Good Job, Selangor! Selangor property discount applies to all

SHAH ALAM: Prices of affordable serviced apartments, soho (small office, home office) and sovo (small office, versatile office) units in Selangor

will now be lower for everyone following new guidelines on state property development, says state exco Datuk Teng Chang Khim (pic).

Prices of these three types of properties have been lowered for all buyers regardless of their racial background, he said.

“Under the existing practice, 10% discount is given to bumiputra buyers.

“Considering that the target group is all the same – they are all people in need – we decided to extend the discount to all by reducing the properties’ ceiling price.

“We offer these properties to the lower and medium-income groups. There is no reason that bumiputras are given the discount and not non-bumiputras,” he said when contacted.

He dispelled reports that the Selangor government would no longer provide a 10% discount for bumiputra buyers of such homes.

“There is no question about abolishing it (the 10% bumiputra discount) but we lowered the price and standardised it for all,” he said.

He gave an example where the ceiling price of a piece of property had been lowered from RM300,000 to RM270,000, which would be enjoyed by all buyers starting Sept 1.

”Under the new guidelines, bumiputra buyers are not affected because they still enjoy a lower price.

”The state has also to set the selling price of these properties between RM230,000 and RM270,000,” he said, adding that the maximum household income for eligible buyers would be revised from RM8,000 to RM15,000, allowing more people to qualify for the purchase of such homes.

Teng, who is state Industry and Commerce, Small and Medium Enterprises and Transportation executive chairman, said Selangor had received suggestions to lower the prices of affordable properties to benefit buyers from the lower and medium-income categories.

He also said that the 30% quota for bumiputra property ownership remains.

Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said that as far as affordable and low-cost homes were concerned, the need transcended race, religion, skin colour and background.

“Being less financially capable and poor cuts across races and religions. Selangor’s principle is to help those with lower income to own homes.

“We have agreed on some new guidelines and they will be announced in detail by Datuk Teng and (Housing Exco) Datuk Iskandar (Abdul Samad) later,” he said when met after an art programme here.

Source: Starproperty.my

Catch up the train! How to Get New Customers With Pokémon Go!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock over the past few weeks, you’ve probably heard about the latest viral craze to hit the United States: Pokémon Go. Nintendo’s latest invention, Pokémon Go, is a mobile app that features the lovable Pokémon characters from the 90s card games, bringing millions of users back to their childhood days. While this might sound a bit ridiculous, small businesses can use Pokémon Go to bring in foot traffic and get new customers. Pokémon Go can get more people to come into your small business than you know what to do with and help significantly boost sales.

How Does Pokémon Go Work?

Pokémon Go is a free mobile app where you can find Pokémon and “catch ‘em all” in virtual reality. Players capture Pokémon by flicking Pokéballs at them with their fingers on their mobile phones. The app uses the GPS tracking system on your mobile device to create a map for nearby Pokémon, Pokémon Gyms, and PokéStops in real life. When you find a Pokémon, Pokémon Go accesses your camera and places the Pokémon into your camera screen, where you can try to catch it.

Pokémon Go now has over 20 million active daily users, and that number is still rapidly growing. Just to give you some perspective, Pokémon Go has more active daily users than Twitter, and has a higher engagement than Facebook.

How Small Businesses Can Use Pokémon Go

Small businesses can leverage this outrageous amount of engagement on Pokémon Go and convert it into traffic for their businesses. Pokémon Go users find Pokémon by walking around busy areas such as cities and towns, and they even explore new places on their hunt to catch more Pokémon. If you are located in a busy urban area with lots of other stores and businesses, this influx of people coming into your store will increase the likelihood of them purchasing your services. Here are some ideas for getting customers for your small business with Pokémon Go.

