{ "set": "cases", "contract_version": 1, "content_hash": "2c396a26d154e75d507cbfeb078c59c0ed72779574e653ce88facbf5b2967efc", "generated_at": "2026-10-01T17:29:16Z", "locale": "en", "locales": [ "zh-Hans", "en" ], "sources": [ "resources/js/utils/academy/learningStudios.js", "resources/js/utils/cases/index.js", "resources/js/utils/cases/terms.js", "resources/js/Pages/Main/Portal/Lms/Partials/Cases/CaseChecklist.vue" ], "markup": "markdown-bold", "web_path": "/property/academy?tab=cases", "cases": [ { "key": "putrajaya-landed", "no": "01", "title": "A row of landed houses at the edge of Putrajaya", "subtitle": "A place that “will be good later” — six years on, just the same", "teaser": "Three things heard everywhere, plus a high-speed rail station 2–3 km away — none of it checked, and a row of landed houses (houses with their own land) bought further south. Six years on: the rent hasn't moved, the price has barely moved, and the top-ups go on every month.", "outcome": "loss", "outcome_label": "Loss", "minutes": 15, "cover": { "image": "/main/images/road/measure.jpg", "alt": "Illustrative picture of landed property — not a photo of the property in this case", "place": "Next to Putrajaya / Dengkil", "headline": [ "“It'll be good later”", "What is that worth?" ], "note": "Illustrative picture · not a photo of the property in this case" }, "narrator": { "name": "Wai Kit", "role": "Founder of PropertyLab. He bought this house himself, and the money lost was his own — it is still in his name today.", "facts": [ { "label": "Bought for", "value": "RM 580,000" }, { "label": "Monthly instalment", "value": "RM 2,500 / month" }, { "label": "Rent received", "value": "RM 1,300 / month" }, { "label": "Held for", "value": "6 years" } ] }, "facts": [ { "label": "Bought for", "value": "RM 580,000" }, { "label": "Monthly cash", "value": "−RM 1,200" }, { "label": "Held for", "value": "6 years" }, { "label": "Value when the case was told", "value": "RM 620,000–RM 630,000" } ], "objectives": [ "See what I based my decision on at the time, and which step went wrong", "Work out how much a property takes from your pocket each month, its gross rental yield, and the scenario of holding it to year 35", "Take away three rules and six questions you can use today on the property you have your eye on" ], "recap": [ "Judge maturity by today, not by promises — no crowds today usually means still none six years on; and you must be willing to live there yourself.", "A plan you can't see doesn't count — only what you can drive to and see does. “It'll come later” are the three most expensive words.", "With landed property, buy into a planned township, not a lone row; if you hold for the long term, work out top-ups, principal and total profit or loss separately." ], "key_terms": [ "landed", "capital-appreciation", "pocket-land", "gross-yield", "ost", "bms", "master-township", "freehold" ], "rules": [ { "key": "mature", "n": 1, "title": "Buy where it is mature today", "short": "Judge maturity by today, not by promises", "body": "A place that already has crowds today, shops doing business, schools taking in pupils, people queuing to rent — and where you would live yourself." }, { "key": "visible", "n": 2, "title": "A plan you can't see doesn't count", "short": "Only what you can drive to and see counts", "body": "Only building sites already under way, contracts already signed, companies already moved in and routes already running count. “It'll come later” doesn't." }, { "key": "township", "n": 3, "title": "Landed: buy into a planned township", "short": "Buy a whole town, not a row", "body": "Only a plan of several thousand homes can pay for guards, a clubhouse and parks — and only that will bring the next buyer willing to pay a high price." } ], "screens": [ { "key": "decide", "label": "The call I made", "title": "Why I signed for this one", "points": [ { "key": "who", "title": "This house is mine", "line": "The next eight screens are about a landed property (a house that comes with its own land and land title — a condo doesn't count) that I, Wai Kit, bought myself in Dengkil, next to Putrajaya. Six years have passed from the day I signed to today, and every number is real, including the ones I lost. You will take away three things: what I based my decision on at the time, how to work out the monthly bill of topping up, and three rules you can use today to check the property you have your eye on. About 15 minutes. In the picture, look at the location first: the house is next to Putrajaya, some distance from Kuala Lumpur (KL) city centre — and that distance turns out to be the key to the whole story.", "character": { "name": "Wai Kit", "role": "Founder of PropertyLab. He bought this house himself, and the money lost was his own — it is still in his name today.", "facts": [ { "label": "Bought for", "value": "RM 580,000" }, { "label": "Monthly instalment", "value": "RM 2,500 / month" }, { "label": "Rent received", "value": "RM 1,300 / month" }, { "label": "Held for", "value": "6 years" } ] }, "terms": [ "landed" ], "viz": { "id": "case-site-map:plot", "kind": "case-site-map", "state": "plot", "alt": "Map: Kuala Lumpur to the north, Putrajaya to the south, and my plot right beside Putrajaya." } }, { "key": "afford", "title": "Priced out, so I went south", "line": "This row was not actually what I wanted to buy at first. What I wanted was a landed township inside Putrajaya or Cyberjaya, several thousand homes planned together, on freehold land (freehold — no fixed lease expiry date, though still subject to land law and the conditions on the title; the opposite is leasehold, which runs for an agreed term, for example 99 years). The price: at least **RM 1,000,000**, RM 1,200,000 for a better one. I didn't have enough money, and the bank wouldn't lend me enough either. One step further south was a project called Cyber South, fenced, with security guards, phase one at about **RM 520,000** — but it was leasehold, and we didn't like that. Three or four minutes' drive further south was this row: freehold, **RM 580,000**. This is how we reassured ourselves back then: “Three or four more minutes of driving and we get freehold — why not?” Buy a bit cheaper, buy a bit further out, as long as it's landed — I spent the next six years paying for that one sentence. The dot in the picture got there exactly like this, one step south at a time.", "terms": [ "freehold" ], "viz": { "id": "case-site-map:plot", "kind": "case-site-map", "state": "plot", "alt": "Map: Kuala Lumpur to the north, Putrajaya to the south, and my plot right beside Putrajaya." } }, { "key": "belief", "title": "Three things I heard", "line": "My first reason for buying was three things you heard everywhere in those years, one leading to the next. One: land means scarcity — no one makes more land. Two: scarcity means the price goes up — buy landed and you are sure to make capital appreciation. Capital appreciation is the rise in the house's own price — money you only get when you sell. Three: so topping up every month to keep the house is normal — pay a little each month in exchange for a big rise later. I didn't check a single number behind any of the three; I just took them as fact. The card on the left of the picture is this reason: it is hollow for now, because not one transaction record stands behind it.", "terms": [ "capital-appreciation" ], "viz": { "id": "assumption-cards:belief", "kind": "assumption-cards", "state": "belief", "alt": "Reason for buying: “Buy landed and you're sure to make capital appreciation” (Heard around) — Evidence it needed: actual transacted prices in the same area over the past few years." } }, { "key": "station", "title": "The high-speed rail is coming", "line": "My second reason was more concrete: the Singapore–Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail (HSR) was planned at the time with one of its stations in