A general bundle of questions we'd like advice on please!

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Hi All
Apologies in advance if I have posted in the wrong area!

My wife and I will be applying to join the MM2H program from England within the next week and a had a few questions that I hoped you may be able to help us with.

Base of operation
We are planning to rent a property when we arrive for about 6 months and during that time want to able to explore the country to find the ideal place for us to buy/live (we have no preference where to live at the moment).
Q. Can anyone suggest a good general base in the country to do this from, (we don't want to spend more than £500-£600 per month on rental, don't mind property type).

Importing Goods
Were not looking to bring any furniture with us, just personal belongings, clothes, ornaments, LCD TVs, electrical goods (nothing flashy, just general bog standard branded goods) etc
Q. In your general opinions it worth doing or is it cheaper and less hassle to buy all we need when we arrive (aside from small personal belongings that we can take with us on the plane)?

Car
Looking to buy a new small 4x4, nothing special, just a comfortable low end auto on the MM2H program, anyone got an suggestions and does anyone have an idea of pricing for something like this on the MM2H program? (any examples would be appreciated)

Property rental companies
Q. Can anyone recommend a good property rental company that we will be able to organise accomodation with prior to arriving in Malaysia, that offers property in the area you suggest us that we base ourselves.

I know that its a lot of information to ask for, but moving from the English countryside accross the world is quite duanting for the wife and I!

Many thanks in advance

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£500-£600 will be adequate for anywhere in Malaysia. Obviously you can spend more in some Penang & KL but your budget is fine.

Follow this link for a few ideas, Penang only I'm afraid but that's a fairly expensive place so you will get an idea.

http://www.penang-property.com/apartmentphotosPT.htm

There is a link for rentals at the bottom of the page.

Base of operation
Your best base will depend on whether you want to explore East Coast of West Malaysia, East Malaysia (Sabah & Sarawak) or Thailand. There are very good road links in West Malaysia , I don't know about the east.

Importing Goods
Not my speciality but beware importing books & CD's there can be hefty charges for examination.

Car
Take a look at the thread http://www.my2home.info/index.php/topic,37.0.html
A couple of decent small cars would be Toyota Vios & Honda Civic. When you check out the prices remember that under MM2H you will get a whacking great discount because you wont pay tax. This amounts to about 35%. But in most cases it will take you around 4 months to get the car.

Property Rental
For many reasons that are well discussed in this forum please do not arrange property rental whilst in the UK. You need to see what you are getting and where it is.

I would advise dealing with all these issues separately, members of this forum will be glad to help.

Bob

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Thanks for the information Bob, regarding the property rental, would you recommend coming over and booking into a hotel until we find something to rent?

I am keen to look at Penang (worried about the overcrowding) and East Malaysia as I get the feeling that there are some great undeveloped areas that may throw up a gem of a location.

Paul
(Brit - Ex REME, son of a Royal Green Jacket!)

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hi, corportateangel,

I'm a budget traveller so my take on this is to book into a good hotel for a few days and get used to the climate, and other stuff. Then look around for something longer term in a more reasonably priced place, and negotiate a longer term (1 month) stay with them, and you can usually get a good deal with a hotel if you're staying longer, more than 1 week.

This gives you time to look around for rentals. You'll have to decide where, but Penang is probably a good starting point.

I'm also going to be looking around the East Coast (I assume you mean this, and not Sabah and Sarawak) and places such as Mersing, Kuantan and Kuala Trengganu.

Estate agents here don't have shops with pictures and prices of properties. They advertise in the press. The Star online (thestar.com.my) has a classified section. You'll need to call up and get taken around to places that suit your requirements. Agree with the agent beforehand on the fees, commissions etc. Don't be shy about asking out front how much the agent is going to get, and who pays for what. And then ask for a discount.

In Singapore, for example, the agent expects to get fees from both landlord and tenant, and both buyer and seller. And its all negotiable to some extent.

Check on the voltage for electrical appliances that you're bringing over. Maybe some members can help on this.

You could also check online with a furniture/electrical goods company such Courts, and get an idea of cost as opposed to bringing stuff over.

You need to use an agent to apply for MM2H. Some agents partly discount the application fee if you rent via their services.

regards, Scott

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Thanks Scott, excellent advice all-round.

The Mersing, Kuantan and Kuala Trengganu areas are also what I had in mind, my wife has a romantic vision of us buying an idyllic plot of land and building a dream home on it! - We'll see!

I am thinking of using Borneo Vision to handle my MM2H application the chap that runs it is a Brit so may be able to answer most of my small minded question I'm a big believer in eliminating hassle wherever possible so having someone do it all for me is in my opinion better than going cheap and having to do the chasing etc myself!

When I looked online at the LCD TV prices in Malaysia they seemed comparatively expensive, in the UK you can get an HD ready 32" LCD for between £250-£300 and a 37" for about £350, this is why I thought it better to bring my own over along with the other small household bits and soft furnishings etc.

Regards

Paul

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hi,

I also have the same vision. I'm waiting for the Eastern Corridor Development Plan to be announced. It covers the area we're talking about.

Details are expected sometime in October. The east coast highway is partly built, and there's good highway access from KL although I have yet to use it.

I'll post the relevant stuff on the site.

Keep in touch, and let us all know how things progress.

regards, Scott