Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by chesterst

Recommendation Needed for Top Property Investments

chesterst — Sun, 15 Jun 2025 09:05:34 +0800

Hello sifus!

Seeking tips from property experts.

We have fully repaid our housing loans and seeking to buy new properties to make some quick profits in a span of 2-3 years time from now.

We are able to qualify for 90% loan for up to four properties and have a total budget of RM 4M.

So can be either four properties of RM 1M each OR two properties of RM 2M each preferably in Klang Valley new projects with zero entry costs (no downpayment). If have cash back upon completion, better still!

Looking for properties with fastest capital appreciation / high rental yields upon completion which enables us to either flip upon VP or have rental returns that cover our monthly instalments (if we maximize to 4M, the total will be RM 20k per month in terms of monthly repayment).

We looked at The Reya in KL East / The Ashwood U Thant / Linari Kwasa Damansara.

Ideally a project under construction or very preliminary stage and expected to complete in 2028 so our monthly commitment would grow gradually during the construction phase.

We welcome suggestions (residential) be it either condo or landed in prime areas. Recently saw Bobby Ang of Aurizn fame's video on SJCC East One and thought the rental in the area is not too bad either.

We are predominantly KL folks having been raised in the prime KL neighbourhoods (think Bangsar / Damansara Heights / Ampang Hilir) so we may not be as savvy in terms of greater KL area growth potential.

Thank you in advance, really appreciate your input!

PS. We're Bumis so we may consider malay reserved projects if they are extraordinarily promising but will try to avoid as may pose problems when wanting to flip later on.

Wedding Car Hire

chesterst — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 12:07:00 +0800

Hi all, I'm shopping for a full size continental sedan / suv (think S class / 7 series / GLE / Cayenne / X5) and I'd like the car to be productive while I'm not using it ie. making it available for chauffeur hire for weddings or just on demand car hire like Moovby or Trevo. I have other smaller cars for my daily drives.

Question:

Is there a particular colour to avoid if I want this to be favourable for Chinese as their wedding car? Should I avoid black exterior as that's considered a taboo? There are choices of black, white and grey for the model I'm looking at.

As for interior, I am thinking of going either all black or red and black two tone.

Thoughts anyone?

CCRIS Evaluation

chesterst — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 14:44:04 +0800

Hello everyone,

Hope someone can help me with this:
In the perspective of a bank's credit processing officer on the assumption that payment is always prompt and excellent, is it worse to have several credit cards from different banks or is it worse to have several personal loan from different banks? As they are both clean an unsecured facility, which one has a more negative connotation let's say when planning to buy a house or car next?

New Best Premium Credit Card for Airmiles 2022

chesterst — Sat, 10 Sep 2022 23:56:01 +0800

Hi all, I'm sure most of the airmails junkies out there are aware of Maybank's drastic move to devalue their TP to airmiles conversion.

So bad that I think it doesn't make sense anymore to use the Maybankard 2 Premier cards.

Any suggestions which are the best for airmiles accumulation now?

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chesterst — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 10:39:35 +0800

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chesterst — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 11:55:19 +0800

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chesterst — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 11:51:43 +0800

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chesterst — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 09:43:20 +0800

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chesterst — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 17:48:19 +0800

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chesterst — Sat, 12 Dec 2020 17:29:49 +0800

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chesterst — Sun, 09 Aug 2020 21:52:40 +0800

Hi all, I need help. I am currently using DECO M9 Plus mesh system for home. I live in a three storey home with built up area of about 5000sf. Not a really big house, but because it's three storey I am having a tough time with getting proper wifi signals even with my existing system. My main router is placed on the top floor and when I am on ground floor, the connection is horrible. At the moment the other two wifi receiver is placed on first and ground floors respectively.

According to my usual technical guy, that's the best he can do but I don't think so. Anyone can recommend a better Mesh System for home? Any technician you'd like to recommend? Thanks in advance.

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chesterst — Tue, 05 May 2020 20:54:28 +0800

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chesterst — Tue, 05 May 2020 18:45:19 +0800

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chesterst — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 20:08:49 +0800

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"Shelf life" of High End Condos In KL

chesterst — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 20:54:51 +0800

In my understanding, almost always, condominiums have "shelf life" attached to them no matter how luxurious or high end when it was new. In the beginning, everything is great - rentals with good yield, immaculate maintenance and of course steady capital appreciation. But after awhile (read 10 - 20 years), these things hit a plateau and worse may slowly dwindle. Condos like Sri Kenny, Desa Angkasa, Sri Penaga, Prima Damansara, Seri Duta, Kirana, Hampshire Park all had their heyday but are now slowly but surely fading off.

Do you think this happened because they don't have USP?

Take a more recent one for example - One Menerung. Like it or not when one puts it next to the shiny new Serai, one could really see its age. However, where Bangsar is concerned, many expats are known to choose OM over Serai because of its proximity to Bangsar Shopping Centre which means that's one of its USPs. Other than that, one may conclude OM feels more spread out compared to Serai (OM 8 acres vs Serai 6 acres).

Do you think 10 years from now, OM would still continue to hold its charm especially among expats or in time it will look too old by then and the lower density and newer Serai will then be leading the way forward? For its age, OM seem to age remarkably well and the property management company is doing a stellar job (easier to achieve as they have in excess of RM 10m of sinking and maintenance funds).

The Binjai On The Park for example, will have strong staying power because of its ultimate trump card (USP) of having uninterrupted views of both the Petronas Twin Towers and KLCC Park assured for good.