Putrajaya, about 2–3 km from the plot I was looking at — five minutes' drive. The story was told in full: the HSR station would connect with the last stop of the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) Putrajaya Line, and from there with the express rail to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) — people from Singapore would ride the HSR to Putrajaya and change for the airport, and the crowds would pass right by my door. That's how the salespeople told it, and that's how I worked it out in my head — once the station opens, people come; once people come, rent and prices follow. The picture now has a ring: the station's five-minute drive radius. My plot sits right inside it.", "terms": [ "hsr" ], "viz": { "id": "case-site-map:station", "kind": "case-site-map", "state": "station", "alt": "Map: Kuala Lumpur to the north, Putrajaya to the south. My plot is beside Putrajaya; two or three km away is the planned high-speed rail station, and the ring marks its five-minute drive radius." } }, { "key": "bought", "title": "I signed at RM 580,000", "line": "With the two reasons together, I signed: a purchase price of **RM 580,000**, a landed house in a single row, bought with a few friends as a JV (joint venture — several people put in money together and own it together). We were all engineers and thought we reasoned things through very logically — but logic is not experience. There's one more thing I won't hide from you: we had worked out the top-up bill before we signed. A monthly instalment of RM 2,500, rent of about RM 1,300 — we knew we would have to top up every month, and we planned for it — because the third saying said the rise would far outweigh what we paid in. Now put the two reasons side by side in the picture and look closely — the left one is something I heard, the right one is something not yet built. Neither is a fact I had checked, and I used them to make a six-year decision.", "viz": { "id": "assumption-cards:both", "kind": "assumption-cards", "state": "both", "alt": "Reason for buying: “Buy landed and you're sure to make capital appreciation” (Heard around) — Evidence it needed: actual transacted prices in the same area over the past few years; “A high-speed rail station will land two or three km away” (From the salespeople) — Evidence it needed: an order to start construction, contracts, a building site you can see." } }, { "key": "untested", "title": "Neither card got a stamp", "line": "Before buying, there was only one thing I should have done and didn't: stamp each of the two cards — “Proven” if there is evidence, “Not proven yet” if there isn't. The evidence for the first card should have been the actual transacted prices in the same area over the past few years; I didn't check. The evidence for the second card should have been an order to start construction, signed contracts, a building site you can see; I didn't check that either. In the picture, both stamps have now come down, and both cards read “Not proven yet”. The next seven screens are the price of those two stamps.", "viz": { "id": "assumption-cards:stamped", "kind": "assumption-cards", "state": "stamped", "alt": "Two reasons for buying, both stamped “Not proven yet”: “Buy landed and you're sure to make capital appreciation” (Heard around) — Evidence it needed: actual transacted prices in the same area over the past few years; “A high-speed rail station will land two or three km away” (From the salespeople) — Evidence it needed: an order to start construction, contracts, a building site you can see." } } ], "learning_lab": { "title": "If you were back before the signature", "idea": "First separate the life you want, the price you can afford and the investment evidence.", "kind": "evidence", "image": "/main/images/road/concept-measure.webp", "imageAlt": "PropertyLab teaching illustration of a building in brand blue — not a photo of a real project", "steps": [ "What was believed then", "What evidence was in hand", "Which check was missing" ], "question": "Can a freehold title and a lower price replace research into rental demand?", "options": [ "Yes — given long enough, it will rise", "No — tenants still need a reason to live here", "Only for landed property" ], "correct": 1, "why": "Title and price are conditions. Who the tenants are and what they will pay still need checking on their own.", "action": "Write down three reasons you like a property, and mark which are evidence and which are hopes." } }, { "key": "asset", "label": "What I bought", "title": "One row, other people's land on each side", "points": [ { "key": "pocket", "title": "A small pocket of land", "line": "First, be clear about what I actually bought. Most developers around here bought their land from the municipal council (the local government) one small piece at a time, not as one big block. The trade calls it pocket land (a small piece of land squeezed between other people's land). My project was one of those small pieces: one row of houses, **55–60 units** left and right together, and that was the whole project. The grey strip in the picture is my row.", "terms": [ "pocket-land" ], "viz": { "id": "pocket-land:row", "kind": "pocket-land", "state": "row", "alt": "View from above: the whole project is one row of houses, 55 to 60 units left and right together." } }, { "key": "not-a-town", "title": "A row is not a town", "line": "55–60 households can't support much. A guardhouse needs people on shifts round the clock, a clubhouse needs land and money, a pool needs daily upkeep, a park needs someone to keep it trimmed — all of it is paid for out of the maintenance fee, and the maintenance fee from 60 households can't pay for any one of them. So this project has none of these, and never could. It isn't the developer cutting corners; the number of households decides it: too few homes to share the cost.", "viz": { "id": "pocket-land:nothing", "kind": "pocket-land", "state": "nothing", "alt": "View from above: one row of 55 to 60 houses can't support a guardhouse, clubhouse, pool or park — too few households, and the maintenance fee can't pay for them." } }, { "key": "neighbours", "title": "Empty land on both sides", "line": "When I bought, the land on both the left and the right was still empty. Empty land isn't scenery; it's an unknown: what it becomes next, when work starts, which way its water will run — you get no vote on any of it. And with pocket land, the plot next door is always another developer's land, not the next phase of the same plan — two developers don't consult each other; you don't talk to me, and I don't talk to you. You'll see what that difference means in the next point.", "viz": { "id": "pocket-land:neighbours", "kind": "pocket-land", "state": "neighbours", "alt": "View from above: both sides of my row are empty land belonging to other developers, and I get no vote on what they become." } }, { "key": "rain", "title": "Every heavy rain, a flood", "line": "The plot on the right was built first, and its drainage (the drains and slopes that carry rainwater away) was badly done. From then on, every heavy rain sent water our way and my row flooded — every year for the first four or five years; the worst time, the water reached the kitchen door and made the news. Look at the flow of water in the picture: it comes from the plot next door, not from inside our own project. Our own drainage was fine.", "terms": [ "drainage" ], "viz": { "id": "pocket-land:rain", "kind": "pocket-land", "state": "rain", "alt": "View from above: the plot on the right has been built on, its drainage is poor, and every heavy rain sends water towards my row." } }, { "key": "wall", "title": "A wall doesn't stop water", "line": "The developer behind us built a wall, and we raised the fence and gate behind our kitchens and added a wall of our own. The water still came in — a wall stops people, not water. Today the plot next door is finished and the flooding has stopped; but through those four or five years, every time we tried to sell, a buyer would come, see the water or find the news reports, and that was the end of it. If you remember one line from this whole case, make it this one: **however good your own master plan (how a piece of land lays out its roads, drains, parks and density as a whole), if the plot next door gets it wrong, the water floods you all the same.