Related: 5 Steps to Starting a Successful Small Business 

Create a Pokémon Go Account

Before you start gaining customers through Pokémon Go, you’re going to need to download the free mobile app and create an account if you haven’t already. To download Pokémon Go, open up the App Store on your mobile device and download the Pokémon Go app. It shouldn’t be too tough to find—it’s the #1 free app in the App Store. After you download the app, open the app and sign up using your Google account or create a Pokémon Trainer Club account. Once you’ve finished creating your account, customize your character and then click the check mark in the bottom right corner of the screen. Now, you can explore your area and start marketing with Pokémon Go.

Bringing Customers to Your Small Business with PokéStops and Gyms

PokéStops and Pokémon Gyms can help bring traffic into your business. PokéStops are locations in Pokémon Go where you can pick up Pokéballs for catching Pokémon, while Pokémon Gyms are places where Pokémon users can battle their Pokémon. PokéStops and Gyms are often buildings, landmarks, or monuments in your area. Both of these places can become hotspots for Pokémon players to gather at.

Pokémon Go has already created PokéStops and Gyms in your area. Check the area around your business to see if there’s already a stop or gym near you. PokéStops and Gyms look like 3D targets as shown in the image above. If your business is a PokéStop, Pokémon Gym, or near one, consider yourself lucky. If not, you can still gain traffic from these places, or you can request your business to become a Pokéstop or Gym on Pokémon’s support page.

Sponsored Locations on Pokémon Go

Pokémon Go is looking for more ways to profit from the Pokémon phenomenon, which is why they’re going to start offering sponsored locations. Businesses will be able to purchase PokéStops and Gyms from Niantic, the company that developed Pokémon Go.

Marketing Ideas for PokéStops and Gyms on Pokémon Go

Even if your request gets rejected, you can still use these locations for your business’s advantage. Your map on Pokémon Go will show you places that are PokéStops and Gyms, which means you can target your marketing towards these locations. If you are a mobile business such as a food truck, increase your business’s visibility by parking as close to a Pokémon Gym or PokéStop as possible.

Related: 6 Sample Marketing Plans for Small Businesses

Pokémon Go requires you to walk around in real life to find PokéStops and Gyms. This provides a great opportunity for gyms, after school providers, camps, and athletic facilities to direct Pokémon Go players to their locations and encourage them to get their daily exercise in.

Other marketing ideas for bringing foot traffic into your business are:

• Put up a sign outside your store if you’re a PokéStop or Gym
• Offer a discount to users who are “Level x” on Pokémon Go
• Give customers a small gift with their purchase if they have a specific Pokémon
• Hold a contest outside your business to see who can catch the most Pokémon in an hour and promote the event on Facebook
• Hand out coupons to players on a specific team (There are three teams: Team Mystic, Team Valor, and Team Instinct)
• Promote news about PokéStops, Pokémon Gyms, and lures near your business on your social media accounts
• Spruce up your store with Pokémon art and decorations

How to Get Your Business Found With Pokémon Go

Businesses can take advantage of Pokémon Go in order to get found by more potential customers.

• Yelp: Yelp recently created a filter for Pokémon players to use to find PokéStops nearby. People writing reviews of your business are now prompted to answer whether or not your business is close to a PokéStop. This is a simple way Pokémon Go can help your business increase its visibility online and get more business than you can handle from Yelp.
• Pokémon Go Maps: Another way you can gain visibility is by adding your location to Pokémon Go maps of your area. Google Pokémon Go maps in your business’s location and let people know what Pokémon you’ve found near your business to bring foot traffic into your area.
• Pokémon Go Events: Many small businesses are getting in on the fun by holding Pokémon-themed events. Restaurants are getting tons of customers by hosting bar crawls (known as PokéCrawls) and encouraging people to dress up as their favorite Pokémon.

Draw Customers in with Lures

Just like in fishing, lures are used in Pokémon Go to attract people to an area that has Pokémon. Lures increase the amount of Pokémon in your area for 30 minutes, and they can only be used at PokéStops. So, if you’re trying to catch ‘em all, lures are a great method to do so.

