Finding my paradise

Buying a dream house

So, you decided to buy a house. Good move, but there are a lot of factors you need to consider. Buying a house will probably be the biggest purchase most people will make in their lives. Whether you purchase a property for residential use or as an investment, the following factors are important for you to consider:

• Price
• Location
• Type of houses – landed or high rise
• Layout and design of the house/ unit;
• Amenities
• Density-number of units and proximity;
• Future development in the same project whether it will enhance your living conditions or otherwise; and
• What type of land is your property sited? On hillside, former mining land, swamp area.
• Financial strength and capability of the housing developer.

But as a degree holder in Land Administration and Development, I think the land status and the nature of title is crucial to be considered before buying a house.

Land Status

The status of the land can be checked at the Land Office (Pejabat Tanah) in the case of land alienated under Land Office Title or the State Land Registrar (Pejabat Tanah dan Galian Negeri) in the case of land alienated under Registry Title. Example as follows:

• Land Office Title – Pajakan Mukim (PM),Geran Mukim (GM), Hakmilik Sementara Mukim {HS(M)}
• Registry Title – Pajakan Negeri (PN), Geran (GRN), Hakmilik Sementara Daftaran {HS(D)}

The checks can be done at Bahagian Pendaftaran Hakmilik (Carian Rasmi Hakmilik) by paying a nominal free for search service. If I’m not mistaken for State of Selangor and WPKL the fee is RM50.00 per search. You’re advised to check on ownership and land usage restricted interest. Some land is subject to certain limitations of interest in the Document of Title. These limitations could be found on land which:

• Require State consent or/and Executive Committee Board consent; commonly found in leasehold properties
• Require Ruler of the State in Council approval for Malay Reserved Land. Malay Reserve Land can only be purchased and owned by Malays. Definition of ‘Malay’ varies from state to state.
• Are classified as Customary Land in Malacca and Negeri Sembilan
• Are held by natives in Sabah and Sarawak

Apart of that, the search will enable you to know if the land has been mortgaged with the bank. Land which is not mortgaged is better since it shows that financial situation of the company is stronger.

Most important, please ensure whether it is:-
• Freehold land - which gives the owner perpetual ownership;
• Leasehold land- for a period of up to 99 years (check the number of years left) - which allows the owner to own properties only for a specified period. When the period expires, ownership reverts back to the State Government which issued the titles. This type of ownership usually requires consent of State Government when owners want to transfer the ownership, lease or charge the titles for financing.

*Freehold vs Leasehold – I’ll elaborate more on this on the next entry.

Nature of Title

You should ask the vendor/developer the nature of title that you will get for your property whether it is Land/Individual Titles or Strata Titles. Otherwise, you also can find out the nature of title that will be issued for the property from the Sales and Purchase Aggreement. If you signed Schedule H, u will get strata titles and if u signed Schedule G, u will get land/individual title.

• Land / Individual Title- In general, an individual title is for a property which has its own land and this usually means that the land itself is owned by the proprietor.

• Strata Title- Strata titles refers to title that is issued to individual parcel in a Strata Schemes. A Strata scheme is a particular type of development which divides a building or land into parcels, accessory parcel and common property and which specifies a system of management (for example, Condominiums, Apartments, Town Houses and Gated Community Schemes). Land Titles for the land on which the building stands will be issued to the management corporation which is made up of all parcel owners in a Strata Scheme.

*Land / Indivual Titles vs Strata Titles – I’ll elaborate more on this on the next, next entry.

Do not rush into making a decision. Buying a house is not like buying groceries. Think carefully whether it is the one you are looking for. A cheaper house does not mean it's a better deal. I've bought three houses. I created this entry only to share my knowledge of home-buying with others, I wanted to create the guide that I wish I had when I was a rookie home buyer.


My First House


Second One


Third