After much trudging around Kuala Lumpur and its extensive garden suburbs, I ended my property search back where I started, about 10 minutes from KLCC on the edge of downtown KL. Prices were very tempting out there in those attractive huge houses with big gardens, security gates and multiple parking spaces, just 20 km out of town. But there were also awe-inspiring rush-hour traffic jams and, yes, monkeys. But according to estate agent Lim Eng Siang, senior manager of 3L Enterprises, they are very popular. It makes sense for families with kids who need space and anyone who does not need to commute to central KL every day or drive at busy times because central KL traffic can be really horrible. The buying process in Malaysia is modeled on the Australian, not British system. The good thing is that Malaysian property is freehold, unlike Hong Kong, so you don’t have any government lease extension worries post-2047. You pay a service charge in most blocks, typically MR.4 per square foot per month. The conveyancing fee is a fixed amount, calculated according to the size of the property. There is stamp duty to pay – on my 2,800 sqft place it will be about MR51,000 (about HK$125,000) when the strata title is sorted out, but on new properties I was advised this can take several years. As a foreigner, you may buy property. My solicitor packed me off with RM8 to pay a notary public to witness a statement which rubber-stamped my property purchase as a foreigner. Do your due diligence Several weeks passed while the provisional sales agreement went back and forth between my lawyer and the vednor’s side for every word to be clarified. He was very thorough. He warned me there had been some mysterious goings-on at the land registry. It seems names on title deeds had somehow been changed to someone else, and the properties then apparently sold on, in the name of the bogus “owner.” The unfortunate real owners knew nothing of this, until they got a knock on their door from the “new” owner, clasping seemingly official documents, apparently proving ownership. According to my lawyer, there was nothing the rightful owner could do, except to try to recover his property through the courts. This was not soothing news, but he stressed the matter was being sorted out and systems tightened up, but he explained that’s why he went through everything with a fine toothcomb. He advised anyone buying to do exhaustive checks and land searches to ensure all was in order, before signing any sale and purchase agreements. Good advice indeed. Fun at the bank Then there was trip to HSBC KL to open a Malaysian bank account. It took two hours. I have resolved not to moan, it only raised my blood pressure, but suffice to say when you do anything like this in KL that would take 15 minutes in Hong Kong, say “ommm”, relax and go with the flow. Cancel all other appointments and don’t get stressed. The funny part was watching the HSBC guys in my Hong Kong branch rolling their eyes when dealing with their KL counterparts. Again, for currency conversion and interbank transfers, even from HSBC here to HSBC there, the mantra is: “allow extra time.” I have come to the conclusion that our bank staff here are exceptionally efficient and we don’t give them half enough credit. For the 10 per cent deposit down payment, I first transferred the amount in Hong Kong dollars to KL, then it was switched to Malaysian Ringgit once in Malaysia, for transfer to my lawyer’s client account. Only when he was 100 per cent happy was I allowed to sign the provisional purchase agreement and he transferred the money to the other side. Now we wait for the completion date, which can be soon or distant, depending on what you agree. Anna.fenton@scmp.com