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What’s more complicated than finding the right person to say “I do”? Well, it’s searching for that perfect home together. So instead of diving blindly into the sea of “house for sale” ads on the internet, here are some tips on how to find a home together.


1. Decide and compromise (if needed) on the most important criteria of your home

Location near the city, freehold, gated and guarded, new development, swimming pool, an extra room for that dream home cinema, tall ceilings and windows…there is no doubt that both of you will have a string of features that your home just absolutely needs to have.

BUT unless you’ve got the budget for some serious customisation and renovation, you’ll find that no single home can tick all the boxes. So one way to kick-start a smooth search for that dream home together is to make separate lists of features that you and your partner think a home should have (at least 10 criteria).

From there, try to identify 5 common criteria that your home together should have. This will then be a guideline throughout the search and can act as common ground when disagreements arise.



2. Agree on a budget

Financing is THE MOST IMPORTANT aspect when looking to buy a house. Before driving through the neighbourhood of Mont Kiara and calling up the number on any “condominium for sale” banner, it might help to determine firstly, whether you can afford the house.

For most of us who have to take a loan to buy a house, the best way to do this is to determine firstly, how much loan you can qualify for. Other issues like whether it will be a joint loan should also be taken into account, as the margin of finance could differ for joint and if under one person’s name.

If you and your partner both are earning an income and will pay for the home together, it is also essential to ask yourselves “How much can you both contribute to pay for the monthly mortgage and expenses of your home?

Your budget will also determine the location and neighbourhood, as well as type of home which you can buy, given that prices of properties in different places and even townships can largely differ.

EXTRA TIP: Don’t forget to include other costs such as taxes into your budget!

Read also: 5 “VIP” (Very Important and Painful) Property Taxes All Malaysians Should Know



3. Focus on location and accessibility

Location is of fundamental importance when buying a house. It is even more so if you both have to travel to work every day. It might help to find a home which is near to your workplaces so that you can spend less time being stuck in traffic jams and more time together.

Some questions to ask yourselves in finding the right location:

- Where are your workplaces?
- How will you both go to work?
- Is it important to live near public transportation?
- How much time are you willing to spend on your daily commute to work?

Another read: MRT Feeder Bus Routes: Properties Along the Course of Convenient Connectivity

Though we’d all love to live within walking distance of our workplaces, don’t forget to consider you partner. If you and your significant other work in completely different areas/cities, be prepared to make some compromises, such as finding a home that is of equal distance to both.

INSIDER TIP: PropSocial’s Property Information page features an interactive map that you can key in a specific location (e.g.: your workplaces) to know its distance from the development!



4. Figure out if a neighbourhood & its amenities suits your lifestyles and future plans

Did you know that the happier you are with the neighbourhood you live in, the more satisfied you will be with life? The neighbourhood is essentially the community that you surround yourselves with and the conveniences that are within your reach. Hence, it is important to identify the kind of lifestyle you lead (or even the lifestyle you aspire to have).

If you intend to live long-term in this home you are buying and raise a family, other factors such as the availability of schools, day cares, medical facilities etc. in the neighbourhood will also matter.

A few useful questions to ask yourselves would be:

- Is it important to live near amenities?
- Do you cook or eat out more often?
- Are there restaurants or grocery stores nearby?
- Do you plan to have children and live in the neighbourhood?
- How far are the nearest pre-schools and schools?

Learn more: How to Find the Right Neighbourhood- the Social Way



5. Ask yourselves “How much space do we need?”

The space you need and the number of people who will live in the home is another important factor to consider. The prices of different house types in the same location can vary greatly, while some types of homes will have additional expenses such as maintenance fees or security fees etc..

Read also: Categories of Homes in Malaysia

As such, ask yourselves:

- Is this a first home? Do you plan to upgrade from this home to another in the future or is this along-term home (20-30 years or more)?
- Do you have pets?
- Will your parents live with you?
- How many children do you plan to have?

