< Index For This Issue Offshore Real Estate Quarterly > < Subscribe Free > <  International Real Estate Market Place  > < Submit An Article > < Contact The Editor >

House, flat or condo? In Malaysia, a condominium apartment is an apartment in a block offering some sporting and leisure facilities such as swimming pool, tennis court – sometimes more than one of these – gym and normally some form of function room.  A flat is a residential unit in a block which has no such facilities. The other definition which can be confusing is that of bungalow, which in Malaysia means a detached property, but of one, two or even three floors. Land on Penang Island is limited and even more so within the popular areas of George Town, so landed property is noticeably more expensive to buy, but due to the rating system, cheaper to rent, than are condominium apartments of equal size.

Houses with gardens seem great, but unless a gardener is employed, gardening can be very tiring in the heat of the day. Due also to the high temperatures and bright sunlight, the outer fabric of a house needs constant attention, whereas in a condominium, the outer fabric of the building and the gardens are maintained by the management, the costs of which are covered by the monthly management fee, which is in the region of two pence per sq foot per month, paid by the owner rather than the tenant. There is a wide range of property available for both rental and for purchase. However, under the MM2H scheme there is no requirement to purchase property. To rent any property merely requires a rental agreement, normally for six months or a year, but up to a maximum of three years duration. The rental agreement will be normally supplied by the rental agency and the terms and conditions are subject to negotiation. Purchasing a property is more complex and foreigners requires both Federal and State permission. The Federal permission is given by the Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) who lay down certain minimum requirements which cover all of Malaysia. 
Once the FIC consent is obtained then State consent is sought. Each state may impose additional requirements to those listed by the FIC. If all these conditions are met the permission will be approved. As an example of the different conditions that can apply, the FIC insist that the minimum value of any property purchased is RM150,000 (£21,500), but the Penang State authority requires a minimum purchase value of RM250,000 (£36,000). 

Three bedroomed condos of 1,450 square feet in “Mount Pleasure” on a hill overlooking the North Coast of Penang are currently on sale for £36,000-40,000. (Rent for one of these apartments, furnished to a holiday let standard, would be about £170 per month.) These apartments need some renovation, an easy and cheap matter in Malaysia. For example, local hand made and fitted kitchen cabinets are cheaper than MFI flat packs! A good condominium apartment of about 2,900 square feet with four bedrooms and four bathrooms and good views may be purchased for about £125,000. (Rental £800-900 pm). There is, however, a large premium on beach side properties and a five bedroom, five bathroom condominium of 6,000 square feet with beachside frontage would cost up to £240,000. (Rental £1,000-1,200 per month.)  Within the range £36,000-125,000 there is a very large selection of properties currently available but above this price level the range is quite restricted. UK buyers should be aware that – unlike UK properties which are cleaned and presented for sale in a “move in” condition – Malaysian properties are neither prepared nor cleaned when shown for sale, as it is assumed that the new owner will make major renovations.
Properties bought from a developer will often have no light fittings and no fitted furniture unless included in the purchase agreement.
.

All public government hospitals and the majority of private hospitals have emergency treatment rooms where instant access to trained medical teams is available 24 hours a day. In both KL and Penang there are a large number of private hospitals and, due to the competition, the price of treatment is kept low. Many GPs and consultants are trained overseas and have qualifications that are both recognised and accepted worldwide, giving foreigners ready access to high quality medical facilities.

Required medical coverage
Applicants coming to Malaysia under the MM2H scheme are required to have local medical insurance although a long standing worldwide medical insurance policy issued elsewhere may be accepted. There is, however, an interesting codicil, in that if one is unable to get medical insurance, due to a previous claim or because an applicant is too old, then a letter from the insurance company stating that the applicant has been denied medical insurance cover, is sufficient for the purposes of MM2H. This of course leaves the applicant without medical insurance. While living in a foreign land without any medical cover might seem worrying, in some ways it is actually beneficial as a potential patient is then free to use any hospital, clinic, surgery, surgeon or GP of their choice. Unlike in the UK, there is no need to be referred to a consultant by a GP. The ability of a patient to make an appointment directly with a consultant has the advantage of both reducing costs and hastening access to treatment. 

Medical insurance costs
The cost of local medical insurance varies considerably. One of the cheaper policies is offered by the Automobile Association of Malaysia through Medimax, from as little as £0.05 per person per day. This insurance is available for applicants under 60 years of age and can be continued up until the age of 65, if started before the age of 60. Above these ages, either the premiums are greatly increased or the insurance cover is denied. (This policy is considered acceptable for MM2H.) It is not necessary to take out expensive policies as the cost of medical treatment is relatively low and the policy will only cover what is actually spent, up to the maximum of the amount insured, even if the amount insured is many times the costs incurred. In the majority of policies, pre-existing conditions are not covered and no claims, other than for accidents, are allowed in the first two months of the policy. Details of the benefits and prices of a more comprehensive policy from Malaysian Assurance Alliance are available at www.maa.com.my (Product; Life Insurance; MedicaLife 200.)

There is also accident insurance as opposed to medical insurance. As a guide, if the applicant is of generally good health (neither a smoker nor suffering from genetic ailments) aged 35-40, a family insurance premium would cost RM1,000-1,500 (£143-214) per annum. Most policies would cover the husband, wife and two children for admission to hospital due to an accident and would pay for all surgery bills and for the ensuing hospital stay at a rate of RM450 (£64) per day, whereas an accident insurance for single similar applicant would be about RM650 (£86) per annum.

Physicians costs
The cost to see a GP is about £4-£5 and a consultant, about £8.50. The appointment can normally either be made on the same day or the next working day.

Dental costs
To see a dentist may require booking two or three days in advance, unless one is in pain in which case same day treatment is normally available. Dental charges are nominally regulated within Malaysia, but the price of multiple dental treatments is always discounted. The following is a sample of current dental charges in Penang.
 

Consultation & oral examination £1.50-3
Scaling and polishing £7-10
Crown (porcelain) £70
Crown (metal) £60
Post crown £75
Provisional crown £20
Bridges per unit £70.00
Root canal treatment £30-60
Root/tooth extraction £4-15
Local Anaesthetic £2

< Index For This Issue Offshore Real Estate Quarterly > < Subscribe Free > <  International Real Estate Market Place  > < Submit An Article > < Contact The Editor>