** Buying a property has never meant buying only what sits inside your fence.", "terms": [ "master-plan" ], "viz": { "id": "pocket-land:wall", "kind": "pocket-land", "state": "wall", "alt": "View from above: my row of houses in the middle; the plot on the right has been built on, and water flows in from it; a wall has gone up behind, and the water still gets round it — a wall stops people, not water." } } ], "learning_lab": { "title": "You buy more than four walls", "idea": "Neighbouring land, drainage, roads and upkeep of the neighbourhood all shape what living there is like. Check them on site and in the documents.", "kind": "evidence", "image": "/main/images/road/concept-analyze.webp", "imageAlt": "PropertyLab teaching illustration of a building in brand blue — not a photo of a real project", "steps": [ "Your own plot", "How it connects to its surroundings", "Who maintains what" ], "question": "Can a higher wall guarantee to solve the drainage problem around it?", "options": [ "Yes", "No — check the lie of the land, the drains and the engineering plan", "Yes, if the neighbours agree" ], "correct": 1, "why": "The flooding in this case needs a professional's judgement on site. One fix is not the answer for every plot.", "action": "Take photos on site, note the lie of the land, the outlets and who maintains what, and check with a professional." } }, { "key": "numbers", "label": "Monthly numbers", "title": "How much it takes from my pocket every month", "points": [ { "key": "instalment", "title": "Instalment RM 2,500", "line": "Once I got the keys, the first real number arrived: **RM 2,500** to the bank every month. Not an estimate — the bank deducts it on time, every month. It's the downward bar in the picture — down means money going out.", "viz": { "id": "monthly-gap:instalment", "kind": "monthly-gap", "state": "instalment", "alt": "Every month, the RM 2,500 instalment goes out." } }, { "key": "rent", "title": "Rent only RM 1,300", "line": "The second number is the rent: the market would only pay **RM 1,300**. Not because I wouldn't rent it out, nor because I asked too much — tenants willing to pay more in that area simply don't exist. Screen 4 explains why. The picture now has an upward bar too; up means money coming in. Put the two side by side, and you can already see which side the problem is on.", "viz": { "id": "monthly-gap:rent", "kind": "monthly-gap", "state": "rent", "alt": "The RM 2,500 instalment goes out; RM 1,300 of rent comes in." } }, { "key": "gap", "title": "Topping up RM 1,200 a month", "line": "Take one number from the other and you have where I really stood each month. No estimating needed; two lines and it's done — and I had done these two lines before I signed, and signed anyway.", "calc": { "title": "How much this house takes from my pocket each month", "steps": [ { "label": "Rent the tenant pays me", "calc": "RM 1,300 / month" }, { "label": "Minus the instalment paid to the bank", "calc": "RM 1,300 − RM 2,500", "result": "−RM 1,200", "tone": "bad", "note": "What I top up myself every month" } ] }, "viz": { "id": "monthly-gap:gap", "kind": "monthly-gap", "state": "gap", "alt": "Rent RM 1,300 minus the RM 2,500 instalment: RM 1,200 I have to top up myself every month." } }, { "key": "vacancy", "title": "Two months per tenant change", "line": "RM 1,200 is a good month. When a tenant moves out, the sums change: the house sits empty for a month with no rent, and the instalment is still deducted; when a new tenant is found, the agent takes one month's rent as commission — another month with no income. So every tenant change means two months where I don't top up RM 1,200 — I carry the whole **RM 2,500** myself. The picture is still the same two bars — only, for those two months, the blue one is gone.", "calc": { "title": "How much more one tenant change costs", "steps": [ { "label": "The month it sits empty", "calc": "RM 2,500, all paid myself", "result": "RM 2,500" }, { "label": "The month the rent goes to the agent", "calc": "Another RM 2,500", "result": "RM 5,000" }, { "label": "Extra top-up versus two normal months", "calc": "RM 5,000 − RM 1,200 × 2", "result": "RM 2,600", "tone": "bad", "note": "This extra comes with every tenant change" } ] }, "viz": { "id": "monthly-gap:gap", "kind": "monthly-gap", "state": "gap", "alt": "Rent RM 1,300 minus the RM 2,500 instalment: RM 1,200 I have to top up myself every month." } }, { "key": "six-years", "title": "RM 86,400 topped up in six years", "line": "I lived 6 years of months like that. RM 1,200 a month is RM 14,400 a year, and **RM 86,400** over six years — and that only counts the normal months, not the tenant changes. This money isn't a number on paper; it really left my bank account — and it could have been the down payment (the part of the price you pay yourself when you buy) on another property. The stack in the picture is six years of top-ups piled up.", "calc": { "title": "How much cash went out in six years", "steps": [ { "label": "Top-up per month", "calc": "RM 1,200 / month" }, { "label": "One year", "calc": "RM 1,200 × 12", "result": "RM 14,400" }, { "label": "Six years", "calc": "RM 14,400 × 6", "result": "RM 86,400", "tone": "bad", "note": "Real cash that left my account" } ] }, "terms": [ "down-payment" ], "viz": { "id": "monthly-gap:stack", "kind": "monthly-gap", "state": "stack", "alt": "Topping up RM 1,200 a month: RM 14,400 a year, RM 86,400 over six years." } }, { "key": "yield", "title": "Rental yield 2.7%", "line": "Gross rental yield is **a year's rent ÷ the purchase price**. For this house it is **2.7%**, before any costs are taken off. The 4% home-loan interest rate is a percentage of the loan balance, not of the price, so you can't simply subtract one from the other to judge whether the rent covers the interest. The real pressure of the instalment shows in the earlier sum: rent RM 1,300, instalment RM 2,500 — RM 1,200 short every month to start with, before repairs, vacancy and other holding costs.", "calc": { "title": "How gross rental yield is worked out", "steps": [ { "label": "A year's rent received", "calc": "RM 1,300 × 12", "result": "RM 15,600" }, { "label": "Divided by the purchase price", "calc": "RM 15,600 ÷ RM 580,000", "result": "2.7%" }, { "label": "Separately: the instalment gap", "calc": "RM 1,300 − RM 2,500", "result": "−RM 1,200 / month", "tone": "bad", "note": "Other costs not yet counted; don't subtract one rate from the other to judge profit or loss" } ] }, "terms": [ "gross-yield" ], "viz": { "id": "monthly-gap:yield", "kind": "monthly-gap", "state": "yield", "alt": "A year's rent of RM 15,600 divided by the RM 580,000 purchase price gives a gross rental yield of 2.7%, before costs; it can't be compared directly with the loan rate to judge profit or loss." } }, { "key": "story", "title": "What I told myself", "line": "For those six years I kept telling myself the same thing: “It's landed — just wait for the capital appreciation; topping up a little is fine.” Behind that sentence sat an assumption I never checked — **someone has to be willing to take it off my hands at a higher price.