Also, we do not want to consider property located an hour’s drive away from our office. Although some are okay about driving up to an hour to get to work every day, others simply cannot accept it.
So, cheap price, big size and short distance to the city centre become the key prerequisites.
Sometimes property listing sites will contain some pretty odd deals. Somehow, these properties will have a much lower sales price compared to other similar units advertised.
Maybe the owner is just desperate to sell. But what if the unit is haunted?
In an article in StarProperty.my, the writer Victor Chong shared that property prices in the market were not affected by just the size of the built-up area or the number of rooms and bathrooms in the property.
The price was also dependent on whether certain events like tragedies or deaths occurred in the property before it was put on the market.
Many Malaysians are fearful of ghosts but they fear rising property prices too. Chong shared a story of an individual in Hong Kong known as the “King of Haunted Flats”, who is well known for buying haunted, also known as “hongza” properties.
For example, he bought a 325 sq ft condo unit where a double suicide took place, for just over HK$1mil (RM515,243) in 2012, 30% less than the market rate.
It is speculated that the apartment might be worth around HK$4.4mil (RM2.2mil) in another eight years’ time.
According to him, the heavy discounts for haunted apartments have narrowed from about 30% in 2013 to about 10% this year. Previously, he was able to buy such houses at around 40% less.
Apparently, whether the haunted house can affect an individual depends on religion. For example, if the tragedy happened to someone of a different faith, it should not affect the buyer if he is not of the same religion.
Haunted or not, many a time, if you get a bad vibe when viewing a unit, trust your gut and move on to something better. Considering that you’re going to spend a few hundred thousand ringgit or more on it, it’s best to buy something you are genuinely comfortable with.
Then there’s the question of what to do if you’re really tempted to buy anyway because the price is really low – say 40% lower than the average market price.
Is it worth employing the services of a professional to cleanse the place of spirits? Some may also think that with such a big dip in price that only a total renovation with lots of bright lights perhaps, will rid the unit of any uncomfortable feeling.
For friends who say that they are not scared of “unknown” elements”, they will be able to enjoy some of the “perks” that come from buying a haunted unit.
In Malaysia, such units will not be listed as haunted or being the scene of a crime. However, a little asking around will usually shed some light on which these units are.
This article first appeared in kopiandproperty.com
Charles Tan blogs at property investment site kopiandproperty. He dislikes property speculators and disagrees that renting is better than buying. He thinks it’s either property or poverty. He is presently the CEO of an auction house auctioning assets beyond just properties.