If you are thinking of selling your property in Malaysia and you don’t know what to do, here at DPI Media, we have compiled an 8 step guide on how to sell your property. This can be a daunting process, but follow our steps and you will have this in the bag in no time!
1. Value your property
Before you go headfirst into selling your property, you need to hire a certified appraiser to value your property. The appraiser will let you know how much your property is worth in the current market value.
2. Beautify your property
Think of your property as it is about to go on very important dates. You will need to make your property look visually pleasing as first impressions are crucial at this stage. Throw out that old rag and replace that faulty doorknob. Trust us, this will make a world’s difference when it comes to how our property looks like.
3. Advertise your property
This is a crucial step in selling your property. Nowadays more people are opting for digital advertisement rather than advertising on traditional media. Digital advertising is more convenient as you can edit your advertisement to your liking whenever on the property portals.
If you want to do it the old school way, then hire a real estate agent to do the job. Do take note that real estate agents do come with a commission charge of 2-3%.
4. Check for outstanding bills & proper the related documents
Now it is time to assemble all your legal documents and clear all outstanding fees that might apply to your property. A good checklist of documents to keep on hand would be, your IC, latest mortgage statement, copy of your title of the property, copies of quit rent, assessment tax and renovation details (if any).
Having all this ready will make the process of selling your property go smoothly.
5. Appoint a lawyer
This is a step you cannot skimp out on. Getting legal help from a lawyer is crucial in drafting your Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA). A lawyer will help you keep calm and a level head during the sale if anything requires any legal attention. Most importantly they will help spot any discrepancies in your SPA or bank loan agreement.
Yes, a lawyer is costly but we always suggest being safe than sorry.
6. Acceptance of offer
Now it’s time to sit back and let buyers view your property. Pay attention to your phone as you will soon get calls from prospective buyers. Once you’re able to lock in a serious buyer, you will need to agree on a price and ask the buyer to pay an earnest deposit of 2-3% and sign the offer letter.
Now you can proceed with the preparation of the SPA for the buyer to sign. Normally this takes 2-3 to prepare. After the buyer signs the SPA, they will need to pay the remaining 10% amount of deposit to you and the remaining 90% will be paid to you within the next 3 months.
7. Finalisation & Taxation
This is when you settle the tax and payment required by the seller. Take note of Real Property Gains Ta (RPGT) that you might have to pay. If this is your first time selling a property, you will be exempted from it for one time only.
8. Loan Disbursement
Lastly, the buyer’s bank will disburse the loan money and this is when the bank will give the money to the seller’s bank to redeem the property. Now the seller’s bank will release all documents including the original title and purchase agreement to the buyer’s lawyer. The buyer’s lawyer can now register the title under the new buyer’s name and create a mortgage over the property.
We hope that this basic guide to selling your property in Malaysia helps you in your property sales endeavors. The number one tip we can give you is to always be prepared for unforeseen circumstances and hire a lawyer to guide you through every step of the way.
