Singing Pig

Hi Will,

I have now had email conformation that I have a loan but no paperwork as yet (so I know no details). It is also with Scotia Bank. It seems that no-one has had any other offer from any other Bank except them. Makes you wonder why? Is no-one else prepared to lend against this development?

I still think this will be a great development (phase 2  - onshore appts have now been released and look great apparently!) but the Mortgage side of this is very unprofessional and creates a very poor impression.

 
Other investors are not on a particular forum, although an 'eye on the world' forum has been set up for this development. There have also been a few emails doing the rounds.

 

Yogi
 

Hi, I am a buyer here as well, and is wondering if anyone has managed to get the sales and purchase agreement amended, as well as the leaseback agreement for that matter?

Would appreciate anyone's thoughts on the leaseback agreement in particular, as it is rather one sided in my opinion, and it is not exactly a 15 year leaseback !!! There is an opt out every 3 years etc, not to mention 30 days notice of lawful termination from the company without any compensation. Owners on the other hand had to give 6 months' notice, etc etc.

Also, what are people's thoughts on the leasehold status? In my copy, there is only a mention of Strata Title, does anyone have any further details, ie. term of lease, condition of renewal etc? How much will it cost to renew?

Also, anyone know how long these properties are built to last?

The leaseback if for 15 years only (2 + 3x4 +1), what happens after that?

Would appreciate any feedback and help.

I am STILL waiting for the mortgage application, and it is doing my head in! It seems that the local Malaysian banks are not willing to lend on this development, and I wonder WHY??? I had no problem securing a loan on another development, but seems like this golden palm is taboo to them. From what I hear only Nova Scotia bank is lending, and the rates aren't competitive at all.

Looking forward to hearing from someone... anyone???

Thanks.

Could the problems in getting mortgages be due to the general worldwide economic worries, or is it something else ?. Could it be that lenders view these properties as being in the same category as boats i.e. a deteriorating asset with ever invcreasing maintenance costs ?.

Hi RogerD, I don't know, to be honest. On the surface of it this development seems like a pretty good investment. But the mortgage side of it really begs the question, if the development is so brilliant, then why are none of the other banks willing to lend besides Nova Scotia? It has been months already, and I am getting fed up with the long wait.  

 

I've also received an offer from Scotia Bank, it seems that no other banks are interested, even though I filled in 6 application forms for the broker.

The legals are also pretty high for the mortgage - you have to use a panel solicitor from Scotia and the costs are approximately RM10,000 including disbursements/stamp duty.  As the documents are standard that seems quite high, but I tried a couple of solicitors and they were charging more or less the same - they advised that there is a 'scale charge' for the work for all the solicitors!

The water has always been murky as far as I am aware, so if you are expecting crystal clear waters you will be disappointed.

 

I have mortgage offers from both BNS and AFB. Terms on both offers are pretty onerous in my opinion. I have requested certain changes to both offers and both banks have tried to accomodate. Nevertheless, both are still quite expensive and also since I am not that familiar with Islamic financing (as offered by AFB), I opted for the BNS offer, which is also the slightly cheaper one. Events of default on each offer are pretty difficult to swallow but I have written correspondence from the bank addressing my main concerns which, although does not make the terms much better, alleviate some of my concerns somewhat.

With regards legal fees, this pretty much determined by the value of the property which is why some of you have found that legal fees throughout are pretty uniform. I dont understand this way of fee determination since legal work does not necessarily increase in relation to the value of the propery being purchased.

On a more positive note, I was able to meet with a representative of the law firm I have appointed, and he was are very positive with this project. In fact he is buying a Canary villa from the project. Prices are already up from the launch prices (up 6%) and he also revealed that majority of purchasers are from the West.

I found out yesterday that we got our mortgage approved for Golden Palm.  I appreciate your concerns about the leaseback and the opt out clauses  .....   It is rather concerning. It's a bit daunting buying overseas as we're having issues with the Thai property we're purchasing.  In comparison this seems like it's all going to plan. i note the projected completion date is November 2009 so I'd be interested to know if they're on schedule. 

A friend has visited the site recently and can confirm it is on target.  She says that under Malaysian law it has to be completed within 24 months.  I've also made several stage payments on Architect's Certificates on my plot.

She also said that she wasn't sure how popular it would be because the water is a very muddy, even when no construction taking place.  More likely to be tourists than locals she thinks.  This seems to be in line with who has been convinced to buy them!

We'll have to see how it goes, it has been quite heavily publicised in the media, so hopefully there will be plenty of interest when it opens.