You can purchase lures with Pokécoins within the mobile app. Activating a lure at the PokéStop closest to your small business can bring users into your store. Getting users inside of your store brings them one step closer to becoming paying customers.

Lures can be an inexpensive way to bring more traffic into your store or business. Lures can be used for businesses that already get foot traffic, including restaurants, flower shops, fitness centers, ice cream stores, and retail stores like hardware or jewelry stores. Dozens of small businesses around the country have already caught on to this strategy and have successfully used lures to attract more customers.

How to Place Lures in your Business

There are creative ways you can use lures for your business if your business is near a PokéStop. For example, a car wash can put a lure inside of its car wash if it’s a PokéStop, forcing Pokémon Go players to buy a car wash if they want to capture Pokémon from the lure. Restaurants can use lures during off-peak times to bring users into their businesses and persuade them to buy food and drinks.

How Much Does a Lure Cost Your Small Business?

While this may sound like a great option for your small business, you’re probably asking yourself, “How much will this cost me?” The good news is that this won’t cost your small business very much. Lure modules are currently being sold in the app at 100 Pokécoins for 1 Lure, and 680 Pokécoins for 8 Lures. You can play Pokémon Go like millions of others to earn Pokécoins for lures, but it’s much quicker and easier to just buy Pokécoins.

If you want to test this marketing channel for gaining customers, start small. Buy 1 lure for $0.99 or 5 lures for $4.99 (550 Pokécoins) to see if you gain traffic from Pokémon Go. If you’re happy with the results and want to start buying lures for your business, you can go the most cost efficient route and buy Pokécoins and lure modules in bulk. 14,500 Pokécoins cost $99.99, and 8 lure modules cost 680 Pokécoins, which means that you get lures for your business for about $0.60 each. 30 minutes of increased traffic for only 60 cents yields a tremendous return on investment for your business.   

Examples of Pokémon Go Helping Small Businesses

Many small businesses have already used Pokémon Go to get more customers and boost sales.

An Animal Shelter in Indiana posted on their Facebook business page and asked Pokémon players to walk rescue dogs while they are trying to catch Pokémon. As a result, Pokémon players immediately started lining up to walk and play with these rescue dogs. This Facebook post was shared over 25,000 times, and the rescue dogs received plenty of exercise and attention, all thanks to Pokémon Go. Other animal shelters across the country have started using a similar strategy and gotten rescue dogs adopted in the process.

Many pizza and coffee shops have increased profits by using lures and posting signs outside their businesses saying that they’re PokéStops and Gyms. Real businesses are making real money from Pokémon Go, so why not give it a shot?          

The attention you can get from Pokémon Go can help you bring foot traffic into your business, and it can even become an important piece of your marketing plan. Have any other ideas for catching Pokémon players for your small business? Let us know by comment here.

Everything You Should Know Before Buying An Auctioned Property!

Auctioned properties can be a lucrative way to acquire an asset under your name. The prices are usually way lower below market value and can be a steal at times. However, nothing comes risk free and you should be aware of the pitfalls you could be stumbling onto when purchasing an auctioned property. Let’s take a look at some of the things involved.

1. Process

Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age to be eligible to bid at a property auction.

Process

You may register prior to the auction sale or on the auction day. You need a cashier’s order or bank draft  equivalent to 5% (Loan Agreement Cum Assignment-LACA) auction or 10% (Non-LACA auction) of the reserve price of the property that you wish to bid for. You should arrive 30 minutes before an auction if you intend to register on the auction day.

After registration you can bid for the property you wish to purchase. Don’t be rash and bid more than the initial limit you have set.

The successful bidder will have to sign a Sales Contract and pay the first 5% or 10% of the final bid price, and settle the remaining balance within a certain period of time (common time frame is 3 months).

In most cases the amount will be greater than the deposit based on the reserve price, so bring along your cheque book and be prepared to fork out more.

