FAQ

Malaysia: What is 'Master title'?

A title issued by government to a land or building development project.

Malaysia: What is 'Strata Title'?

A title issued by government for each owner on the un-implemented condominium or building.

Malaysia: What's 'State Consent'?

According to Malaysia Land Law 1965, non- malaysians only can purchase property if they obtain a permit from state government.

Malaysia: What is MOT?

A document prepared when master title is transferred to strata title.
It is executed by the buyer after handover of a presale property, and before the application of strata title, or around the handover of a completed property. (In Taiwan, buyers need to sign the MOT at MALAYSIAN FRIENDSHIP AND TRADE CENTRE, TAIPEI and pay for legal fee.)
 

Malaysia: What is 'DIBS'? (cancelled from year 2014)

A scheme that developer will pay banks (on behalf of the buyers) all the loan interests generated during construction period until the delivery of vacant possession.
 

Malaysia: What is a guaranteed rental return?

Buyer can enjoy a fixed rental return if he has signed the article for guaranteed rental return. Buyer does not need to worry about vacancies or surrender of tenancy. A substantial increase in investment returns lead the buyer to a relaxed owner. In media propaganda,guaranteed rental return rate should be: purchasing price x the percentage set =annual guaranteed rental return ( in Ringgit Malaysia).

Malaysia: What is 'DISS'?

After DIBS (Developer Interest Bearing Scheme) is prohibited by government, developer launches a similar promotion. The difference is after the purchasing procedure is completed and during the construction period, developer will refund part of the payment to the buyers as housing loan interest.

 

China: What are the five 'certificates/permits' in China?

The five certificates/permits are designed and requlated by the Chinese governement to property developers. Developers need to obtain these certificates/permits before they can officially launch sales.

They include: Construction Permit, Land Certificate, Construction Use Land Planning Permit, Construction Project Planning Permit, and Presale Permit.

 

UK: What is a 'SIPP'?

A SIPP is a type of personal pension scheme. 
The SIPP itself is a pension ‘wrapper’ that holds investments until retirement and the investor starts to draw a pension income. 
Most SIPPs allow investment in a range of assets including commercial property not just in an insurance backed fund provided by an insurer. 
SIPPs are designed for people who want to manage their own fund by dealing with, and switching, their investments when they choose.
They may have higher charges than other personal pensions or stakeholder pensions. 
As with any pension fund, the investor cannot take money from the fund until the age of 55. 
SIPPs often fall to be treated as insurance products, as they normally carry an element of contingency insurance within a package, which also makes provision for funds to buy an annuity to provide a pension payment to sustain the pensioner after retirement. 
Charges made by IFAs, brokers and other intermediaries, normally collected as commission from the premium (contributions) will be exempt under the VAT Act 1994 Schedule 9, Group 2, Item 4 if they relate to an intermediary service in connection with the provision of the SIPP.

The charges made to a SIPP customer may however, include initial and annual charges for the management of the customer’s investment portfolio rather than relating to a specific supply of the pension. 
Therefore, these charges would normally be taxable for VAT purposes.



Details to be found on: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/vatfinmanual/vatfin5700.htm

Singapore: What is a 'HDB flat'?

The HDB flat in Singapore is similar to Taiwan's public housing.
 

China: What is a '5A office building'?

It is similar to the hotel star rating system. 5A office building refers to the intellectual '5As', which includes:
1. OA: abbreviation of Office Automation
2. CA: abbreviation of Communication Automation
3. FA: abbreviation of Fire Automation
4. SA: abbreviation of Security Automation
5. BA: abbreviation of Building Automation
Therefore, the '5A' does not stand for quality. And the wording of 'super 5A' is but extremely unprofessional. 

China: What is 'people's air defence'?

People's air defence stands for 'air-raid shelter'.

China: What is a 'Grade A office building'?

It is a common term for office building without a fixed standard. After all, no one wants to be called a 'Grade B office building'.

Malaysia: What is a 'SPA'?

SPA stands for "Sales And Purchase Agreement".

Malaysia: What is a 'sinking fund', and how is it different than management fee?

Management fee refers to 'people' while sinking fund refers to 'things'.

Sinking fee: is a fee used to maintain property and paid monthly. Its amount is 10% of the management fee.

China: What is 'tube structure'?

One or more tube(s) used as a vertical load-bearing structure, has extremely strong lateral stiffness, horizontal bearing capacity, and torsional rigidity.



Exclusive News

Real estate investors look to Southeast Asia
2017-01-11
〔THE CHINA POST〕 TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Facing a low-performing local real estate market, Taiwanese investors are reportedly putting their money abroad in up-and-coming development properties throughout Southeast Asia. Two large international real estate firms hosted separate press conferences on Tuesday to analyze the latest trend in real estate purchases. According to Executive Director David Chin (泰啟松) of Asia Pacific International Property, the firm, which specializes in real estate transactions in the Asia-Pacific region, made nearly NT$7.3 billion in sales.