What to understand once you have the keys, in six steps: handover day, assessment tax and quit rent, insurance, service charges and the management body, renting out, and refinancing or selling later. Every card opens a full article or guide, with the official sources listed at the end.
From the developer’s notice of vacant possession, the defect liability period, service charges, quit rent and assessment all start to run: what falls due, what to inspect on the day and what to arrange within 30 days.
What to check when the notice arrives, inspecting against the Fourth Schedule, the deposits and service charges due within 30 days, and the dates to note.
When the 24 months start, the key dates, what you can and cannot claim, how to write the notice, and what to do if the developer ignores you.
Owning property means two annual levies paid to two different bodies, and the assessment account has to be transferred into your name by you.
Who collects each levy, when they fall due and the late penalties, plus transferring the assessment account online with MBJB: steps, fee and documents.
Late charges on developer instalments, home loans, service charges, quit rent and assessment in one table.
The building, the contents and the loan: who insures each layer, and what the bank requires.
Condo buildings insured by the JMB or MC at reinstatement value, landed owners insuring their own homes, separate contents cover, and what banks require on fire insurance and MRTA.
What it covers, how the premium is paid, whether you must buy it and what happens if you settle early, from the banks' and insurers' own disclosure sheets.
Reducing or level cover, who gets any excess, and what happens after the loan is settled, from the insurers' own disclosure sheets.
Strata units pay service charges and a sinking fund every month; who manages the building, how many votes you have and where disputes go are all set by the Strata Management Act.
By law the sinking fund is 10% of the maintenance fee. Who collects it, how it is shared, what happens if owners don't pay, and how it differs from assessment tax and quit rent.
The statutory formula, a worked example down to the monthly figure, and which costs may be included.
The three stages of management, what the developer must hand over, how voting works, and the Strata Management Tribunal for claims up to RM250,000.
If you let the property, the tenancy agreement has to be stamped.
Your loan’s lock-in period affects when it makes sense to refinance or sell; how long you hold and who you are decide the RPGT you pay.
Lock-in terms and early settlement fees across eight banks, and why 2% of the approved amount differs from 2% of the balance.
Rates for citizens, companies and foreign owners, which costs are deductible, and why the buyer withholds 7% or 3%, from the Inland Revenue Board's own pages.
Send me the project name and your notice of vacant possession or sale and purchase agreement, and I will check which stage is due, what to inspect against, whether the assessment account has been transferred and whether the service charges follow the statement of charges.
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