2. Advantages

The major factor that encourages buyers to purchase auctioned properties is that their values are somewhat lower than the market value. Buyers stand to make up to 20% of saving from the market price. There are cases where no reserve price were attached to the properties, and that the highest bid wins the bid. If the bidding has little or no competition, you will have a higher chance to win the bid.

The second advantage is owning a property quickly since most of the necessary procedures such as valuations are usually done beforehand. Besides that, once signed, the participants are legally bound to transaction so this prevents the seller from accepting a higher offer from another party in the future.

3. Disadvantages

Uncertainty

The bidders are usually not allowed to view the interior of the buildings. The new owner takes the risk of having to bear a large amount of money to repair damages left behind by the previous owner.

Outstanding Payments

Outstanding utilities bill, tax and maintenance fees will usually be borne by the new owners. This is why we don’t encourage buyers to bid more than their initial tolerance limit; to spare some reserves for damages.

Occupied Property

Since auction properties are not guaranteed with vacant possession, there is a chance that the property is occupied (by previous owner or tenant). Once the purchase is done, these problems belongs to you and yourself.

4. Tips

There are some basic tips which you can do to avoid or solve the problems if you are interested in buying auction property.

• Inspect the subject property beforehand to check on the external condition of the property and whether someone is occupying the property. If possible, ask the occupant (if any) to have a view of the interior of the property, or ask the neighbours to do you a favour to view their house with a similar layout (be prepared to receive hostile treatment). Try to dig up information from the neighbours about the nature of the previous owner.
• Visit the management office to find out the outstanding maintenance fees. It’s not difficult to get information disclosure as the management would likely welcome a potential owner to cover the balance amount.

Conclusion

On top of the hidden uncertainties faced, auction property buyers also share the same challenges as any home buyers like securing a housing loan, lower valuations and higher upfront cost. We highly encourage buyers to conduct a thorough research first and judge wisely whether the advantages outweighs the problems. Additionally, gaining and flipping from auctioned properties is usually the game for seasoned property investors and not for first time home buyers so think twice before taking the plunge.

- I Vision Properties -

13 points to consider when buying subsale high-rise units

What are some of the things you should look out for when hunting for a high-rise home on the subsale market? Kimfield Properties agent George Loh shares 13 tips below:

1. Look at the density or plot ratio.

2. What is the balance of the lease of the land (if it has a leasehold tenure)?

3. Are there enough parking lots? Are the lots in a covered car park?

4. What brand or model are the lifts? Are they reliable? How many lifts serve the building?

5. Type of community or occupants (low-, middle- or high-end ) in the building; and whether the community is cooperative and communicative (eg are there any abuses of the common fund; are there any good and reasonable house rules available to resolve disputes easily).

6. Easy accessibility and availability of amenities (such as schools and shopping complexes) as well as the surrounding environment — for example, are there parks?

7. Information on future developments in the area.

8. Is the property selling at a reasonable price?

9. Appearance of the building, functional layout and design, good physical structure (no water leakage and free from defects), referring to Conquas or Qlassic standards.

10. Is the entire building or project designed for easy maintenance with lower cost, so that there is no tremendous increase in service charges in the future?

11. Is the concept of the development achievable and sustainable?

12. Good coverage of telecommunications systems like high-speed Internet connection or mobile coverage.

13. Most importantly — safety and security!

- Racheal Lee -

Homes versus Hotels

Home-sharing services like Airbnb are becoming a hit among Malaysians. But hotels are urging the Government to regulate such services, claiming that rental of private apartments and studio units is illegal. Noting such calls, the Government is currently discussing how to address the matter.

LIVING rooms instead of hotel lobbies. Apartment units instead of hotel suites. This is the trend today.

More Malaysian holiday-makers are choosing to rent private properties as accommodation on their trips, instead of booking hotel rooms.

They do this using home-sharing services like Airbnb and Singapore-based HomeAway, which offer travellers the option to stay in a local host’s property.