** Who is that person? Why would they want to live there? How many people work there? The next screen answers those three questions.", "viz": { "id": "monthly-gap:question", "kind": "monthly-gap", "state": "question", "alt": "The one assumption the whole thing rested on: someone has to be willing to take it over at a higher price. That assumption was never checked." } } ], "learning_lab": { "title": "A monthly gap adds up", "idea": "In the example, rent is RM 1,300 and the monthly instalment RM 2,500: a basic gap of RM 1,200 a month, with other costs on top.", "kind": "case-cash", "image": "/main/images/road/concept-control.webp", "imageAlt": "PropertyLab teaching illustration of a building in brand blue — not a photo of a real project", "steps": [ "Rent comes in", "Bank payment", "You top up the gap" ], "question": "Topping up RM 1,200 a month — is that the same as losing RM 1,200 a month on the investment?", "options": [ "Exactly the same", "No — the instalment also repays principal", "It isn't spending if the price rises" ], "correct": 1, "why": "The top-up describes cash pressure. The total return also involves principal, the money put in at the start, the valuation, costs and the cash at exit.", "action": "Write down your own rent, instalment and other holding costs separately." } }, { "key": "catalyst", "label": "The missing train", "title": "The station wasn't built, and people didn't come", "points": [ { "key": "cancelled", "title": "The rail station fell through", "line": "By the owner's own account, looking back, the HSR station he had hoped for was not built during this holding period, and the easier commute he expected never arrived. What is recorded here is his reasons for buying at the time and what he observed afterwards; it is a past account, not a report on where the project stands today. To assess any plan today, check the latest official announcements, status and timeline yourself.", "viz": { "id": "case-site-map:cancelled", "kind": "case-site-map", "state": "cancelled", "alt": "Map: Kuala Lumpur to the north, Putrajaya to the south, my plot beside Putrajaya. The planned HSR station's spot is crossed out — the station was cancelled, and there is nothing inside the five-minute drive ring." } }, { "key": "no-people", "title": "No station, no people", "line": "What the owner observed: the expected station, and the commuter demand that was supposed to come with it, did not appear as hoped. But an area's population and rents can be moved by many things, and this one case can't prove a single cause. Before you buy, test this: without that catalyst (the one thing that was supposed to make the area take off), can the tenants who are there today, and your monthly cash, carry the property?", "viz": { "id": "demand-chain:station", "kind": "demand-chain", "state": "station", "alt": "The owner reports that the station he expected was not built; whether that affected foot traffic, shops, jobs and tenants should each be checked separately." } }, { "key": "who-lives", "title": "Would I live there myself?", "line": "Today it takes **45 minutes** to drive from there to Kuala Lumpur (KL) city centre. I give myself a test called the OST (Own Stay Test): would I be willing to live in this place myself? No. So who would? Two kinds of people — those who work locally, and those who fly often and want to be near the airport. Just those two, and neither group is big. A place where even the owner won't live is hard to expect others to fight over — and this test takes just one question before you buy. It costs nothing.", "terms": [ "ost" ], "viz": { "id": "demand-chain:who", "kind": "demand-chain", "state": "who", "alt": "The two kinds of potential tenant the owner thought of: people who work locally, and people who want to be near the airport — how many there are still needs checking. The drive to Kuala Lumpur city centre takes 45 minutes." } }, { "key": "chain", "title": "A chain that starts with people", "line": "Linking foot traffic, housing demand, rent and sale price is a framework for investigating, not a formula guaranteed to run one way. People may only pass through, tenants may not be able to afford it, and sale prices also depend on interest rates and supply. Every arrow needs evidence — don't let a big-picture story stand in for the cash budget of one specific unit.", "viz": { "id": "demand-chain:chain", "kind": "demand-chain", "state": "chain", "alt": "A chain: foot traffic → demand → rent → sale price. These are links still to be checked, not a guaranteed chain of cause and effect." } }, { "key": "five-sources", "title": "First check five demand clues", "line": "Start with five common kinds of demand clue: transport, jobs, schools, hospitals and shopping areas; this is not a complete list of every source of demand. For a data centre, also check the construction period, long-term jobs, housing and transport data — you can't claim there will or won't be tenants from the name alone. Write down your reasoning, then look for evidence that can test it.", "viz": { "id": "demand-driver-icons:all", "kind": "demand-driver-icons", "state": "all", "alt": "Demand comes from five places: MRT / LRT station, Job hub, University / international school, Hospital / medical centre, Established shopping area / mall — we only count these five." } } ], "learning_lab": { "title": "Put the promise back on a timeline", "idea": "A future project may change, be delayed or be cancelled. First ask whether the property still works without it.", "kind": "evidence", "image": "/main/images/road/concept-analyze.webp", "imageAlt": "PropertyLab teaching illustration of a building in brand blue — not a photo of a real project", "steps": [ "The announced plan", "What has already happened", "The scenario without it" ], "question": "If the key station is never built, what should you check first?", "options": [ "Wait longer — it will happen eventually", "Whether today's tenants, commutes and monthly cash still work", "Just watch for the next advert" ], "correct": 1, "why": "Taking the catalyst away is a stress test. Your basic ability to hold should not rest entirely on one uncertain project.", "action": "List the catalyst's official source, its status and the scenario without it." } }, { "key": "today", "label": "Six years on", "title": "The report card, one row at a time", "points": [ { "key": "price", "title": "What it's worth today", "line": "The six-year report card starts with the price. Bought at **RM 580,000**; going by the range of transactions in the same row that the owner gave when he told this case, about **RM 620,000–RM 630,000**. That is a historical figure from the case, not a valuation for today. Below we use the top of the range, RM 630,000. The purchase price plus six years of top-ups comes to RM 666,400, but that sum can't be treated as the break-even selling price: you would also need the cash actually put in at the start, how much is still owed to the bank at the sale, and the costs of buying, selling and holding.", "calc": { "title": "Price plus top-ups: for comparison only, not a break-even price", "steps": [ { "label": "The purchase price back then", "calc": "RM 580,000" }, { "label": "Plus six years of cash top-ups", "calc": "RM 580,000 + RM 86,400", "result": "RM 666,400", "tone": "bad", "note": "Missing the initial cash, the remaining loan and the full costs — not a break-even price" } ] }, "viz": { "id": "case-scoreboard:price", "kind": "case-scoreboard", "state": "price", "alt": "Value when the case was told: RM 620,000–RM 630,000 (Bought at RM 580,000)" } }, { "key": "growth", "title": "Up 1.4% a year", "line": "Taking the top of the range, the price rose **8.6%** over six years — a compound annual growth rate of about **1.4%**. The method spreads the six years of growth into the same compounded rise each year. It describes the house price only; it doesn't yet include rent, the loan or costs, and it is not the investor's total return. To compare it with inflation (prices in general going up), use actual price data for the same six years.", "calc": { "title": "How much it rose in six years, and per year", "steps": [ { "label": "The rise in ringgit (taking the better end of the range)", "calc": "RM 630,000 − RM 