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.
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In the long
term, landed property – homes with gardens – has tended to appreciate,
while the value of apartments tends to fluctuate according to supply and
demand. Apart from the sporting facilities, another advantage of a condominium
unit is good security; an owner or tenant can simply lock the door and
take off for a trip around Asia or back to the UK with no worries about
the property.
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Security of a
house can be a problem and one which residents normally overcome by fitting
security alarms and leaving a maid or amah living in the property while
they are away. Condominiums, especially if built on a single floor, unlike
duplex units are easy to maintain and clean and can be run without the
services of a full time maid.
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.
Medical
costs and health Health tourism
has now become a worldwide business, prompting a great increase in the
number and range of hospitals in those countries seeking to enter the market
of health tourism.
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The Malaysian
Government is actively promoting Malaysia as a health tourist destination
and as a result, the number and range of specialist hospitals, clinics
and dental surgeries in both KL and Penang have greatly increased in recent
years. Health services in Malaysia are both world class and economical,
a combination which could soon make Malaysia one of the world’s top health
tourism destinations. Operations arranged under normal health tourism are
planned in advance and form part of a holiday package including transport
and accommodation at a hotel for both the pre-operation and post-op recuperation
periods. These private medical facilities are also available to anyone
in Malaysia who wishes to pay for treatment. (Public hospitals are heavily
subsidised and are primarily for use by Malaysian citizens who can’t afford
private medical treatment.)
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
The quality
of dental work is generally of a very high standard and, with fast access
to treatment at very reasonable costs, it allows most expatriates to maintain
a regular check-up programme. Malaysia’s medical facilities are of
world class standard and so competitively priced that already many Asians
and even some Europeans are visiting Malaysia as medical tourists, to holiday
and to have minor operations performed in any of the many private hospitals
and clinics.
In most cases
the cost of both the hotel accommodation and even the airfare from the
UK is far less than the saving on the medical costs, giving the medical
tourists a free holiday and Malaysian residents the benefit of fast access
to good private medical care at prices far below those charged for similar
operations in a UK private hospital.
Many Britons
have settled in Malaysia under the ‘Malaysia: My Second Home’ scheme (MM2H).
Bob Holland, a former Hong Kong police officer, retired to Penang with
his wife Elena in 1997. He knows everything there is to know about the
scheme and Malaysia itself. What we omitted to say in the article is that
Bob charges a modest £88 (US$150) fee for providing a mentoring service
for those interested in retiring there. This is a once only charge for
unlimited information and lots of patience. As part of this hand-holding
service he will provide a wide variety introductions including to a lawyer
who can act as your sponsor and assist you in any house purchase, should
you so require, as well as a reliable property agent if required. There
is no obligation to use these services. In fact, Bob’s advice is not to
immediately purchase property and rent before buying.