Ranging from single rooms to entire apartment units, guests can book their accommodation from hosts, who list their property on such websites to be leased out for a fee.

Sometimes, the fees are even lower than the room rates offered by hotels.

This is one of the factors that drive the popularity of such services, with the San Francisco-based Airbnb having over two million property listings for rent from local hosts in about 191 countries around the world.

In Malaysia, home-sharing services are also gaining traction among travellers and homeowners, who want to earn some income from offering short-term rentals.

However, the hotel industry in the country is claiming that such services are eating into their business, with some estimating about 5% to 15% of their business being diverted.

Hoteliers are also saying that consumers are not fully protected under such arrangements.

Likening home-sharing services like Airbnb to Uber in the taxi business, hoteliers claim that the hosts are not subjected to the same regulations imposed on hotels and do not need to pay taxes or collect the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

As the industry calls on the Government to regulate such services, the Tourism and Culture Ministry says discussions are ongoing to address the matter while the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry is open to feedback on the issue.

Malaysian Association of Hotels president Sam Cheah sees the growing popularity of such home-sharing platforms like Airbnb as a threat to the hotel industry.

“It isn’t a level playing ground because the hosts who are offering their properties for rent are not subjected to the same requirements, including safety standards,” he says.

Cheah points out that the hosts can afford to offer lower rates because their operating costs to run their businesses are smaller.

“They pay domestic usage for quit rent and utility bills. They are not required to adhere to safety requirements such as installing proper fire protection,” he adds.

Cheah explains that hotels also have public liability insurance and protect consumers in the event of negligence or fire.

“We are obligated to protect our customers. But there is no such policy for home-sharing hosts,” he says, urging consumers to be aware of such risks.

Cheah also points out that it is illegal for homeowners to operate a business for tourists and travellers when the property is meant for domestic dwelling.

“It is unfair for residents who are neighbours of such hosts as they will have strangers walking in and out of the premises,” he says.

These tourists will also be using the swimming pool, gym and other facilities meant for residents.

However, Cheah says the association, which consists of 881 member hotels, cannot discount or prevent such a business model from being practised.

“But the Government should regulate such businesses to protect tourists and make it an even playing field for hotel operators,” he says.

If left unchecked and unregulated, Cheah foresees the Government will have a problem dealing with the projected 36 million tourist arrivals by 2020.

“If we do not regulate Airbnb and other home-sharing services, we wouldn’t be able to monitor the industry. We wouldn’t know if we have an oversupply or over-development and businesses may lose out.

“It is just like Uber and GrabCar in the taxi industry. You cannot stop them but you have to regulate them. Then it makes sense,” he says.

Echoing Cheah’s call to the Government to impose regulations, Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners secretary Anthony Wong calls such home-sharing services illegal as hosts are not licensed to provide lodging and insurance for guests.

“It is amounting to making private arrangements and guests who are hurt during their stay are unable to claim insurance for any mishaps.

“As legal entities, hotels have permits to comply with. Our operating costs are expensive and we pay taxes,” says Wong, adding that hotel rates are also competitively priced.

He claims that the emergence of such services and illegal homestays have caused hoteliers to lose about 5% in revenue.

Acknowledging the concerns by hotels, Tourism and Culture Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Ong Hong Peng says the ministry has received complaints from the industry on the emergence of home-sharing platforms.

“This issue has been acknowledged and discussed extensively by the Special Task Force on Service Delivery and its working group.

“This working group is represented by government agencies such as the ministry, Malaysia Productivity Corporation, the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry and the police,” he tells Sunday Star.

Dr Ong adds that the question of regulating home-sharing platforms and conducting enforcement on homeowners under such services comes under the purview of local councils.

In the meantime, the ministry has its Malaysian Homestay Programme, which offers a unique experience to tourists.

“The programme enables tourists to stay and interact with local families who act as hosts.