580,000", "result": "RM 50,000" }, { "label": "Six-year rise", "calc": "RM 50,000 ÷ RM 580,000", "result": "8.6%" }, { "label": "Compound annual growth rate", "calc": "(RM 630,000 ÷ RM 580,000) to the power 1/6, minus 1", "result": "1.4%", "note": "Annualised growth of the house price only — not the total investment return" } ] }, "viz": { "id": "case-scoreboard:growth", "kind": "case-scoreboard", "state": "growth", "alt": "Value when the case was told: RM 620,000–RM 630,000 (Bought at RM 580,000); 6-year rise · per year: 8.6% · 1.4% (Compound annual growth; describes the house price only)" } }, { "key": "cash", "title": "Top-ups aren't the total loss", "line": "Six years of basic top-ups come to **RM 86,400**; the estimated price rise is **RM 50,000**. Take one from the other and you get **−RM 36,400**. This only compares the strain of topping up with the rise on paper — **you can't call it a net loss**: part of each instalment also repays the loan itself (the principal). To work out the total profit or loss after a sale, start with the sale price and take off the loan still owed, the selling costs and any RPGT (Real Property Gains Tax) that applies, then take off the cash put in at the start and the actual net top-ups over the years. We don't have the full loan and cost records here, so no total profit or loss is given.", "calc": { "title": "The money paid in and the price rise, side by side", "steps": [ { "label": "Six years of cash top-ups", "calc": "−RM 86,400", "tone": "bad" }, { "label": "The price rise (not sold yet, so not in hand)", "calc": "+RM 50,000" }, { "label": "Add the two", "calc": "−RM 86,400 + RM 50,000", "result": "−RM 36,400", "tone": "bad", "note": "Price rise minus top-ups — not the total profit or loss" } ] }, "terms": [ "rpgt" ], "viz": { "id": "case-scoreboard:cash", "kind": "case-scoreboard", "state": "cash", "alt": "Value when the case was told: RM 620,000–RM 630,000 (Bought at RM 580,000); 6-year rise · per year: 8.6% · 1.4% (Compound annual growth; describes the house price only); Price rise minus basic top-ups: −RM 36,400 (Two figures compared only, not total profit or loss; principal and cost records are still missing)" } }, { "key": "equity", "title": "The fair side", "line": "To be fair — otherwise this case becomes a rant: part of each instalment pays down the principal, and that part becomes equity (net equity — the market value of the house minus what you still owe the bank). It is still my money; it wasn't spent. But the **RM 1,200** each month really did go out, and it has a hidden cost: for these six years, it could have been sitting in the down payment for another property, helping me pay for one that pays for itself. **The real loss in topping up isn't the topping up itself — it's that the money can't do anything else at the same time.**", "terms": [ "net-equity" ], "viz": { "id": "case-scoreboard:equity", "kind": "case-scoreboard", "state": "equity", "alt": "Value when the case was told: RM 620,000–RM 630,000 (Bought at RM 580,000); 6-year rise · per year: 8.6% · 1.4% (Compound annual growth; describes the house price only); Price rise minus basic top-ups: −RM 36,400 (Two figures compared only, not total profit or loss; principal and cost records are still missing); The part that is still mine: Principal in the instalments (This part became equity and wasn't spent — but it can't do anything else at the same time)" } }, { "key": "rent-flat", "title": "Rent hasn't moved in six years", "line": "The last row, and the one I think matters most: the rent today is still around **RM 1,300**; it hasn't moved in six years. A price can be pushed up by the mood of the moment — if someone is willing to bid it, that's the price; rent can't. Rent is money someone really takes out of their pocket every month. So rent that hasn't moved in six years says just one thing: **demand in that place hasn't changed in six years.**", "viz": { "id": "case-scoreboard:rent", "kind": "case-scoreboard", "state": "rent", "alt": "Value when the case was told: RM 620,000–RM 630,000 (Bought at RM 580,000); 6-year rise · per year: 8.6% · 1.4% (Compound annual growth; describes the house price only); Price rise minus basic top-ups: −RM 36,400 (Two figures compared only, not total profit or loss; principal and cost records are still missing); The part that is still mine: Principal in the instalments (This part became equity and wasn't spent — but it can't do anything else at the same time); Rent after 6 years: RM 1,300 / month (The owner reports rent unchanged; that alone can't tell you overall demand)" } }, { "key": "neighbour", "title": "The township next door", "line": "For this case, I paid RM 75 for a transaction report on the place next door that I had turned down back then — Cyber South, the project with a full township plan. Its smallest phase-one unit sold for about **RM 520,000** at launch; in 2025 it was still changing hands at **RM 530,000 to RM 550,000**. No rise there either — because when the HSR story died, it died for both sides. But one thing is different: its rent runs at RM 1,400–1,600, higher than my RM 1,300, so its owners top up less than I do. A whole township can hold up a higher rent; it can't hold up a station that never comes.", "viz": { "id": "case-scoreboard:rent", "kind": "case-scoreboard", "state": "rent", "alt": "Value when the case was told: RM 620,000–RM 630,000 (Bought at RM 580,000); 6-year rise · per year: 8.6% · 1.4% (Compound annual growth; describes the house price only); Price rise minus basic top-ups: −RM 36,400 (Two figures compared only, not total profit or loss; principal and cost records are still missing); The part that is still mine: Principal in the instalments (This part became equity and wasn't spent — but it can't do anything else at the same time); Rent after 6 years: RM 1,300 / month (The owner reports rent unchanged; that alone can't tell you overall demand)" } } ], "learning_lab": { "title": "The price rose, but cash can still be tight", "idea": "Keep the paper gain, the principal repaid and the actual top-ups apart. Without records, don't state a total profit or loss.", "kind": "evidence", "image": "/main/images/road/concept-improve.webp", "imageAlt": "PropertyLab teaching illustration of a building in brand blue — not a photo of a real project", "steps": [ "Sale price or valuation", "Loan balance still owed", "Everything actually put in" ], "question": "Knowing only the price rise and the top-ups, can you work out the total profit from selling?", "options": [ "Yes — subtract one from the other", "No — the debt, the money put in at the start and the costs are missing", "Just use the percentage rise" ], "correct": 1, "why": "Net cash from the sale must be matched in full against everything put in, without mistaking repaid principal for a cost.", "action": "Get the latest loan balance and a record of every cost before you draw up an exit budget." } }, { "key": "rules", "label": "Three lessons", "title": "Three rules I paid RM 86,400 for", "points": [ { "key": "rule-1", "title": "Buy mature, not “later”", "line": "Rule one: buy where it is already mature today, not where it “will be mature later”. “Mature” is a vague word, so make it concrete — crowds there today, shops already doing business today, schools already taking pupils today, people already queuing to rent today. I have a homemade test of my own, called BMS (Bank · McDonald’s · Starbucks — the three signs of a mature area): a bank and a McDonald’s tell you it's a commercial area; add a Starbucks, and it tells you the people there spend well — exactly the kind of place higher-income tenants look for. Kuala Lumpur (KL) city centre, Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya (PJ) — places like these. The place I bought in was quiet six years ago and is just as quiet today — not one of the three. **In a mature place, you pay today's price; in an immature one, you pay for a future someone else promised.