium management(which included the much-anticipated Lumina Kiara review that was published at http://propertyreviews.my/lumina-kiara)

Interested in attending UNRFSA‘s upcoming seminar this July? Contact us at contact@unrfsa.org to reserve your spot.

UNRFSA’s 3 Steps on Buying Your First Investment Property

Congratulations on making a decision to buy your first ever investment property! This is where your financial success begins. It must be a challenging yet excited path for you, since this is your first-ever investment purchase—but don’t worry. There are always ways on how to make things easier and simpler for you. I’m pretty sure you’ve done your research, or have attended groups or seminars to make you familiar with property investing and real estate as a whole, and finally settled for a property or two for sale. If you already did, then you’re ready! Follow these three steps so that you’ll head on to the right direction.

House

  • Step One: Know the Property’s Financial Metrics. This is where you decide on how much your offer for a target property would be. Financial metrics play an important role in helping you determine a reasonable amount wherein both parties would benefit from. Collecting your target property’s operational data is a good way to start, and make sure you acquire certain documents that can make your life easier—the Annual Property Operating Data(APOD) report, as well as the rent-roll—these two are essentials in helping you plan out your offer strategy. Comparing data with other properties in the same area is also important. The strength is in the numbers, and you can compare their Cap Rates and Gross Rent Multiplier if want to make a fair and reasonable price offer for your target property. The condition of your target property also matters. Of course, if it requires a few small repairs, reduce your offer immediately.
  • Step Two: Set Up Financing. For a first time property buyer, it’s always recommended that you have set up a financing scheme before making an offer. Since property-buying is a competitive game, you may want to keep ahead of your cash-buyer competition, and being backed up by financing will form a sense of security within the seller. If you are having problems in finding lenders, you can always work with a realtor to help you close that deal.
  • Step Three: Give Your Best Offer! After being backed up by a stable financing plan, you can be sure that you are ready to make an offer. By now you should have known the details about your target property. You should have analysed and compared it with other properties in the same area. You should have researched in detail the potential of your target property’s location. After completing this checklist, it’s time for your realtor or agent to work. Having a realtor is important at this stage, because he or she is your best way to fix all the necessary documents that you need in order to buy property. A realtor also will do the negotiating whenever needed, so that both parties would be satisfied.

You’re on Your Way!

Buying your first property is definitely an exciting time—follow these three simple steps so that you can be on your way into having a secure future ahead. Information is key.. remember to check PropertyReviews.my and listings, or attend seminars(like we had previously) on a regular basis in order to keep you updated and informed.

New Seminar: Malaysia Real Estate Investment Outlook 2013

Dear members,

We are currently planning a new seminar on real estate investment to be held in Kuala Lumpur City Centre sometime in 2013. Tickets for members of UNRFSA will be heavily discounted (in the region of MYR2,000 for a one-day ticket, or MYR4,500 for a weekly pass). There will also be deep discounts for group tickets.

Some of the topics that we will cover -

  • What’s coming up next in the Malaysia real estate vertical
  • Will the general election impact housing prices in Malaysia
  • The middle-income trap – how real is it, and how will it affect the mid-tier housing market in Malaysia?
  • How to research properties in Malaysia using online portals (sample content here)
  • Other topics on Malaysia real estate

If you’re interested, please register your interest with me (Malcolm) – email me at malcolm@unrfsa.org by the end of February.