IKEA Busa Play Tunnel & Cirkustalt Circus Tent

I have been wanting to snag the play tunnel and circus tent at IKEA for some time. However, I somehow just didn't. Last weekend, we decided to get it.  The first two wire baskets housing the tents were empty. And then hubs found another basket elsewhere with only two tents left! Yay!

IKEA Circus Tent @ RM49.90

IKEA Play Tunnel @ RM49.90

My kids love these... I keep the tent downstairs as there is already a castle tent in the bedroom upstairs... Too many tents, perhaps?

IKEA Poang Children's Armchair

As soon as the IKEA 2014 catalogue was out I downloaded the app. And when I went to visit my mom last weekend, she had safely kept the catalogue for me. One of the things that caught my eye was the Poang Children's Armchair. Exactly like its adult counterpart but on a smaller scale, this armchair was too cute to resist. I showed hubs the armchair in the catalogue and left it at that. Little did I know that he liked it too! Yippee!! So when we went to IKEA and hubs was looking for the armchair I was ecstatic. Crazy mom shopping mode on! *Grin

We didn't find any on display, either because there weren't any on display (which I doubt) or because of the crowd! IKEA was packed..I mean more than usual anyway. My kids love to stand in front of the TV and it drives us sick with worry for their eyesight and hearing. We were hoping that by buying this armchair, they would be encouraged to give the habit up.

Cute right? Hubs assembled it in a jiffy. I was the handy helper who put the cover on! Haha.. Last year's price was RM139. Now it's RM89... 

Leasehold vs Freehold: Freehold

I guess the title should be a give away... After much consideration, we decided to only look at freehold properties. This was after an agent pointed out that freehold properties appreciate much faster than leasehold properties that tend to take a rather linear appreciation. Don't take into account the current crazy property market trend. Think in years to come and many people are still hesitant or even totally against purchasing a leasehold property. Surprisingly after we purchased our first home (YAY!!) I was surprised by the number of people who asked me whether it was leasehold or freehold. Well freehold or leasehold, I think the important thing is we've purchased our first home!!! Thank you, Lord!

Leasehold Premium Amount

My main grouse with buying a leasehold property is the amount that would be due for the premium. Even after posting this post about freehold vs leasehold, I still kept on looking for answers, or rather a way to justify buying leasehold to myself (I kinda dig that house) and I came across this article!

According to an article on The Edge Malaysia online, apparently, 'leasehold property owners in Selangor have reason to rejoice, as they no longer have to worry about hefty land renewal premiums!' Provided they remain on the property, they just have to pay RM 1000.

Read on about it here to find out about the stipulations and so on. Straight from the horses' mouth as the saying goes...

Hmmm...

Leasehold vs Freehold

The 'to buy or not to buy' question in my mind has been replaced with the 'to buy leasehold or not to buy?' Recently, I fell in love with a house but it is a leasehold property. I've always been adamant to only buy freehold properties. But this property made me want to throw away every advice I've heard into the wind.. I read and read online and finally decided to err on the side of caution..

Taken from The Star online here.



Tuesday April 10, 2012

Freehold dilemma

ARTICLES OF LAW
By BHAG SINGH

Once a piece of land is alienated as leasehold, it remains so. Whether it can later be changed to freehold is a matter entirely in the hands of the land authority.

THE ordinary citizen who intends to buy a house and proceeds to do so is often attracted by the picturesque display of what is advertised, usually through a newspaper or a huge billboard.

This could in some cases lead to the buyer visiting the site office where attractive miniature models and an actual model unit will further influence the prospective buyer. All may appear well and the prospective buyer may put forth the deposit required.       

However, the frustrations and regrets of a house buyer sometimes emerge many years later as illustrated by a newspaper report on the residents of a housing estate in Kuala Lumpur. According to the report: “Residents of Taman Cuepacs in Segambut, Kuala Lumpur, are frustrated that their applications for freehold status from leasehold have been rejected by the Federal Territory Land and Minerals Department.”

The house buyers who are government servants booked the houses in 1973. At that time they were informed that the land was freehold. They said that “the property developer, Syarikat Koperasi Kerjasama Cuepacs, had put up signboards and banners stating that it was a freehold property.”

The developer had applied to the Land and Minerals Department for what was then “agricultural land” to be developed. But when the house buyers signed the Sales and Purchase Agreement, they were shocked to see that the status of the land was leasehold.

This change would have come about at the stage when the application to convert the existing agricultural land to residential, and have the land sub-divided, was made.

A lease is a grant for a fixed number of years. This is in contrast to freehold which is like giving the land away permanently and is also referred to as a grant in perpetuity.

When the state alienates land, it is within its powers to decide whether to alienate it as freehold or leasehold and if so, for how many years. In the case of a lease for residential purposes, it is usually for 99 years though it could be shorter.

There are, of course, leases of 999 years which were issued prior to the present legislation. In the Peninsular, it is the National Land Code which generally governs the subjects, while in Sabah and Sarawak, it is the Land Enactment and Land Code. Other state laws also affect land dealings.

