Finally, after considering several places and various options there is available, both Tina and I decided to purchase a condo which is like 10-15 minutes away from KLCC. The condo has a space of 1,600 sqf. Try guessing how much the price for this particular condo?

I can only say one thing about the price. Expensive! yes really expensive. But putting the price aside, I would like to share the process of purchasing an existing property (sub-sale). This process assumes that you’ve actually found a property or a house than you like. However, please note that, my experience wouldn’t be similar to yours but the main ingredient should be there. And here we go:

1. Evaluate your loan eligibility using the Housing Loan Calculator
2. Once you found a house and decided to purchase it, call the agent or the Seller to negotiate on the price. How to negotiate is another story all in all, so I wouldn’t talk about how you would nego in the price. But the rule is, always buy lower than the market price i.e. if the market price of the house is RM350K, try getting it at RM300K. Lower is even better
3. After the price is agreed by both parties, you will need to pay some ‘earnest deposit’. But some agent that I know of would ask for the 10% deposit straight. My advice, don’t pay the 10% straight, just in case you changed you mind later. Instead, pay some earnest deposit first, currently 2% of the purchase price would be reasonable. Should you changed your mind later, at least it’s only 2%, right.
4. How do you pay the 2%? Well, there’s so many way, but I prefer to use Bank Draft or Banker’s Cheque. Remember, pay the 2% to the agent’s company not the agent itself. After payment, make sure you get an agent agreement or the receipt.
5. After paying the earnest fees, you will need to appoint your lawyer for the Sales & Purchase Agreement (SPA). My advise, use your own lawyer, do not use the Seller’s lawyer. Anyway, you are the one who will be paying for the SPA fees. Please note that, the Fees & charges involved in purchasing a property can cost you a bomb, so study this first.
6. Appoint a Registered Property Valuator. Why? You wouldn’t want to buy a property which is higher than the market value do you. This is another reason why I say pay the 2% first. Another good reason is: you can only take loan up to the amount of the property value. If you can get this before paying the 2% is even better. This will costs you around RM300 - RM800 or more.
7. Your appointed lawyer may take up to 2-weeks to prepare the SPA.
8. Let your Property Valuer evaluate the property. You will be required to pay a deposit to the valuer before asking them to valuate the property. They might also ask for the old SPA between the Seller and the previous owner
9. Once you’ve received the valuation report and the SPA is ready, you will need to pay the balance 8% of the purchase price upon signing of SPA
10. After SPA signing, you have 3 months to search for housing loan. You may get extra 1-month extension if you can’t find any within the stipulated 3-months.
11. The rest should be easy after you get the loan. Your lawyer, the banks and the seller will do the rest

How about you guys, any comment or ideas on this. Appreciate if you can share your experience with me.