“Under this programme, families and their houses register with the ministry after completing the homestay training module and following the guidelines,” he explains.

But Dr Ong points out that this is different from merely offering accommodation as it is a community-based tourism programme which offers tourists a lifestyle experience of rural villages.

In 2015, Malaysia attracted 25.7 million tourist arrivals, a decline of 6.3% compared to 27.4 million tourist arrivals in 2014.

For the first quarter of 2016, Malaysia registered an increase of 2.8% in tourist arrivals, which Dr Ong perceives as a positive outlook.

“A strong growth in arrivals is expected for the remainder of this year,” he says.

Former Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who was just replaced in a Cabinet reshuffle on Monday, says it is still too early to decide whether to regulate homeowners involved in home-sharing services.

“This will require extensive discussion. The ministry welcomes feedback from stakeholders on this matter, including hoteliers, and will be more than happy to listen to their concerns,” he says.

The issue of regulating or even banning Airbnb and other home-sharing marketplaces is of growing concern.

Recently, it was reported that New York State in the United States may make it illegal to advertise apartments on Airbnb if a Bill is made into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Meanwhile, the German capital of Berlin has stopped tourists from renting entire apartment units using Airbnb and other similar websites. The move bans homeowners from leasing their property to tourists without a city permit.

Japan released national guidelines for home-sharing services, making properties only available for rent if guests stay for a week or longer.

Other places are more receptive towards home-sharing platforms, including London, which amended housing legislation that makes it legal for locals to rent out their homes through websites like Airbnb.

- Yuen Mei Keng -

Greater KL/ Klang Valley Integrated Transit Map

Here is the comprehensive Greater KL/ Klang Valley Transit Map. You may need to take a consideration on the infrastructure and public transport nearby the area you would like to invest. Looking for the potential capital appreciation and high ROI area or property? Visit us at www.hiproperty.com.my.

- Hiproperty.com - 

Online shopping uptrend in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Online shopping in Malaysia is poised for significant growth, given its rising popularity and relatively new adoption rate among local customers.

According to PwC in its Total Retail Survey 2016 report, South-East Asian consumers are relatively new to the online marketplace, with nearly three-fifths of respondents in Malaysia reported buying online only within the last three years.

“Based on patterns we’ve seen in other countries, there is a good amount of room for growth,” said PwC senior executive director Scott Constance.

According to the report, higher proportions of Thailand and Singapore consumers are new to online buying as compared to the average of our global survey.

“More than 80% of China respondents have been buying online for more than three years,” it said.

The report, which surveyed 500 consumers per country, revealed that about half of Malaysian respondents buy online at least monthly and only 7% have never shopped online. The survey also said South-East Asia shoppers lead the world in mobile and social adoption.

“Nearly three quarters of Malaysian respondents use social media to access promotional offerings while shopping. Consumers in South-East Asia demonstrate a strong desire to use social media in forming associations with their preferred brands.”

In terms of online buying frequency, PwC said although a sizable percentage of consumers in South-East Asia report buying on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, the percentage was still smaller compared to its overall global survey.

It said that 60% of all consumers its global survey reported buying online on a monthly basis or more frequently.

“Consumers in Singapore match this proportion, followed closely by Thailand at 58% and Malaysia at 48%.”

The report also said that South-East Asia consumers are among the world’s fastest and strongest adopters of mobile and social media usage in support of their online and in-store purchasing activities.

“Whatever the mobile or social media purchase usage, whether it is using a mobile phone to check product reviews or prices, or accessing coupons, or making purchases outright, it’s likely that consumers in South-East Asia are doing it more frequently than just about anyone else in the world.

“Two-thirds of consumers surveyed in Malaysia and Singapore, and nearly three-quarters of consumers surveyed in Thailand report using their phones directly to make purchases. Rates of mobile phone purchasing usage in all three South-East Asia countries surveyed exceed the global average of 54%,” said PwC.

- EUGENE MAHALINGAM -