Property Investment for Foreigners, How To Go About It

Foreigners in Malaysia are either expatriates or tourists and they are welcome to visit our country. Government now has also encourages them to build a house and make Malaysia as part of their second home whether for long term stay, retirement or just as investment purpose.

Before you as a foreigner decide to make any decision to purchase any property in Malaysia you need to understand that there are certain policies and legal fees imposed by the Government on property purchase. So what types of properties are eligible for these foreigners to purchase?

Foreign ownership of property is liberal as they can even own 100% of the property as long as few of the minimum requirements are met. In laws however foreigners can own any types of properties except:

1. Properties which are valued less than RM1 million
2. Low and medium cost residential units as being defined by state authority
3. Properties that are standing on Malay Reserved land
4. Properties that are being distributed to Bumiputera interest in any property development project as determined by state authority

Generally the minimum requirement of RM1 million applied for all kinds of properties in every state. However state authority still remains in power if they decide to amend the minimum amount in the state that they controlled.

But foreigners can buy at lower price if they chose to buy properties with the Malaysia My Second Home Program that is tailored for foreigners who want to purchase properties in Malaysia at lower price. Before applying for the scheme, foreigners below 50 years of age are required to prepare a minimum of RM500, 000 in their Savings Account / Current Account / Fixed Deposit while those aged above 50 years of age would need to have at least RM350, 000 in similar accounts.

This scheme helps foreigners to gain access to properties with lower value and below is the states and the lowest value they can get there based on the scheme.

For foreigners who decide to buy properties in Malaysia you can consider the Malaysia My Second Home scheme. There are two types of titles in Malaysia designed for the foreigners. The first one would be freehold – which provides the property over permanent full control of the particular property. The other one would be leasehold – that will allow the property owners to be in possession for a restricted time period. Most of the leaseholds are originally for 99 years and it can be lengthy on spending money on additional sum.

As conclusion, these are just a few of the regulations that which bring most impact to property investments. While there are some of these regulations that allow us to save costs, investors might as well enjoy benefits. However there are some details out exactly what type of property investments foreigners can invest in and also the type of restriction in the property market in order to protect the local market