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chesterst — Sat, 27 Jul 2019 10:23:32 +0800

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chesterst — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 10:59:53 +0800

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chesterst — Sat, 15 Jun 2019 12:06:55 +0800

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chesterst — Sat, 18 May 2019 09:36:39 +0800

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Utamara Boutique Residences PJ

chesterst — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 23:46:42 +0800

Still a fairly new name in the property industry, Parkwood Sdn Bhd is bringing to the market exclusive low-rise boutique residences in Jalan Melati, PJU 6A, Petaling Jaya. The property arm and wholly-owned subsidiary of Amalgamated Industrial Steel Bhd (AISB) is planning to launch Utamara, which has a gross development value of RM105 million, this month.

To recap, Parkwood was acquired by AISB from LGB Holdings Sdn Bhd and CS Lim Holdings Sdn Bhd in 2017. A company under the LGB Group of Companies, LGB Holdings indirectly holds a substantial stake in AISB via Telaxis Sdn Bhd. The group, through its property arm Bellworth Developments, has completed its flagship commercial and residential developments Menara LGB and The Greens respectively in the affluent neighbourhood of Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

AISB, which began life as a pioneer manufacturer of steel pipes in Malaysia in 1969, is now involved in steel trading, property development and property investment.

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AISB executive director Lim Chin Sean and chief operating officer Chan Keen Wai spoke to City & Country exclusively at Parkwood’s tastefully decorated sales gallery in Jalan Wan Kadir 1 in TTDI, which houses the scale model, layout plans and proposed sample fittings for Utamara.

Utamara is a portmanteau word of the development’s neighbouring areas Bandar Utama and Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara, Chan explains. “It signifies the location of the site, which is just a stone’s throw from the established neighbourhoods with the convenience of shopping and other amenities. ‘Utama’ also means prime and ‘mara’ to move forward. Thus, the name represents not only the prime location and thoughtful design of the development but also its current and modern elements.”

The 1.82-acre, low-density development offers 82 residences housed in two blocks, one four storeys high and the other five storeys. Its spacious units come in sizes ranging from 1,029 to 2,377 sq ft with nine unique layouts ranging from 2-bedroom 2-bathroom to 4-bedroom 4-bathroom. The units are tentatively priced at RM850 psf and the development is slated for completion in 2022. Utamara’s 99-year lease was renewed last year, notes Chan.

Lim says Utamara is targeted at families or investors with the large built-ups of its units. “With that and also the location in mind, we are looking at second-generation upgraders who want to be near their families.”

All units have generously sized living, dining and kitchen areas. “Except for two smaller units, the rest come with a minimum of three bedrooms with an additional plus-one space that can be utilised as a family room, study room, bedroom, play room or music room,” says Chan.

Each unit comes with two parking bays, kitchen cabinets with a hood, hob and oven, as well as sanitary fittings and home security cameras while all rooms come with air conditioning. The security system consists of perimeter CCTVs, multi-tier card access and home security cameras that can be monitored from the mobile devices of residents.

Among the units offered at Utamara are 14 large 4-bedroom, dual-key units. “The dual-key units are suitable for two generations who want to live together or for those who want to rent out one unit while living in the other as there are many universities and colleges in the surroundings and this is a very prime site,” says Lim.

“In general, our product is positioned for the movers and shakers as well as the young and affluent. Specifically, we are targeting those from the middle to high-income groups who are drawn to the location and retirees living in landed homes who want to [downsize] and be near amenities and facilities,” says Chan.

In its design brief, Parkwood says it aims to conceptualise resort-style living in Utamara, starting with open, bright and airy common corridors that face one another across a central landscaped courtyard that welcomes its residents home from the lift lobby to their front doors.

All units, almost half of which are corner units, will come with balconies. As for the intermediate units, their balconies are inward facing for added privacy and can also serve as an extension of the living space.

Selected units with big built-ups also come with a stand-alone bath tub and a large adjustable louvred window.

“We have put in a lot of effort to infuse a resort lifestyle into the project, particularly the central courtyard and balconies,” Lim remarks.

Utamara’s residents will enjoy facilities in both blocks — a rooftop deck and garden in Block A and a pool deck on the ground floor of Block B.

Block A with its 31 residences comes with rooftop facilities, including a landscaped courtyard, multipurpose hall with kitchen, private roof farm, community herb and vegetable garden, interactive terrace, terraced garden with seats, play area, hammock area, covered barbecue and dining area, and reflexology path.

Block B with its 51 residences comes with ground floor facilities such as a 20m-long infinity pool with an adjoining covered lounge, wading pool, children’s play area, sun deck, floating lounge, double-volume gymnasium with a mezzanine level overlooking the pool, and a semi-outdoor onsen with an adjoining lounge.

“The herb and vegetable garden on the rooftop provides a good platform for a farm-to-plate dining experience,” Chan says. The indicative monthly maintenance fee is 50 sen psf or below.

Utamara’s strategic location close to established and mature neighbourhoods, such as Damansara Utama and Bandar Utama, is well connected and enjoys easy access to major roads and highways such as SPRINT, Lebuhraya Bandar Utama, Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong and New Klang Valley Expressway. It is also within walking distance of the Centrepoint neighbourhood mall and the upcoming Damansara Utama LRT station.

Lim and Chan are optimistic that Utamara will do well. “We are very boutique and are targeting a niche market. If we had 500 units, it would be challenging but we only have 82,” Chan remarks.

According to Lim, the project has garnered good response. “Our billboard on SPRINT has generated a lot of enquiries and interest. We are very confident of this project. As its surroundings are already mature, it is only a matter of time before any vacant land in the area is developed.”

Developments in Utamara’s vicinity include Laman Ara Utama by GSB Properties Sdn Bhd and Séterra by Briswood Sdn Bhd.