After answering these questions, you can then search for a home that can provide enough space for you to live comfortably.

FRIENDLY TIP: The layout information and floor plans of PropSocial’s property information page can give an idea of whether the home will be large enough for you and your family members.



6. Consider which market you will buy from

There are 2 markets where you can buy a house from, either primary or subsale. To put simply, they differ in terms of:

(i) Primary market: Usually new developments where you buy straight from the developer. You are the first owner(s) of the property.

(ii) Subsale market: Buying a property “second-hand” from someone. You could be the second, third, fourth, fifth… (you get the point)… person to own the property.

But what difference does it make? Well, if PERKS like discounts, freebies or even cash-back are what you’re looking for, buying a new development is the way to go!

At the launch of new properties, developers will typically offer more benefits like covering the costs of legal fees, stamp duty etc., to attract buyers, which translates to lower entry costs for YOU.

(Note: New developments which are recently completed or have months to completion will not offer as much benefits as compared to when they were first launched.)

In contrast, a house for sale by its owner on the subsale market may not have any reason to offer incentives to entice you. Buying subsale also means that you need to have an upfront 10% downpayment, whereas the downpayment for new developments may be less and sometimes, don’t require immediate payment!

TIME is also another factor which determines if you should buy from the primary or subsale market. Newly launched projects come with their perks for a reason. It will commonly 2 to 3 years for the construction to complete, and probably weeks more before the keys are handed over to you.

Should you and your partner have no rush in moving into your new home, you could consider buying a newly launched development. However, if you urgently need a home, buying subsale would be the only other choice.

LOCATION and your allocated BUDGET are also determining factors in choosing to buy from the primary or subsale market, as new developments in the city are usually more expensive compared to those in the suburbs. So, if location in the city is what you need, it might be more feasible to buy a subsale unit instead of a new one, which could cost a lot more.

MONEY CONSCIOUS TIP: If buying a subsale house, remember to check out the recent transacted prices of other houses which were sold in the same development/neighbourhood to make sure that the unit you are buying is reasonably priced.

The Property Information page of each property on PropSocial.my also features price analysis of properties nearby and the transacted prices of units in the same neighbourhood/development.



Finding a home matters, but keeping a relationship means even more

Finding a home is a tedious process, and could be made even more complicated when two people come together to find their dream home. Though you might have disagreements during the process, remember that insisting on having your own way or losing your tempers is just not worth it. So remember these simple steps to finding a home together:

1. Agree on what’s important to both of you in a home.
2. Determine how much you and your partner can afford to pay for it.
3. Compromise on where would be the best location for the both of you.
4. Decide on which neighbourhood can suit your lifestyles and future plans.
5. Think about how much space is needed (for the both of you, future kids, pets, parents etc).
6. Weigh your options and settle on whether to buy from primary or subsale market.

However, be aware that even with due diligence and efforts to compromise with each other, there are issues which could arise, like a rejected loan application, or your ideal unit being taken by someone else, which may hamper your dreams of buying the perfect home. Either way, be sure to remain positive and remember that it won’t be wrong to hold or delay your search and take a breather if needed.


You can always count on PropSocial.my to take some weight off your shoulders. Simply go to Post Requirements, key in everything from the price, type, size, number of bedrooms, and even pet-friendliness of your dream home and let us do the work for you!


(Written by: Looi Jing Er, 10th February 2017)

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Own dp small

Many factors to be consider when selecting or purchasing a unit for own stay especially for the love birds which will be tying up a knot. The living expenses are the major concern beside the working area and so on.

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should not be big issue... discuss more and visit more unit before make decision then. 

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IMHO, there is always a "better" unit somewhere out there... so if it meets around 80% of your requirement, the other un-checked criteria needs to be compromised...

There is no "best" unit out there, unless you design your own home from scratch, on your own piece of land... with no budgetary limits. :^)


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@admin_ps thanks for sharing