**", "terms": [ "bms" ], "viz": { "id": "case-rules:one", "kind": "case-rules", "state": "one", "alt": "Rule 1, Buy where it is mature today: what I did back then was “Bought in a quiet place and waited for it to get busy”; what the rule asks is “Buy where the crowds already are today”." } }, { "key": "rule-2", "title": "What you can't see doesn't count", "line": "Rule two: a master plan you can't see doesn't count. The HSR station is the best example — back then it was on the maps, on the flyers and in every salesperson's mouth; it just wasn't on the ground. “It'll come later” are always the three most expensive words. So what does count? Building sites already under way, contracts already signed, companies already moved in, routes already running. **Only what you can drive to and see counts; what you can only hear about doesn't.** These days I ask one more question — call it being scared: if that thing never comes, can this unit's rent still pay the instalment? Only if I can answer that do I dare take the risk. This rule costs no money — just one of your weekends.", "viz": { "id": "case-rules:two", "kind": "case-rules", "state": "two", "alt": "Rule 2, A plan you can't see doesn't count: what I did back then was “Believed in a rail station that existed only on a map”; what the rule asks is “Count only what is already being built or signed”." } }, { "key": "rule-3", "title": "Landed means buying a whole town", "line": "Rule three, just for landed property: buy into master township planning (several thousand homes planned together, with main roads, a commercial area, land set aside for schools, parks and its own drainage) — not a single row. Why? Think backwards — who is the person who will one day take it off your hands at a high price? A higher-income buyer. What does that buyer want? Gated and guarded (the community is fenced in, with controlled entry and security guards), a clubhouse, a pool, parks, shops you can walk to. 60 households can't pay for these; several thousand can. Setia Alam is an example of it done right: drive in, and inside is a whole other, beautiful town, not a row of houses. My advice today is blunt: if you really want landed, it's best to buy it to live in yourself, set your budget at **RM 1,000,000** or more, and buy a real Kuala Lumpur or Petaling Jaya address in a big-name developer's full township plan — don't save half the price by buying a RM 400,000–500,000 house far from the city centre.", "terms": [ "master-township", "gated-guarded" ], "viz": { "id": "case-rules:three", "kind": "case-rules", "state": "three", "alt": "Rule 3, Landed: buy into a planned township: what I did back then was “Bought one lone row of 55–60 houses”; what the rule asks is “Buy into a planned township of several thousand homes”." } }, { "key": "brother", "title": "My brother's Seremban 2", "line": "Is a full township plan enough? One thing is still missing. My brother lives in Seremban 2 — a well-planned township of several thousand homes, one of the best in that area. He used to work in Port Dickson, a 45-minute drive — fine. Two years ago he changed jobs and now works at KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Centre), in the middle of Kuala Lumpur (KL): he leaves home at 6:30 or 7 in the morning — an hour and a half without traffic, two to two and a half hours with it. In that time you could drive from Kuala Lumpur all the way to Ipoh. He now rides a motorbike to work, through wind and rain, and my mother worries every day. However good the township, it's no use if it fails the OST (Own Stay Test): **the town you buy in needs people willing to leave home from there for work every day.**", "character": { "name": "My brother", "role": "Lives in Seremban 2 — a fully planned township of several thousand homes. Two years ago his job moved from Port Dickson to Kuala Lumpur city centre.", "facts": [ { "label": "Leaves home", "value": "6:30–7:00" }, { "label": "Drive to KLCC", "value": "1.5–2.5 hours" }, { "label": "Now", "value": "Rides a motorbike to work" } ] }, "viz": { "id": "case-rules:three", "kind": "case-rules", "state": "three", "alt": "Rule 3, Landed: buy into a planned township: what I did back then was “Bought one lone row of 55–60 houses”; what the rule asks is “Buy into a planned township of several thousand homes”." } }, { "key": "one-line", "title": "One line to take away", "line": "These three rules are really three angles on one thing: **what you buy is never the house — it's the people around the house.** The house itself can be refurbished, renovated, refurnished from top to bottom; whether there are people around it is something you, one owner, can't change — not even if you wait ten years. After the next screen, I'll break the three rules into six questions you can put right away to the property you're looking at — but before that, there's one more sum I want to work out in front of you: should I keep this house until year 35 after I bought it?", "viz": { "id": "case-rules:all", "kind": "case-rules", "state": "all", "alt": "Rule 1, Buy where it is mature today: what I did back then was “Bought in a quiet place and waited for it to get busy”; what the rule asks is “Buy where the crowds already are today”. Rule 2, A plan you can't see doesn't count: what I did back then was “Believed in a rail station that existed only on a map”; what the rule asks is “Count only what is already being built or signed”. Rule 3, Landed: buy into a planned township: what I did back then was “Bought one lone row of 55–60 houses”; what the rule asks is “Buy into a planned township of several thousand homes”." } } ], "learning_lab": { "title": "Turn one person's lessons into your own questions", "idea": "The “would I live here myself?” test, brand-name shops and township planning are prompts for research, not buying rules that suit everyone.", "kind": "evidence", "image": "/main/images/road/concept-analyze.webp", "imageAlt": "PropertyLab teaching illustration of a building in brand blue — not a photo of a real project", "steps": [ "Wai Kit's experience", "Checks you can carry over", "How your situation differs" ], "question": "Wai Kit prefers large townships. Does that mean no small community is worth buying in?", "options": [ "Yes — just copy him", "No — check your own tenants, costs and planning", "It doesn't matter as long as it's cheap" ], "correct": 1, "why": "A case helps you ask questions. Your budget, target tenants, planning and upkeep evidence decide how to apply it.", "action": "Pick one lesson and write down when it applies and when it doesn't." } }, { "key": "horizon", "label": "A 35-year hold", "title": "Freehold gives me time — but does it pay after 35 years?", "points": [ { "key": "freehold", "title": "The one upside", "line": "Freehold has no fixed lease expiry date, but it guarantees no loan, no buyer and no rise in price. To see clearly what holding for the long term means, here is a teaching scenario of **35 years counted from the purchase**; the 6 years already gone are included — it is not another 35 years from today, and it doesn't represent the loan term actually left on this house.", "viz": { "id": "hold-horizon:freehold", "kind": "hold-horizon", "state": "freehold", "alt": "A 35-year timeline: from the purchase to year 35, including the 6 years already gone." } }, { "key": "hold-gap", "title": "35 years from purchase", "line": "Suppose the gap between the monthly rent and the instalment stays at RM 1,200 from the purchase all the way to year 35: the basic top-ups add up to **RM 504,000**. This is not a forecast: rent, interest rates, vacancy and repairs will all change the real result. The six years already gone are included in this amount — don't add them again.", "calc": { "title": "Total top-ups over 35 years", "steps": [ { "label": "Top-up per month", "calc": "RM 1,200 / month" }, { "label": "One year", "calc": "RM 1,200 × 12", "result": "RM 14,400" }, { "label": "35 years", "calc": "RM 14,400 × 35", "result": "RM 504,000", "tone": "bad", "note": "Assumes the gap never changes; in reality it may grow or shrink" } ] }, "viz": { "id": "hold-horizon:gap", "kind": "hold-horizon", "state": "gap", "alt": "Topping up RM 1,200 a month comes to RM 504,000 over 35 years." } }, { "key": "scenarios", "title": "Three rates of growth", "line": "Starting from the RM 580,000 purchase price, by year 35 after buying, growth of 1%, 3% or 5% a year gives about **RM 822,000, RM 1,632,000 and RM 3,199,000** respectively. All three growth rates are teaching assumptions with no likelihood attached; 3% doesn't stand for future inflation either. The blue bars are future nominal prices (the ringgit amount in that year) — not today's buying power, and not money you have made.", "calc": { "title": "What it's worth after 35 years — three growth rates", "steps": [ { "label": "Up 1% a year", "calc": "RM 580,000 × 1.01 to the power 35", "result": "≈ RM 822,000" }, { "label": "Up 3% a year (teaching assumption)", "calc": "RM 580,000 × 1.03 to the power 35", "result": "≈ RM 1,632,000" }, { "label": "Up 5% a year", "calc": "RM 580,000 × 1.05 to the power 35", "result": "≈ RM 3,199,000", "note": "All three are in ringgit of year 35, not today's buying power" } ] }, "viz": { "id": "hold-horizon:scenarios", "kind": "hold-horizon", "state": "scenarios", "alt": "What it's worth after 35 years: at 1% a year about RM 822,000, at 3% about RM 1,632,000, at 5% about RM 3,199,000; beside them, the RM 504,000 topped up over 35 years." } }, { "key": "honest", "title": "Price, top-ups, profit: separate", "line": "The middle scenario's price of RM 1,632,000 minus the RM 504,000 of accumulated basic top-ups leaves **RM 1,128,000**. That only sets two figures side by side — **it is not profit**. Even if you never had to top up from day one, the sale price would not all become profit: you still have to count the cash put in at the start, the remaining loan, and the costs of holding and selling. Before deciding to hold or sell, fill in all of these, and test separately for rent falling, longer vacancies and interest rates rising.", "calc": { "title": "On the 3% path, what's left after 35 years", "steps": [ { "label": "Price after 35 years", "calc": "≈ RM 1,632,000" }, { "label": "Minus 35 years of cash top-ups", "calc": "RM 1,632,000 − RM 504,000", "result": "≈ RM 1,128,000", "note": "Two figures compared only; initial cash, remaining loan and other costs not counted" } ] }, "viz": { "id": "hold-horizon:honest", "kind": "hold-horizon", "state": "honest", "alt": "The 3% path: about RM 1,632,000 after 35 years, minus the RM 504,000 topped up over 35 years, leaves about RM 1,128,000 — in ringgit of year 35; two figures compared only, not total profit." } } ], "learning_lab": { "title": "However long you wait, count it all", "idea": "The 35 years count from the purchase. The growth rate is an assumption, and a future sale price is not all profit.", "kind": "horizon", "image": "/main/images/road/concept-improve.webp", "imageAlt": "PropertyLab teaching illustration of a building in brand blue — not a photo of a real project", "steps": [ "One start date for everything", "Compare different assumptions", "Complete the exit cash" ], "question": "If the property never needs a top-up, is the whole sale price profit?", "options": [ "Yes", "No — the money put in at the start, the debt and other costs come off", "Only if it's freehold" ], "correct": 1, "why": "Even if the property pays for itself, the purchase cost and the loan don't disappear. Sale price, net proceeds and profit are three different numbers.", "action": "Compare the hold and sell scenarios using the same date and a complete cash record." } }, { "key": "yours", "label": "Your turn", "title": "Use the three rules on the property you're looking at", "points": [ { "key": "how", "title": "Six questions for your property", "line": "The three lessons above are broken into six questions below. Each has only three answers: Yes, Not sure, No. When you finish, you get a one-line summary — it won't decide for you whether to buy; it only tells you whether the evidence in your hands right now is enough to sign.", "viz": null }, { "key": "tools", "title": "Where to check these", "line": "You don't have to answer these six on gut feel — the portal has a place to check each one: for whether an area is mature today and how many of the five sources of demand are there, go to Area Guide; for real transacted prices and rents in the same area, go to Analyze Property; for whether you can afford the monthly top-up, and the scenario of holding to year 35, go to Wealth Planning. The links are below — check, then come back and answer again.", "viz": null }, { "key": "recap", "title": "What to take from this case", "line": "Three last lines. When you come back in a month, these three are all you need to reread: one, judge maturity by today, not by promises — and you must be willing to live there yourself; two, a plan you can't see doesn't count, only what you can drive to and see does, and “it'll come later” are the three most expensive words; three, with landed property, buy into a planned township, not a single row. And one number, please remember: **RM 86,400** — the price I paid, over six years, to buy these three lines for you.", "viz": { "id": "case-rules:all", "kind": "case-rules", "state": "all", "alt": "Rule 1, Buy where it is mature today: what I did back then was “Bought in a quiet place and waited for it to get busy”; what the rule asks is “Buy where the crowds already are today”. Rule 2, A plan you can't see doesn't count: what I did back then was “Believed in a rail station that existed only on a map”; what the rule asks is “Count only what is already being built or signed”. Rule 3, Landed: buy into a planned township: what I did back then was “Bought one lone row of 55–60 houses”; what the rule asks is “Buy into a planned township of several thousand homes”." } } ], "learning_lab": { "title": "Every answer comes with evidence", "idea": "“Not sure” is an allowed answer. First turn the unknown into a question you can check, then decide.", "kind": "evidence", "image": "/main/images/road/concept-define.webp", "imageAlt": "PropertyLab teaching illustration of a building in brand blue — not a photo of a real project", "steps": [ "My answer", "Evidence and date", "Question to verify" ], "question": "You answer “yes” to all six questions. What does that mean?", "options": [ "The investment is guaranteed safe", "You've done a first check — it still needs full verification", "You can skip checking the loan and the contract" ], "correct": 1, "why": "Six questions can't cover every risk. Keep checking real prices, rent, financing and your cash plan.", "action": "Take the question you're least sure about to the matching tool, check it there, and record the source." }, "checklist": { "intro": "Each question has only three answers: Yes, Not sure, No. Be honest — back then, four of these six were “Not sure” for me and one was “No”, and I still signed.", "questions": [ { "key": "crowd-today", "rule": "mature", "q": "Does this place already have crowds today?", "hint": "Things that are there today: shops doing business, schools taking pupils, lights on at night. Are all three there — a bank, a McDonald’s, a Starbucks? Not “there will be later”." }, { "key": "own-stay", "rule": "mature", "q": "Would you live in this place yourself?", "hint": "The Own Stay Test — one question is enough. My answer back then was “No” — if even the owner doesn't want to live somewhere, tenants and the next buyer will be even less keen to fight over it." }, { "key": "catalyst-started", "rule": "visible", "q": "Has the thing that will make it better already started building, or been signed?", "hint": "It