Title

It is also the case that in a particular state in the country, not everyone will have the same type of title. In some states, the title for property owned by one category of people may be freehold and for another category of people, it will be leasehold even though they are in the same locality.

In yet other instances, it may be that one category of people may have a lease for 99 years and others may have 60-year leases, again in the same locality. Land is a matter over which the state has the necessary powers. Such situations arise because of the laws applicable and the exercise of administrative powers.

Coming back to the predicament mentioned earlier, what are the options? Apart from the powers vested in the land authority, the house buyers, who relied on the billboard advertisement, went on to sign the Sale and Purchase Agreement which clearly indicated that the land was leasehold.

Though they were initially told that the land was freehold, it was a different story at the time they signed the Sale and Purchase Agreement. At this stage, it was clear and known to them that it was not freehold land but leasehold land that the houses were to be built on.

It is understandable that at that stage, the house buyers had little choice. The choice would have been between getting the leasehold property for that price or nothing at all. At that point, 99 years would have appeared to be a long time away and something to be thought about later.

However, with the remaining years of the lease getting shorter and shorter, and the owners getting older, it has now dawned upon them that what they got is not what they imagined it to be.

This is because once the lease expires, the land will, in the absence of a renewal, revert to the state. Furthermore, as the lease gets shorter, the ease with which the property can be sold also diminishes because this makes the property less marketable.

There is nothing in the law which gives the owners a right to change the status. Of course, in most cases where the land is part of a developed area, the lease will likely be extended. However, this will be subject to payment of a premium and in most cases, the new lease is likely to be for a shorter period.

What is narrated above provides an opportunity for house buyers to fully appreciate the nature of the land when buying landed property. A buyer should be very clear about what he is buying if his house is on leasehold land.

In many cases, developers display glowing pictures of the property to be sold and its surrounding environment. However, often the more important and significant details relevant to buyers may be in small print. Sometimes the print may be so small that many people cannot make out the words, unless special attention is paid to it or a magnifying glass is used.

Fine print

That is not all. Sometimes the fact that it is leasehold may be clearly displayed but the fine print may also disclose that the land was alienated in 1995, which means that what the buyer is effectively getting is 85 years and not 99 years.       

Thus where the Sale and Purchase Agreement clearly shows that it is leasehold land, this would be binding on the property owner. Asking for a change to freehold is asking for a variation of the terms on which land was alienated.

Any variation is a matter that depends on the agreement of all the parties concerned. There is no unilateral right to do so. That there are different practices in different parts of the country, or for that matter state, may make it appear unfair to some.

However, that is a different aspect of the matter.


UPDATE: My main grouse is the amount that would be due for the premium. Even after posting this post, I still kept on looking for answers, or rather a way to justify buying leasehold to myself. I came across this article! Read about it here.

Want to know what we decided on in the end? Find out here

Sabah's Red Tide

We are in Miri (Sarawak) back again for about 2 weeks and I want to share about the current red tide that is now affecting Sabah's waters. A 23 year old woman and 40 something people have been hospitalized after consuming red tide infected toxic mussels.

According to The Star, dated 15 February 2013, 

'the "red tide" refers to the contamination or infestation of marine waters by microscopic algae whose concentration is so dense that they cause the water to look brownish orange or red. Some species of these algae produce potentially fatal toxins. Should humans consume marine creatures that ate these algae, there could be fatal consequences. Minor poisoning results in numbness around the mouth, neck and face. More serious poisoning causes major headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. The initial symptoms include tingling lips and tongue, a sensation of "pins and needles" on the skin, followed by loss of control of arms and legs, and breathing difficulty.'

The red tide warning was first issued by the Fisheries Department on 12 December 2012. The first red tide in Sabah to be reported was in 1976, after which it is said to be a yearly occurrence  The red tide often takes place in stagnant waters and Sabah is known to have many lagoons. 

Sarawak Marine Fisheries Department is keeping a close watch on the red tide. Fortunately, Sarawak does not have as many lagoons so the water is constantly flowing. The toxin from the red tide tends to accumulate in shellfish (crustaceans) because they are filter feeders and sedentary. Pelagic fish may also be affected because they feed on plankton, but they swim freely and thus the level of toxin in them may not be as critical as in shellfish. 

All shellfish or pelagic fish caught in a red tide zone, even when cooked, are considered poisonous.'

All right, pelagic fish? What's that? According to Wikipedia, "pelagic fish live near the surface or on the water column of coastal, ocean and lake waters, but not on the bottom of the sea or the lake."

www.borneopedia.com

Hope this was helpful! Be safe, eat safe...

It's been too long..

It really has been a long time since I last blogged.. since November if my faulty memory serves me right. Whoa, so that makes this my first blog for the year 2013! In honour of it being my first post of the year, I shall not complain about anything. Right, so there goes a couple of possible topics..  Ha,ha..

What I shall leave you with are sneak previews of topics yet to come..more posts on places in Miri and Sandakan and Labuan too. My 2 months with my maid (what a ride it has been), a good place to sew a dress (any type of dress but I stitched my daughter's flower girl dress here) and many more of my thoughts and experiences these past months... All this in hope that the rest of 2013 will only be better by the grace of God..