Penang property – Villa Kejora

My wife and I jointly purchased our first apartment in Relau when we were just about to get married. We viewed no less than 20 properties in Penang before deciding on Villa Kejora. The three MAJOR reasons for us were: 1) AFFORDABILITY (of course)   2) Nice layout (kitchen was good enough for us)   and 3) near to my office (and not too far from my wife’s office)
It was only RM123k and we bought it from the secondary market. Mortgage payment per month was RM800. (Interest rate was higher then) We spent RM15k in total for renovation (mostly kitchen and toilet) and stayed there for 4 years before upgrading to a condo nearby in Sungai Ara. We sold off the apartment not too long ago for RM215k. Total net profit after deducting all renovation and expenses was around RM70k.
If you saved RM123K in bank and do not touch it for 10 consecutive years, you get RM50,504 (3.5% rate). So, I guess my total profit was slightly better than FD. 🙂  Yes, we paid interest on the mortgage but remember we also skipped paying rental since it’s our own home? I think the answer is clear. Buying is better than renting.
The apartment came with a so-so gym, ping pong room, reading room, 90% malfunction sauna room, a huge no frills swimming pool and one covered car park. From a deficit position, the management committee managed to turn everything around, hired a good management company and today, there are new flower plants and entry is by key card in both the car entry and also inside the elevator.