Tips For Foreigner Buying A Property In Malaysia
Malaysia is a great place to live, if not a great place to own property. As a foreigner, you may have your own reasons to buy a property in Malaysia. You might want to build a residence for yourself while staying in Malaysia for work, or you might want to build a holiday home for your sweet family. Or, you might even want to invest in the property in Malaysia. Well, all that is fine, and today we look to give you some tips and information about buying a property in Malaysia.
How Much Property and What Kind of Property You Can Buy
Here’s a good news, as a foreigner, there is no limit for you to buy a property in Malaysia. There indeed, are some requirements and investment thresholds, but if you fulfil them, you could own as much as property you want in Malaysia. Anyway, you can’t buy these properties in Malaysia.
- Low to Medium Cost Residential Units
- Any housings on Malay Reserved Land
- Properties provided to any development project
- Property that costs lesser than the threshold value in each state. (In general, it is RM 1 Million).
- Agricultural Land
Malaysia My Second Home Initiative
Everyone foreigner looking forward to buying a property in Malaysia should know about this program/ Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) is a visa program that grants a visa for ten years to the foreigner wishing to live in Malaysia for a longer time. The up-side of this project is that after you get an MM2H visa, the property threshold goes considerably lower.
| State | Minimum Investment(Without MM2H) | Minimum Investment(With MM2H) |
| Selangor |
RM2 million (Zones 1 & 2) RM1 million (Zone 3) |
RM2 million (Zones 1 & 2) RM1 million (Zone 3) |
| Terengganu, Pahang, WPKL, Putrajaya
and Negeri Sembilan |
RM1 million | RM1 million |
| Johor | RM2 million (landed property, international zones)
RM1 million (strata title & landed properties, non-international zones, except Medini) |
RM1 million |
| Perak | RM1 million | RM350,000 |
| Kelantan & Sabah | RM1 million | RM500,000 |
| Kedah | RM600,000 (Kedah)
RM1 million (Langkawi) |
You are free, no minimum investments needed |
| Perlis | RM500,000 | RM1 million |
| Sarawak | RM500,000 | RM300,000 |
| Penang | RM2 million(Island area)
RM1 million(Main area) |
RM350,000 |
| Malacca | RM1 million(landed title)
RM500,000(strata title) |
RM1 million(landed title)
RM500,000(strata title) |
Note that in Perlis, the minimum price actually increases with the visa. Also, in some states, the price remains unchanged.
However, before getting an MM2H visa, you should show the following things with you.
For people younger than 50 years old, you will have to show that you have at least an RM500, 000 or property equaling that. If you are older than 50 years old, you will need to have at least RM350, 000 in your savings before you own the MM2H visa.
Mortgage and Loan
Well, as a foreigner, you are allowed to take a home loan in Malaysia. The Margin of Finance (MOF) can go up to 80% and 70% for MM2H holders and non-MM2H holders respectively. Anyway, if you’re next to kin to a Malaysian citizen, the MOF could go as high as 90%.
The Process Of Buying A Property in Malaysia
1) First, find the property that suits your needs and budget. Here are some websites to help you with it.
2) Make an offer, and after the owner agrees to it, hire a real estate lawyer to help you with the papers.
3) First off, you will need to make a 2-3% deposit after the deal is made. Don’t worry; it isn’t too soon.
4) After agreeing, you have two weeks to sign the Sale and Purchase agreement. And that’s when you will need to pay another 7-8% deposit.
5) Your purchase agreement, after is stamped at the stamp office and you will have to pay stamp duty (maximum 3% of the buying price).
6) You will have to make the full payment under three months you make the Sale and Purchase agreement.
Taxes
Buying a property in Malaysia, you will not have to pay a lot of taxes. Here are the taxes you could expect.
Stamp Duty: About 1% to 3% of the buying fee.
Solicitor Cost: 0.4% to 1%.
Administrative Fees: Around RM200.
The real estate fees depend on your agreement. But, typically it isn’t more than 3% of the buying fees.
Well, this was all for you to know if you are a foreigner buying property in Malaysia 2018. I hope this will help you. Besides, to learn more, you may read about property investment’s guideline for foreigners in Malaysia. If you are interested to start a business in Malaysia, you may also read about an expatriate guide to starting a business in Malaysia as foreigner.
