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"Many of our clients come to us after they have bought their land or property from an estate agent or developer only to find out there are many restrictions and compromises in terms of what they can do simply because they were not properly informed by their agent"
Here are 10 simple rules to consider before buying your property:-
The Shape of the Land
The shape of the land is quite important when making a purchase. If you are into Feng Shui generally a square or rectangular shaped land is ideal. In reality this also makes good sense as the land can be utilised efficiently without wasted corners or nooks. With odd shaped land such as a triangular or trapezium or semi-circular (although quite rare) the building plan may not be as efficient due to the odd corners. This type of land can also lend itself however to interesting forms of architecture as well as it’s own unique spatial characteristics. The roads and other features surrounding the property is also important, for example which direction the building faces or it’s orientation which we will discuss more closely in Item (4) below.
The Slope of the Land
The slope of the land is extremely important when considering your future house. A flat piece of land is the safest bet as it will be quite straightforward to design and construct. However do not discount sloped pieces of land as they allow for a more interesting building form that responds to the site contour. On many of our projects the owners were pleased to find that we could tuck in additional rooms and spaces underneath the building when it was on slope. Land sloping downwards works better than those sloping upwards. The disadvantage however, is that there will be additional costs as retaining walls need to be built although with some clever manipulation of the land this can be minimised. An ideal sloped land should not have a slope greater than 25 degrees. A property with slopes above 35 degrees should be avoided as it considered a Class 4 slope and current regulations do not allow any structure to be built on these types of slope. If the land has only a small proportion of Class 4 slope than it is still a possible to build a house provided those areas are avoided. If you suspect that the land you are considering has a Class 4 slope ask for a topographical survey of the property from your agent or get a surveyor to conduct a study before considering your purchase.
The Services Available
Most properties within the city areas already come with services and infrastructure however it very much depends on the area you are at. Some properties within the Klang Valley still do not have built sewerage lines under the roads for you to discharge the sewerage, especially older established vicinities and hillside developments. This will require you to provide your own septic tank to treat the waste. Some established neighbourhoods already have sewer lines but the tap-off may be quite a distance from your property and you will have to bear the cost of hacking the road, running a new sewer line up to the nearest manhole and making good back the road.
Although most established developments do have electricity, connections you need to check for example whether there is 3 phase 100A electrical supply to your property. In older parts of the city many areas still come with only 2 phases and 60A supply. There will be additional costs involved to get this upgraded. Water supply is also usually provided by the developer however do ensure if you have sufficient water pressure. Some neighbourhoods with single or double storey houses may not have sufficient pressure if you intend to build a 3 storey house and will involve additional cost to provide pumps and holding tanks. Telephone connections are also usually already provided but you need to check the distance from the nearest serviceable manhole in which you need to tap. Also high-speed broadband connections are not always readily available in some parts of the country. Confirm these these details with your agent before proceeding with the purchase.
The Orientation of the Land
Although Feng Shui experts will have a lot to say about where your property should face, from and architectural perspective we need to consider other things as well. The longer side of the building should try to avoid East and West facing as this causes solar heat gain into the internal spaces during the day. Although North or South facing is ideal to reduce heat into the house, a good architect will be able to manipulate the building roof and skin to reduce the heat gain substantially in an East-West orientated house.
The Views Around the Land
Views that can be seen around the property is important and gives value to your purchase. However as most property can only be seen from the ground level it is difficult to visualise the views from the upper levels. Although a Google Earth view can help, ideally you may want to use a drone to check the views from the second or third floor. This is a helpful tool that can eventually help the architect to orient the spaces to take advantage of the surrounding views.
Building setbacks
All properties will be required to comply with the setback regulation from the local council. Although this varies from council to council the general rule is 20 -feet setback from the roadside and 10- feet setback from the neighbouring properties. There is usually an allowance for the building roof to extend another 3 feet beyond the building setback and car porch roof to extend 10- feet into the setback. The setbacks become critical if you are considering a small plot of land because after deducting the setbacks you may have only a small portion of the land to build on. If the plot of land is at a corner facing the road on both sides then the 20- feet setback is required on both sides. This needs to be looked at carefully before you commit on your purchase.
Height Restrictions
Most local councils have building height regulations depending on the neighbourhood in which you are in. For example the Kuala Lumpur guidelines allow a house to go up to 3-storeys with a semi-basement however in many parts of the suburbs the maximum height allowed is only 2-storeys. This gets a little complicated when the road is sloping which is why sometimes you notice buildings that appear to be 2 ½ or 3 ½ storeys high. You will need an architect’s advice if the building height is critical to you before your purchase.
The Size of the Land
The size of the land very much depends on one’s budget and the number of rooms required for your dream home. Generally land area that ranges from 5000 sq feet to 10,000 sq ft will be sufficient if your built-up area is around 5 to 10,000 sq feet. However as pointed out earlier this also depends on the height and number of stories as regulated by the particular municipality.
The Construction Budget
This is a very common question I get all the time and there is no simple answer to this. There are many factors that need to be considered. For example the type of soil of the land will determine the type of foundation the house will require. If it is good soil you may get away with just a strip foundation but soft soil will require piling. If the soil is soft and also on a slope it may even require micro-piling which is very expensive. Unfortunately this can only be determined later when the house design is completed and the engineer commissions a soil test to be carried out to determine the soil characteristics. A rough guide would be to ask what foundations your neighbours have used however this is only a rough guide. The other factor is the complexity of the design. A simple square boxed house would obviously have a lower cost than a complicated multi-storied house with basement parking, water-features and a pool. The finishes also play a big role in the cost of the house as Italian marble would cost 10 times more than a local equivalent etc. The type of light fittings, the air-conditioning systems, the security and smart home system will all contribute to the final cost. A general rule is the costs of a house with relatively good finishing and fittings will range from RM 500 to RM 800 per sq. ft depending on the factors highlighted above. The cost includes all the works by the contractor including built-in interior finishing and fittings except interior loose furnishing.
The Consultant Team
The Budget should also need to consider the fees to be paid to the consultant team. The team would typically consist of the Architect, the Engineers, the Quantity Surveyors, and perhaps an Interior Designer or even in some cases a Landscape Architect, although that really depends on the needs and requirement of the Client. Appointing the right team is probably going to be the most important consideration to be made. I will cover this in more detail in our future Newsletters that will be posted on our Blogs and social media pages.
The above is a brief summary of things to consider before considering buying a property or piece of land to build your Dream Home. The journey to achieving the successful completion depends on a lot of factors however the most important one is the team of consultants followed by the quality of the contractor that you hire, neither of which should be compromised.
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