When you are in the process of buying a property, you will usually get a long list of advice from well-meaning friends and family members, designed to help you in your decision making process and narrow down your choices. While they may mean well, it might not do to listen to all the advice or you will never come to a conclusion on which property to buy. Next thing you know, the property which you have finally decided to buy, has been sold or has increased in price. Sounds familiar?
Below are just some of the typical advice you will get in Malaysia with its numerous cultures.
- Do not face South: Too hot
- Do not face East: Morning sun
- Do not face West: Evening sun
- Which direction to face depends on what group the breadwinner is from. If from the East group, house must face East, North, South or Southeast. If from the West group, house must face Northwest, Southwest, West or Northeast
- Hospital (ambulance siren 24/7)
- Facing T-Junction (resting point for spirits trying to decide which way to go)
- Facing dead end (in case of emergency you have no alternative way out)
- Facing mountains (the mountains are supposed to be behind you to back you up, not in front of you where it represents a block in your life)
- House number which has number 4 or anything adding up to 4 (die early)
- Near LRT station (bad traffic)
- Near high tension cables (you will get leukaemia)
- Next to schools (heavy traffic)
- Next to kindergarten (you will hear children screaming the whole day)
- Near industrial area (pollution and many foreigners)
- Next or near to places of worship (terrible traffic during festive seasons)
- Near monsoon drain or river (flood)
- Near oxidation ponds (smell)
- Near waste incinerator (pollution)
- Near mining lake (pollution + smell)
- Ex-mining land (sink holes)
- High grounds (landslide)
- Low grounds (landslide / flood)
- Estate land (termites)
- Townhouses (no value)
- Near empty plot of land (don’t know what they are going to build there in future)
- Near student area (too much human traffic)
- Ampang / Bandar Sunway (ex-mining area)
- Jinjang (gangster area)
- PJ (too old need renovation)
- Puchong (too congested)
- Bukit Jalil (too congested)
- Kajang (too far, jam and flood)
- Cheras (too Chinese)
- Kampung Baru (too Malay)
- Brickfields (too Indian)
- Kepong (too many foreigners)
- Mont Kiara (overpriced concrete jungle)
- Cyberjaya (no pork)
- Klang (too many gangsters)
- Shah Alam (no alcohol and lottery ticket shops)
- Ulu Klang (too many landslides)
Here ends (or maybe not) the list of just some of the typical advice one is likely to get in Malaysia, where listening to all the advice will likely result in never purchasing a home.... ever! As such, the moral of the story? Buy what you and your family are comfortable and happy with.
Happy house hunting!