only counts as started if you can drive there and see the site, see the signboard, and find the contract. “It'll come later” doesn't count." }, { "key": "without-catalyst", "rule": "visible", "q": "If that thing never happens, will people still want to live here?", "hint": "Take that reason away and ask again. With mine, take away the HSR station and nothing was left." }, { "key": "township", "rule": "township", "q": "Is this project part of a planned township?", "hint": "Look at the total number of homes, whether there are main roads and commercial land, and whether the plot next door belongs to the same plan." }, { "key": "yield-vs-rate", "rule": "mature", "q": "After a cautious rent pays the instalment and every holding cost, is anything left?", "hint": "List the rent, instalment, maintenance fee, repairs, taxes and insurance, then allow for empty months. If you don't have enough information, choose “Not sure” — don't use the gross rental yield in place of this sum." } ], "verdicts": { "pass": { "tone": "good", "title": "All six passed — you can move to the next step", "line": "Six “Yes” answers only mean these six first checks have answers; they don't guarantee there are no other risks. The next step is to pin the numbers down: real transacted prices in the same area, the rent you can really collect, your monthly instalment." }, "unsure": { "tone": "warn", "title": "Turn “Not sure” into sure before you talk price", "line": "“Not sure” is not a small problem — four of my six answers back then were “Not sure”, and those four “Not sure”s became six years and RM 86,400. Every “Not sure” can be checked somewhere; check it, then come back and answer again." }, "fail": { "tone": "bad", "title": "This one has the same kind of problem as mine", "line": "The questions you answered “No” are exactly the ones I got wrong back then. This isn't telling you never to buy — it's telling you to work out, before you sign, how long you'll top up and by how much, knowing that money can't do anything else at the same time." } } }, "tools": [ { "key": "area-guide", "label": "Area Guide", "line": "See whether an area has crowds today, and how many of the five sources of demand are there.", "href": "/property/academy?tab=area-guide" }, { "key": "analyze", "label": "Analyze Property", "line": "Check real transacted prices and rents in the same area — the evidence the first card should have had.", "href": "/analyze-property/new-projects" }, { "key": "wealth", "label": "Wealth Planning", "line": "Put in your real numbers and run three scenarios: whether you can afford to top up, for how long, and what is left after 35 years.", "href": "/wealth-planning" }, { "key": "road", "label": "The DMAIC Road · A · Analyze — the area", "line": "Turn “is there demand in this place?” into an answer card you fill in yourself.", "href": "/property/academy/road/analyze" } ] } ], "counts": { "screens": 8, "points": 41 }, "web_path": "/property/academy?tab=cases&case=putrajaya-landed" } ], "terms": { "bms": { "en": "BMS — Bank · McDonald’s · Starbucks", "zh": "成熟区三件套", "def": "A rough, homegrown test of whether an area is mature: a bank and a McDonald’s mean it is a commercial area; only a Starbucks as well means people there have money to spend. Only with all three is it a place higher-income tenants will look for." }, "capital-appreciation": { "en": "Capital appreciation", "zh": "资本增值", "def": "The money you make when the property itself goes up in price. You only get it when you sell, so it cannot pay this month's instalment." }, "down-payment": { "en": "Down payment", "zh": "首期", "def": "The part of the price you pay yourself when you buy; only the rest is borrowed from the bank. Every ringgit you top up each month has a cost: it cannot also be sitting in the down payment for your next property." }, "drainage": { "en": "Drainage", "zh": "排水系统", "def": "The drains and slopes that carry rainwater off a piece of land. It follows the lie of the land, so if the plot next door gets it wrong, the water flows onto yours." }, "freehold": { "en": "Freehold / leasehold", "zh": "永久地契 / 租赁地契", "def": "Freehold has no fixed lease expiry date, but is still bound by land law and the title's conditions; leasehold runs for an agreed term, for example 99 years. The years remaining can affect financing and resale, but neither kind of title guarantees you a tenant or a rise in value." }, "gated-guarded": { "en": "Gated and guarded", "zh": "围篱与保安", "def": "The whole neighbourhood is fenced in, with controlled entry and guards on duty. Higher-income buyers almost always ask for it." }, "gross-yield": { "en": "Gross rental yield", "zh": "毛租金回报", "def": "A year's rent ÷ the purchase price × 100%, before any costs are taken off. It is worked out on a different base from your loan's interest rate; whether you can carry the loan is judged by the actual rent minus the monthly instalment and holding costs." }, "hsr": { "en": "HSR — High Speed Rail", "zh": "高速铁路", "def": "The planned high-speed railway from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, with one station meant to be in Putrajaya. The project was later cancelled and the station was never built." }, "landed": { "en": "Landed property", "zh": "有地房产", "def": "A house with its own land and its own title — terrace, semi-detached and detached houses all count. Condos do not: a condo owner holds a share of one building." }, "master-plan": { "en": "Master plan", "zh": "总体规划", "def": "How a whole piece of land is laid out: where the roads run, how the drains flow, where the parks go, how densely it is built. If yours is done well but next door's is not, the water still floods you." }, "master-township": { "en": "Master township planning", "zh": "整体城镇规划", "def": "A township planned for thousands of homes at once: main roads, a commercial centre, land for schools, parks, and its own drainage system. A single row of 60 houses is not one." }, "net-equity": { "en": "Net equity", "zh": "净值", "def": "What the property is worth − what you still owe the bank. One of three ways to write financial freedom." }, "ost": { "en": "OST — Own Stay Test", "zh": "自住测试", "def": "One question to ask yourself before you buy: would I be willing to live here myself? If even the owner would not want to live there, don't expect tenants or the next buyer to compete for it. It costs nothing — one question is enough." }, "pocket-land": { "en": "Pocket land", "zh": "口袋地", "def": "A small plot wedged between other people's land — bought up piece by piece by the developer, not one whole tract. Who owns the land on either side, and when they start building, you get no vote on." }, "rpgt": { "en": "RPGT — Real Property Gains Tax", "zh": "产业盈利税", "def": "For citizens: 30% if you sell within 3 years, 20% in year 4, 15% in year 5, 0% from year 6." } }, "checklist": { "answers": [ { "key": "yes", "label": "Yes" }, { "key": "unsure", "label": "Not sure" }, { "key": "no", "label": "No" } ], "verdict_order": [ "fail", "unsure", "pass" ], "persisted": false }, "diagrams": [ "assumption-cards:belief", "assumption-cards:both", "assumption-cards:stamped", "case-rules:all", "case-rules:one", "case-rules:three", "case-rules:two", "case-scoreboard:cash", "case-scoreboard:equity", "case-scoreboard:growth", "case-scoreboard:price", "case-scoreboard:rent", "case-site-map:cancelled", "case-site-map:plot", "case-site-map:station", "demand-chain:chain", "demand-chain:station", "demand-chain:who", "demand-driver-icons:all", "hold-horizon:freehold", "hold-horizon:gap", "hold-horizon:honest", "hold-horizon:scenarios", "monthly-gap:gap", "monthly-gap:instalment", "monthly-gap:question", "monthly-gap:rent", "monthly-gap:stack", "monthly-gap:yield", "pocket-land:neighbours", "pocket-land:nothing", "pocket-land:rain", "pocket-land:row", "pocket-land:wall" ], "counts": { "cases": 1, "screens": 8, "points": 41, "diagrams": 34 } }